Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1913-01-24

just like regular movies" A large
man in evening dress strobe down
flight of stairs and to the front of
lavishly furnished setting. When he
reached the front of the stage"
things began to happen.
First the big man thrust out one arm
in customary attitude and then and
even the spectators who had known
what was to come were surprised-he
began to talk.
Ladies and Gentlemen, " he began,
and there followed an introduction to
the first exhibition of talking moving
pictures, real talking movies" that
has ever been seen. The speech
was delivered in carefully modulated
tones, with articulation of the clearest,
each action coinciding exactly with
each expression. 1t was so lifelike and
natural that gasps of surprise and won
derment could be heard from different
parts of the darkened room.
In the course of his talk the speak
ing picture took up plate and dashed
it to the floor. 1t flew into pieces with
a crash and each fragment made its
individual noise in bouncing up and
back. After that the picture blew
horn and a whistle and then man
came on and played the piano. A
girl appeared and played Way Down
Upon the Suwanee River" on the vi
din, and another girl sang some of the
old songs, while the pianist and the
violinist accompanied her.
They went away-you could hear
their footsteps as they walked up the
stairs and another man appeared
with two collie dogs, whose loud banks
were as natural as life. 1t was hard
to realize that those were not living
beings in flesh and blood until the
lights came on and broke the illusion.
That was one complete reel and it
had taken just six minutes to show,
two minutes longer than the ordinary
photograph disk revolves.
Four additional sketches" were ex-
hibited and in each the illusion was
maintained. Two of these Mr.. Edison
hadn't seen himself before and he
laughed heartily as an Irish politician
in one of them delivered an impas-
stoned political Grafton which his daugh-
ter, standing behind him, read to him
out of a newspaper. The most start
i
ling manifestation of the synchrony of
sound and action came when a brick
was sent crashing through window
plainly hear the tinkle of each piece of
glass as it fell.
Men have been working upon the
proposition of moving pictures that
would talk for long, long time. Mr..
Edison has been at it for four years.
He has literally 'slept on the job, " as
his employees describe his absorption
in his work, and when he "sleeps on the
job" he has the reputation of making
things go.
The moving talking idea is based
upon two comparatively old PROPOSE
tons. The talking machine is old and
the motion picture machine is old But
they have never been harnessed up to-
gether before successfully. Other in
ventors have had actors talk into records
and then go and act the,piece separate
ly, but the illusion wasn't there, ex-
cept in spots.
Mr.. Edison's way is to have the talk
ing and moving picture machines get
ting their impressions at the same time.
They are set up side by side, at any
actors, and as the characters gesture
is taken by the "movie," his words are
taken by the "talker." When all that
is done the movie" is placed in its
usual place with its rays illuminating
the screen back of which is the
"talker."
How to get these two machines to
work together is the problem on which
Mr.. Edison has worked four years.
The timer" is some sort of contri-
vance that is coupled up between the
two machines. The talking machine
can run at only a certain speed, the
speed with which the sound is made,
and Mr. Edison has invented a mechan.
ism which prevents the moving ma
chine from going any faster.
1.-The kinetophone, as the inventor
has named his latest child, can be usec
in room of almost any size. The one
it was shown in Thursday was too small
Mr.. Hutchinson said, to get the besr
effect. In big theatre seating 1000 OF
5000 persons the best results can bt
obtained. The invention has been trieC
privately in one of these and every
sound could be plainly heard at tn,
very top of the gallery. New Yorl
Sun.
AE AIRING TILE IGLT