1910 Chronophone - What a strange contraption...

[Curt A]

In 1910 Gaumont demonstrated his Chronophone system, which synchronised sound and film, at the Gaumont Palace in Paris. The compressed-air amplifier, which he called the Eglephone, was just a part of the whole system. The volume was enough for an audience of 4000. Initially the longest moving picture that could be made with synchronised sound was only 200ft, due to the limited playing time of the Gramophone record. (Projection was at 16 frames per second) Gaumont surmounted this problem by having two gramophone platters; a deft operator could switch between them to give a more or less continuous soundtrack.

[alang]

Wow, that’s an interesting piece of history. I’ve heard mention about the Chronophone before, but did not know it used compressed air amplification. The method appears to be quite different from the Auxetophone though. Is this a working machine? If yes, how does the volume compare to an Auxetophone?

Thanks for sharing this amazing machine.
Andreas

[OrthoFan]

Apparently, there are some surviving examples of the films --

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bbuh7eCH5Gs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0wWrkVqCyU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBjS1oFLKOg

OF

[martinola]

What a strange looking beast! From what I remember reading (and looking at the links), this process involved the actors miming to pre-recorded discs. This certainly gives the voice a volume and presence that the Projected Kinetophone process couldn't match. On the other I prefer the simultaneous recordings in that they seem more natural. Anyway, thanks for sharing this Curt!

Martin