Photoplayer
Thephotoplayeris an automaticmechanical orchestraused bymovie theatresto producephotoplay musicto accompanysilent films.
Operation
[edit]The central instruments in a photo player were apianoandpercussion;some machines also addedpipe organsand methods for manually creatingsound effects.Like aplayer piano,the photo player played music automatically by readingpiano rolls(rolls of paper with perforations), but the photo player could hold two rolls: one that would play while the other was prepared. Common sound effects included gunshots, bells and drums, which were generated bypulling chainscalled "cow-tails". Some photo players feature electric sound effects, such as sirens, automobile horns, and other oddities. A photo player operator had to load the paper rolls, start the machine and add the manual sound effects and percussion using the cow-tails.[1]
History
[edit]Approximately 8,000 to 10,000 photoplayers were produced during the boom era of silent films, between 1910 and 1928.[2]Around a dozen manufacturers produced the instruments, including the American Photo Player Company, which made theFotoplayer;the Operators Piano Company ofChicago,which made the Reproduco; TheBartola Musical Instrument Companyof Oshkosh, Wisconsin, maker of the Bartola;Seeburg;andWurlitzer.[1]The popularity of the photoplayer sharply declined in the mid-1920s as silent films were replaced bysound films,and few machines still exist today.[1]
See also
[edit]- Theatre organs:played by an organist, they could produce a wider range of sound and were popular in larger theatres
- American Fotoplayer,a type of photoplayer by the American Photo Player Co.
References
[edit]- ^abcOrd-Hume, Arthur W.J.G. (2003). Robert Palmieri (ed.).Piano: An Encyclopedia(2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 411.ISBN0-415-93796-5.
- ^"What is a photoplayer?".Encyclopaedia of Australian Theatre Organs.Retrieved26 December2008.
External links
[edit]- Glenwood Vaudeville Revue Wurlitzer
- Joe Rinaudo playing the American Fotoplayer on "California's Gold with Huell Howser"
- Silent Cinema Society - American Fotoplayer
- American Treasure Tour Museum - Seeburg "R" Fhotoplayer
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