Category Archives: Film
First Sound on Film Demonstration
Ninety years ago today, Joseph Tykociński-Tykociner publicly demonstrated for the first time a motion picture with a soundtrack optically recorded directly onto the film. In the first sounds ever publicly heard from a composite image-and-audio film, Helena Tykociner, the inventor’s wife, … Continue reading
Posted in Film, This day in information
Leave a comment
Mickey Mouse speaks!
Today on 1929, the Walt Disney Studio released the animated short film The Karnival Kid, the first in which Mickey Mouse speaks. During his first eight appearances Mickey whistled, laughed, cried and otherwise vocally expressed himself. Mickey’s first spoken words … Continue reading
Posted in Film, This day in information
Leave a comment
The Horror of 3D Films
Today in 1953, the horror film House of Wax premiered, the first 3D film with stereophonic sound. From Wikipedia: “Due to growing popularity of 3D and an increase in 3D screens, an increasing amount of newly released films have been screened in … Continue reading
Posted in Film, This day in information
Leave a comment
Moving Pictures: Zoopraxiscope
Today in 1882, Eadweard Muybridge lectured at the Royal Institution in London in front of a sellout audience, demonstrating the Zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures that pre-dated the flexible perforated film strip. An 1878 experiment by Muybridge in the United States using 24 … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Photography, This day in information
Leave a comment
From the Dead Media Archives: Laserdisc
Early optical Laserdisc technology was invented by David Paul Gregg in 1958. By the time Gregg had patented his transparent videodisc system in 1961 and again in 1969 he decided to sell the patents to electronics manufacturer Philips. Philips had … Continue reading
Posted in Dead media, Film, Video
Leave a comment
From Analog to Digital: Film and Music
Today in 2007, Netflix announced its billionth DVD delivery. Today, with more than 23 million streaming members globally, Netflix claims it is “the world’s leading Internet subscription service for enjoying movies and TV shows.” Today in 2010, Apple announced that it has sold … Continue reading
Posted in Apple, Data growth, Digitization, Film, music, Netflix, This day in information
Leave a comment
Bell & Howell Incorporated
Today in 1907, Bell & Howell was founded by movie projectionist Daniel H. Bell and Albert S. Howell in Chicago, Illinois, as a manufacturer of motion picture cameras and projectors. Starting in 1923, Bell & Howell developed and sold the Filmo camera series, … Continue reading
Posted in Film, This day in information
Leave a comment
Cinematographe Patented
Today in 1895, Auguste and Louis Lumière patented the Cinematographe, a device that recorded, developed, and projected films.
Posted in Film, This day in information
Leave a comment
From recording sounds to projecting moving pictures
Today in 1888, Thomas Edison filed a patent for the first movie projector, the “Optical Phonograph,” which projected images just 1/32-inch across. Steven Lubar in InfoCulture: “Thomas Edison was thinking about the phonograph when he decided to invent a moving … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Recorded sound, This day in information
1 Comment
Online Video Vs. DVDs-by-Mail Vs. DVRs
Internet Tipping Point*: In 2006, the number of Netflix subscribers to its DVDs-by-mail service surpassed, for the first time, the number of TiVo subscribers.
Posted in Film, Internet Tipping Point, Netflix, TiVo, Video, World Wide Web
Leave a comment
The Story of Information 