HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The bouncing ball is a virtual device used in motion picture films and
video recording Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) system ...
s to visually indicate the
rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...
of a
song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...
, helping audiences to sing along with live or prerecorded music. As the song's
lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...
are displayed on the screen in a
lower third In the television industry, a lower third is a graphic overlay placed in the title-safe lower area of the screen, though not necessarily the entire lower third of it, as the name suggests. In its simplest form, a lower third can just be tex ...
of projected or character-generated text, an
animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...
ball bounces across the top of the words, landing on each
syllable A syllable is a basic unit of organization within a sequence of speech sounds, such as within a word, typically defined by linguists as a ''nucleus'' (most often a vowel) with optional sounds before or after that nucleus (''margins'', which are ...
when it is to be sung. The bouncing ball is mainly used for English language songs in video recordings, however, in Japan, a similar device is used where the text changes color as it is sung, just like in
karaoke is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song. I ...
.


History

The bouncing ball technique was invented by
Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 11, 1972) was an American animator and studio owner. Born in Kraków, in Austrian Poland, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became a pioneer in the development ...
originally for the " Ko-Ko" ''
Song Car-Tunes '' Ko-Ko Song Car-Tunes'', ''Song Car-Tunes'', or (as some sources erroneously say) ''Sound Car-Tunes'', is a series of short three-minute animated films produced by Max Fleischer and Dave Fleischer between May 1924 and September 1927, pionee ...
'' (1924–1927) and revised in 1929 as ''
Screen Songs ''Screen Songs'' (formerly known as ''KoKo Song Car-Tunes'') are a series of animated cartoons produced at the Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures between 1929 and 1938. Paramount brought back the sing-along cartoons in 19 ...
'' (1929–1938) for Paramount. It was introduced in March 1924 with the film ''Come Take a Trip in My Airship''. In early ''Song Car-Tunes'' such as "
Margie Margie is a feminine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of the related names Margaret, Marjorie, or Margarita, all of which mean "pearl". Margie may refer to: People * Margie Abbott (born 1958), Australian businesswoman * Margie Ac ...
" and
Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...
's "When the Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves for Alabam the ball is animated, looking like a beach ball clumsily hitting the words without precise timing. This awkwardness was eliminated by filming the ball live over printed lyrics, and the ball attached to a black baton that "bounced" a white disc over the tops of the lyrics. The movement was captured on high-contrast film that rendered the stick invisible. The ball would usually appear as white-on-black, though sometimes the ball and lyrics would be superimposed over (darkened) still drawings or photographs or even live-action footage. While the Screen Song series started out employing standard songs such as " The Yankee Doodle Boy", " My Pony Boy", and "
Yes! We Have No Bananas "Yes! We Have No Bananas" is an American novelty song by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn published March 23, 1923. It became a major hit that year (placing No. 1 for five weeks) when it was recorded by Billy Jones (singer), Billy Jones, Billy Murra ...
", the series soon integrated live action appearances of celebrities of Broadway, radio, and recordings. Many of these Screen Songs were planned as promotions for live theatrical appearances. This was part of a new marketing plan launched by Paramount for the 1930–1931 season. Rudy Vallee was the first on-screen celebrity, appearing in '' Betty Co-Ed'' (1931), and returned in "Kitty from Kansas City" (1931). He also appeared in a cameo in " Rudy Vallee Melodies" (1932). Other celebrities included The Boswell Sisters singing "When It's Sleepy Time Down South" (1932),
Arthur Tracy Arthur Tracy (born Abba Avrom Tracovutsky; June 25, 1899 – October 5, 1997) was an American vocalist and actor, billed as The Street Singer. His performances in theatre, films and radio, along with his recordings, brought him international f ...
in "Russian Lullaby" (1931) and "Romantic Melodies" (1932),
Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann; January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American singer and actress. Known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and her leading roles in musical theatre, musical theater,Obituary ''Variety Obitua ...
in "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" (1932), "You Try Somebody Else" (1932), " Time on My Hands" (1932), and "Song Shopping" (1933). The Mills Brothers appeared in three Screen Songs: " I Ain't Got Nobody" (1932), "
Dinah In the Book of Genesis, Dinah (; ) was the seventh child and only named daughter of Leah and Jacob. The episode of her rape by Shechem, son of a Canaanite or Hivite prince, and the subsequent revenge of her brothers Simeon and Levi, commonly ...
" (1933), and "When Yuba Plays the Rumba on the Tuba" (1933).
Lillian Roth Lillian Roth (December 13, 1910 – May 12, 1980) was an American singer and actress. Her life story was told in the 1955 film ''I'll Cry Tomorrow'', in which she was portrayed by Susan Hayward, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best ...
appeared in "Down Among the Sugar Cane" (1932) and " Ain't She Sweet" (1933). Rose Marie (later famous from television's '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'') was an established child singer in the late 1920s and made a number of early
Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National Pictures, First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone is the last major analog sound-on-disc sys ...
shorts for
Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
billed as "Baby Rose Marie". She appeared in "Sing Babies, Sing" (1933). Radio comedians
Stoopnagle and Budd Stoopnagle and Budd were a popular radio comedy team of the 1930s, who are sometimes cited as forerunners of the Bob and Ray style of radio comedy. Along with Raymond Knight (radio), Raymond Knight (''The Cuckoo Hour''), they were radio's first s ...
appeared in the zany ''Stoopnocracy'' that also featured 12-year-old Harold Nicholas of the famous Nicholas Brothers Dance Team as a baby Cab Calloway. By 1935, the Screen Songs series capitalized on the new Swing Era and featured appearances by a number of the Big Band Orchestras. This series of films was more commercially oriented with the films being booked a week in advance of live appearances of each orchestra. From 1935 to 1938, the "
Screen Songs ''Screen Songs'' (formerly known as ''KoKo Song Car-Tunes'') are a series of animated cartoons produced at the Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures between 1929 and 1938. Paramount brought back the sing-along cartoons in 19 ...
" featured the orchestras of Abe Lyman, Richard Huber, Hal Kemp, Vincent Lopez, Joe Reichman, Dick Stable, Nat Brandwynne, Hal King, Shep Fields, Gus Arnheim, Jay Freeman, Jerry Baline, Bert Block, Frank Dailey, and Jimmy Dorsey. Although a popular attraction, the Screen Songs series was retired after nine years. The Screen Songs were revived in 1945 starting with "When G.I. Johnny Comes Home" and continued into the early 1950s using an animated ball with a bounce cycle rendered on pan cells
cel animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation of the 20th century, until there was a shif ...
. Some modern video editing programs offer a "bouncing ball" feature. Others, as in karaoke, achieve the same effect by highlighting each displayed syllable as it is sung. An attempt was made to revive the series in 1963 with "Hobo's Holiday", using a more modern
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
style. Meanwhile, in the United States, younger generations of children continued to be familiar with the cartoons from television rebroadcasts into the 1970s and home video collections. They are now present on the Internet, on sites such as YouTube and Dailymotion.


References


Bibliography

* * {{Animation Audiovisual introductions in 1924 Special effects Animation techniques Film and video terminology Karaoke Sing-along Articles containing video clips History of animation