'Victory of the Vitaphone' AND 'The Soundman' Downloads, Sam Warner Medal Pix & Play News
George
Groves pictured at Bell Labs in National
Magazine's 1927 article on
Vitaphone
'Vitaphone' is one of my
eBay saved searches and it came up trumps
recently when the auction site listed a
fascinating, four page article in US
publication
National Magazine entitled
Victory
of the Vitaphone. This was
published in its January 1927 edition and
I was able to acquire it for just $10,
which included shipping to the UK! As
well as photographs of the four Warner
brothers and
Walter Rich, the rare
article also contains a picture of
George Groves at work in
the Bell Laboratories (above).
Although his name is spelt incorrectly
and it's a low quality image, this is the
only picture that I'm aware of that shows
George at work at Bell Labs. There is, of
course, a well-known close up image of
George inspecting a Vitaphone wax disc,
but that was taken at the Vitagraph
Studios in Brooklyn, not in Bell Labs.
The gargantuan size of the equipment used
at Bell in those days is the most
striking feature of the picture. George
is quite dwarfed by it all!
I've added the whole article to
the
Downloads
section of
this website for your enjoyment. I've
also added "The
Soundman", a paper
that George wrote for SMPE in March
1947. Its summary states that:
"This
paper outlines the tools and means that
are at the disposal of the motion picture
production mixer to enable him to fulfill
his prime responsibility of being the
director's assistant in all matters
pertaining to
sound."
A fabulous historical document with no
mention anywhere of digital or computers!
Finally news that "The Quiet Little Englishman", the proposed play on George Groves and written by Esther Wilson, has been pencilled in for its premiere in October 2008. This will be part of the Liverpool '08 Capital of Culture celebrations. Esther had a marvellous play called The Heroic Pursuits of Darleen Fyles broadcast by BBC Radio 4 last week. She tells me that the producers of the George Groves project, Zho Visual Theatre, are looking for further funding after receiving an Arts Council grant recently. So if you've got a bob or two to spare, please do get in touch!
Site Redesign Incorporating George Groves' Oral History
George made two oral history recordings in which he detailed his remarkable 46-year film career as a sound man. The first was for UCLA Film & Television Archive in 1962 which lasted 2 hours, although we have only managed to obtain 20 minutes of this. The second was for the American Film Institute in 1973 and lasted over 17 hours and is deposited in the Louis B. Mayer Library in Los Angeles. This is included in their collection of forty interviews with pioneers of the motion picture industry.
The Groves family and this website would like to thank librarian Caroline Sisneros for her tremendous cooperation in sending us copies of George's oral history. As a result this website can now tell George's story in his own words. And what a story it is!
A number of improvements have been made to the site including a Downloads page and a commenting facility has been incorporated into this blog. I expect we'll be fine tuning and fixing glitches for the next few days. Please do let us know if you spot any!
History of Hollywood Production Sound Recording Equipment & Workflows Thread
If you're
interested in the history of film sound
production and post-production, an
interesting news group thread has been
started by Ron Scelza. Ron describes it
as:
Time
Track -- "The History of Hollywood
Production Sound recording equipments
& workflows" from the 35MM Variable
density track recorders in trucks to the
Zaxcom Deva on location: As Hollywood
changes technology the world of
production adapts to its
changes.
You can read it
HERE.
Vitaphone Exhibition
If you live
in California or planning a trip to LA
later this year, you may be interested in
what seems to be a fascinating exhibition
run by the Science and Technology
Council. As they say on their
website:
The
Council’s exhibition entitled
“In Synch: The Birth of
Vitaphone” tells the remarkable
story of the Vitaphone Corporation by
showcasing the people, the inventions and
the impact of this revolutionary
technology. It features an original lathe
used for cutting Vitaphone wax records; a
projector turntable; original wax, metal
and plastic discs; and a special keepsake
of Jack Warner’s – the
original sound-mixing panel from The Jazz
Singer.
It runs until
December 2006. If anyone visits the
exhibit and is allowed to take a picture
of the mixing desk that George Groves
used in 1927, I'd really appreciate a
copy for this web site.
Bob Allen 1925 -2006
Bob had a lengthy career in the film and television industries as a sound recordist and sound mixer. He worked on a wide range of films, on everything from The Adventures of Black Beauty to Fred Zinneman’s classic thriller Day of the Jackal. His first film credit was in 1959 and his last exactly forty years later. His filmography can be found HERE. Bob was 81 and is survived by his widow Shirley. He will be sorely missed.
Bob Allen is pictured above with Hilda Barrow unveiling the BFI plaque at George Groves' birthplace in June 1996