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FIRST NATIONAL VITAPHONE TALKING PICTURE

FIRST NATIONAL VITAPHONE TALKING PICTURE First National was a cinema and production company bought by Warner Bros in 1928. It continued with its separate identity for some years. Here it advertises in 1929 Vitaphone a film sound system using discs on which the film sound was recorded in the studios and reproduced from discs in the cinemas, rather than from a track printed on the film which technique replaced the disc system within a few years. Date:

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VITAPHONE The

VITAPHONE The sound film system using gramophone discs developed by the WESTERN ELECTRIC Company and the WARNER BROTHERS film company. The origin of the name is probably the VITAGRAPH Co which began in 1896 and Warner Bros bought in 1926.

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Production crew

Production crew of the Brooklyn New York studio of VITAPHONE a division of WARNER BROS which at this time was making short films and features in the VITAPHONE sound-on-disc system. Front row fourth from right is HERMAN HELLER the conductor of the VITAPHONE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA which played and was recorded off-camera. In the front row, third from left is STAN WATKINS whose role is undetermined.

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VITAPHONE The

VITAPHONE The sound film system using gramophone discs developed by the WESTERN ELECTRIC Company and the WARNER BROTHERS film company. The origin of the name is probably the VITAGRAPH Co which began in 1896 and Warner Bros bought in 1926.

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A Vitaphone technician examines the grooves on a disc being

A Vitaphone technician examines the grooves on a disc being recorded by the VITAPHONE disc sound-track system

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PROFESSIONAL PROJECTOR FOR SCREENING 35MM FILMS MADE UNDER T

PROFESSIONAL PROJECTOR FOR SCREENING 35MM FILMS MADE UNDER THE VITAPHONE BANNER. THE PICTURE PROJECTOR HEAD IS A SIMPLEX MODEL MADE BY THE INTERNATIONAL PROJECTOR CORPORATION, THE SOUND TURNTABLE, SPEED CONTROL BOX AND AMPLIFIERS ARE PRODUCED BY THE WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY WHO DEVELOPED THE SYSTEM IN ASSOCIATION WITH WARNER BROTHERS STUDIO. NOTE THE LONG VERTICAL ROD BEHIND THE EQUIPMENT WHICH ADJUSTS THE CARBON RODS IN THE ARC LAMP, POWERED BY THE ELECTRIC MOTOR ON THE FLOOR. THE LARGE MOTOR WHICH DRIVES THE PROJECTOR, ALSO DRIVES THE TURNTABLE WITH THE SOUND RECORD.

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WARNER BROS. VITAPHONE UNIT FILMING A SPANISH MUSICAL NUMBER

WARNER BROS. VITAPHONE UNIT FILMING A SPANISH MUSICAL NUMBER ON THE STAGE OF THE MANHATTAN OPERA HOUSE 1925. Centre right is the small camera cabin which muffled the mechanical sound of the camera

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THE JAZZ SINGER

Premiere for the first feature length synchronised sound film, THE JAZZ SINGER [US 1927], at the Warners' Theatre, New York City Date: 6th October 1927