TycoCINEr
October 31, 2016 11:26 AM Subscribe
The Professor Who Made Movies Talk. On June 9, 1922, Dr. Joseph Tycociner, the University of Illinois's first professor of electrical engineering held a public demonstration of his invention that simultaneously recorded sound and picture on the same film, instead of having to sync them on separate contraptions.
"This is an experiment in reproduction of sound. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Halooo!"
Hoping to build upon the bioscope technology he first saw as a child in Manhattan, Dr. Tycociner set out to put sound on film. Like many enterprising inventors of the early 20th century, [he] developed his ideas during an era in which the academic discipline of engineering became firmly established—the creation of which bridged the gap between the roles of the “inventor” and the “scientist.”
Tycociner retired from teaching and tinkering in 1946, but went to do research in a new field he termed zetetics (no, not zeteticism), the study of all human knowlege and culture.
Those in attendance saw harshly lit pictures of people ringing bells, reciting oratory and playing the violin. They stayed close to the microphone -- taken from a telephone, with a megaphone attached to capture the sound. The film’s sound track was plainly visible on the right-hand side of the movie image, a strip that carried the encoded sound by shifting quickly from white to shades of grey and back again.
"This is an experiment in reproduction of sound. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Halooo!"
Hoping to build upon the bioscope technology he first saw as a child in Manhattan, Dr. Tycociner set out to put sound on film. Like many enterprising inventors of the early 20th century, [he] developed his ideas during an era in which the academic discipline of engineering became firmly established—the creation of which bridged the gap between the roles of the “inventor” and the “scientist.”
Tycociner retired from teaching and tinkering in 1946, but went to do research in a new field he termed zetetics (no, not zeteticism), the study of all human knowlege and culture.
As immortalized in "Singin' in the Rain"
With MeFi's own R.F.Simpson!
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 11:35 AM on October 31, 2016
With MeFi's own R.F.Simpson!
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 11:35 AM on October 31, 2016
As immortalized in "Singin' in the Rain"
Not the link I was thinking to see. I was imagining this exchange.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:37 AM on October 31, 2016
Not the link I was thinking to see. I was imagining this exchange.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:37 AM on October 31, 2016
[Betamax joke]
posted by gottabefunky at 12:21 PM on October 31, 2016
posted by gottabefunky at 12:21 PM on October 31, 2016
An interesting fellow. In the fifth link it says that one of his earlier achievements was "equipping the entire Russian naval fleet with wireless radio" in 1904-05. It didn't do them any good against the Japanese, though.
In the article at the first link it says that Tykociner was caught between academic and business cultures after he invented his new sound process. The University of Illinois wouldn't let him do any more research on something that he intended to profit from personally (not unless he gave them the rights to the invention), but on the other side of the fence corporations like GE demanded too much of his time for purely business matters. So he stopped working on it, and before long those corporations had developed their own improved versions of the process. Even in the 1920's there wasn't much room for an inventor who didn't have serious money behind him.
posted by Kevin Street at 2:04 PM on October 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
In the article at the first link it says that Tykociner was caught between academic and business cultures after he invented his new sound process. The University of Illinois wouldn't let him do any more research on something that he intended to profit from personally (not unless he gave them the rights to the invention), but on the other side of the fence corporations like GE demanded too much of his time for purely business matters. So he stopped working on it, and before long those corporations had developed their own improved versions of the process. Even in the 1920's there wasn't much room for an inventor who didn't have serious money behind him.
posted by Kevin Street at 2:04 PM on October 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Even in the 1920's there wasn't much room for an inventor who didn't have serious money behind him.
See Also: Nikola Tesla vs Thomas Edison
posted by ArgentCorvid at 2:20 PM on October 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
See Also: Nikola Tesla vs Thomas Edison
posted by ArgentCorvid at 2:20 PM on October 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Tesla could have had access to all of J P Morgan's money, had Tesla not squandered a bunch of it at Wardenclyffe.
Is that "This is an experiment ..." resampled in very distorted form on a Boards of Canada track? It seems familiar.
posted by scruss at 2:44 PM on October 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Is that "This is an experiment ..." resampled in very distorted form on a Boards of Canada track? It seems familiar.
posted by scruss at 2:44 PM on October 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Ugh, who would want to hear actors talk?
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 7:20 PM on October 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 7:20 PM on October 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
This fact has been added to the Official Eyebrows McGee Compendium of Why Illinois Is The Best State and future conversation partners will be subjected to it without notice!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:56 PM on October 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:56 PM on October 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Super cool. I wonder where on campus he did the work. Also, ILL
posted by persona au gratin at 10:59 PM on October 31, 2016
posted by persona au gratin at 10:59 PM on October 31, 2016
His first public demonstration of the new technology was given in the lecture room of what was then the Physics building at the University of Illinois Urbana campus.
Isn't that where HAL 9000 came from, too?
Speaking machines. No good will come of them.
posted by Devonian at 7:05 AM on November 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
Isn't that where HAL 9000 came from, too?
Speaking machines. No good will come of them.
posted by Devonian at 7:05 AM on November 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
« Older Teen's Head Stuck in Pumpkin | Infinite Loops Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by chavenet at 11:32 AM on October 31, 2016 [5 favorites]