Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-05-29
WORK OF THE WIZARD.
A Description of his Latest and Most won-
derfuI Invention, the Kinetograph-Op-
era and Prize Fights From a Distance-A

A Description of His Latest and Most Won
derful Invention, the Kinetograph-Op
era and Prize Fights From Distance-A
Talk With Edison.
NEW YORK, May 2s.-The details as to Edi
sons latest and most wonderful invention
the kinetograph, the completion of which
was announced exclusively in Pittsburg In
The DISPATCH, were made public to-day
Three or four years ago, in a magazine arti
cle Edison, the electric wizard wrote that
he would produces machine which should
record and reproduce motion as the pbono
graph recorded and reproduced sound. 9th.
er electrical would-be wizards pooh-poohed
the scheme. The electrical periodicals
secuted the idea and irreverent newspapers
told Edison that he talked too much. That
made Mr.. Edison angry, and he registered a
vow that he would accomplish all he had
said and more. He would reproduce the
image of living, moving, speaking human
being, and not only one image, but q dozen
images together, or 40 of them; whole opera
company if you like.
The machine is at last perfected, and when
the reporter called he found the great in
ventor gleeful because of his success.
Eyes, it's true" he said. "You can sit in
your parlor and look at big screen and see
Chauncey Depew come out just as # he was
introducing Stanley at the Metropolitan
Opera House. He will walk up to the front
of the stage and bow and smile and take q
drink of water and start Off with his oration.
Every time your eyes see him open his
mouth your ears will hear what he says, that
is if he says anything.
Seeing and Hearing an Opera.
"Just the same way with an opera. You
watch the screen, and see picture of the
stage, full size. Marie Jansen comes out and
sings, and the band will play a charming
waltzing minuet,' and then she dances
around, and the audience applauds. Maybe
| DeWolf Hopper comes in and cracks joke,
| or Digby Bell wakes up from his 25 years
sleep and asks if the New Yorks have won
| game yet"
"How do you expect to do all that, Mr..
."If it is desired to reproduce an opera or a
play Will get the company to give dress
rehearsal for me. place back of the Or
chestra, on table, a compound machine
consisting of phonograph and kineto-
uous work. The eorchestra plays, the curtain
| rises and the opera begins. Both machines
work simultaneously, one recording sound
Sass taking e
ond. Afterward the Photographic strip is
developed and replaced in the machine,
protecting lens is substituted for the photo.
graphic lens, and the reproducing part of
the phonograph is adjusted. Then, by means
of a calcium light, the effect is reproduced
life size on white curtain, reproducing to
the audience the original scene, with all its
sounds and all the motions of the actors,
exactly as in the original scene"
The phonograph which Mr.. Edison will use
In his compound motion an0 sound repro
graphs now in common use. He said yester-
day that he had now in use about 500 phono-
graphs, Of which he was taking constant
observations. The result of all these OBJ
servations he will embody in the improved
phonograph to beused with the kinetograph.
Description of the Device.
The kinetograph is nothing more nor less
than photograph camera arranged in a new
way to do new work. Its name implies its
use. The name is derived from the Greek
words meaning ''to move" and ''to write"
and the machine literally furnishes a COM
plete record of all the motions made before
it. 1t photographs action. AS Edison says;
The kinetograph does for the eye what the
box camera Mr.. Edison places roll of gela-
tine film about three fourths of an inch wide
and of any length desired. The interior of
similar to that on which the ordinary roll
cameras are made The gelatine strip is un-
rolled from one spindle and rero1led on
another, and in passing from the first spindle
to the second Is carried before the lens Of
the camera. The shutters of the camera are
arranged to be worked by the shaft attached
to the cylinder of the photograph. This
shaft also works the spindles which carry
the rolls of film.
The mechanism of this camera is SO ar
ranged that when the shutters open the
spindles stop and the gelatine film is fixed
before the lens. In less than the forty-sixth
part of a second the photograph is taken,
the shutters snap, the spindIes turn, and the
gelatine slip moves on for a new photo
graph: The arrangement is so complete that
t6 perfect photographs are taken in one sec-
ond
"The trouble with all attempts heretofore
made to reproduce action and motion by
photographs could not be taken in series
with sufficient rapidity to catch accurately
the motion it was desired to reproduce.
ming horses in the thousandth part of one
second, had the idea, but he failed because
he could take only halfa dozen photographs
at time. All these photographs, if repro
and imperfect motion.
Forty-six photographs Second.
"My idea was to take series of instan-
taneous photographs of motions so rapidly
that in the reproduction the Photographic
representatives become resolved into pure
motion, instead of a series of Jerks The
kinetograph takes a series of 40 photographs
in one second and keeps it up as long as de- |
sired. 1t starts, moves, stops, uncloses the |
shutter, and starts on, 46 times O second. |
The result when reproduced is a pure mo-
tion."
To illustrate what he had said, Mr.. Edison |
took one of the rolls of gelatine film which |
had been through the kinetograph and |
showed 1t to the reporter. On it was photo. |
graphed one of the boys in his laboratory. |
The photographs were about half an inch |
square and were taken in the film at inter |
walls of about one inch. They represented |
the boy in the act of taking off his hat |
and bowling. Between the first view and |
the last of the series the complete motion of |
removing the hat and making the bow was |
clearly discernable but between any two |
consecutive views there was no apparent |
change in the position of the boys arm or |
head, In the first view the boys hand was |
at his side, gradually it was raised toward |
his head, and his head inclined forward. |
after which the hat was re-
placed.
"To reproduce perfectly complete record |
of pure notion" continued Mr.. Edison, "it |
is necessary that the photographs be taken |
at the rate of 46 per second. Any smaller
number would show irregularities and a |
break in the motion. There was machine |
jeot in motion, but it would not work fast
enough. 1t reproduced an imperfect and |
jerky motion. like this" and he illustrated |
by raising his arm in series of short jerks
to his shoulder.
The Main Purpose in View.
The idea which has actuated our Edison in
his work on the kinctograph is the repro
duction of opera. He does not mean to show
on his white screen simply lot of sill
houettes, but to represent the stage with
the actors ON it, knowing around and speak
ing, or singing, exactly as you see them and |