The 7:30 p.m. Thursday evening program will explore Hollywood's progression from the silent film era to the age of talking pictures, and will feature a presentation by Robert Gitt, a preservation officer at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
"Cutting to the Chase" will showcase rare still photographs and dozens of film extracts, including examples of turn-of-the-last-century pioneer developments such as the Gaumont Chronophone, Edison's Kinetophone, Kellum Talking Pictures and the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system introduced in the 1920s with its famous "All-Talking, All-Singing, All-Dancing" productions.
"The birth of sound did not begin and end with the 1927 release of 'The Jazz Singer'," observed Gitt. "From the first experiments in the late 19th century through the introduction of talking pictures in the 1920s and subsequent developments through the 1940s, the evolution of sound vastly altered the motion picture industry. Sound didn't suddenly happen; it had intrigued filmmakers since the birth of the motion picture in the 1890s."
The presentation also will include "in house" Hollywood studio sound department demonstration reels and theater sound tests of the 1930s and 1940s. In addition, rival American sound-on-film processes such as DeForest Phonofilm, Fox Movietone and RCA Photophone will be discussed and demonstrated along with numerous advances made in optical soundtracks.
"By highlighting the early innovations of sound in film, the Council hopes to educate, inform and preserve the history of a fundamental development that transformed the motion picture industry," said Andy Maltz, director of the Science and Technology Council.
With UCLA since 1977, Gitt has been involved in restoring silent films and early Vitaphone sound-on-disk shorts and features as well as the restoration of numerous sound films and previews including "Macbeth," "The Big Sleep," and "My Darling Clementine."
Established in 2003 by the Academy's Board of Governors, the Science and Technology Council provides a forum for the exchange of information while promoting cooperation among diverse technological interests within the industry as well as sponsoring publications, fostering educational activities and preserving the history of science and technology of motion pictures.
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