The Forgotten Tech of Silent Film: Two Turntables and a Microphone
2025-01-03
In the 1920s, struggling British cinemas adopted the Panatrope, a two-turntable record player, as a cheap way to enhance silent films. A skilled musician, Reginald Johnson, pushed the machine's boundaries, pioneering DJ-like techniques by creatively blending record segments to create unique soundtracks. While briefly popular, the Panatrope was quickly superseded by the advent of Movietone's sound-on-film technology. This story highlights not only technological obsolescence but also the challenges faced by the British film industry during this era.
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