Sound-on-disc is a class of

sound film A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...

processes using a

phonograph A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...

or other disc to record or play back

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

in sync with a

motion picture A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

. Early sound-on-disc systems used a mechanical interlock with the

movie projector A movie projector (or film projector) is an optics, opto-mechanics, mechanical device for displaying Film, motion picture film by projecting it onto a movie screen, screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illuminat ...

, while more recent systems use

timecode A timecode (alternatively, time code) is a sequence of numeric codes generated at regular intervals by a timing synchronization system. Timecode is used in video production, show control and other applications which require temporal coordinatio ...

Examples of sound-on-disc processes

France

* The Chronophone ( Léon Gaumont) "Filmparlants" and phonoscènes 1902–1910 (experimental), 1910–1917 (industrial)Thomas Louis Jacques Schmitt, « The genealogy of clip culture » in Henry Keazor, Thorsten Wübbena (dir.) ''Rewind, Play, Fast Forward'', transcript,

United States

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 ...

introduced by

Warner Bros. 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 ...

in 1926 *

Photokinema ''Photo-Kinema'' (some sources say ''Phono-Kinema'') was a sound-on-disc system for motion pictures invented by Orlando Kellum. 1921 introduction The system was first used for a small number of short films, mostly made in 1921. These films prese ...

, short-lived system, invented by Orlando Kellum in 1921 (used by D. W. Griffith for '' Dream Street'') * Digital Theater Systems

United Kingdom

* British Phototone, short-lived UK system using 12-inch discs, introduced in 1928-29 ('' Clue of the New Pin'')

Other

* Systems with the film projector linked to a

or cylinder phonograph, developed by

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

( Kinetophone, Kinetophonograph), Selig Polyscope, French companies such as Gaumont ( Chronomégaphone, Chronophone), and

Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...

, and British systems.

Film censorship

During the 1920s and early 1930s, films in the United States were subject to

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

by state and city censor boards, which often required cuts of scenes before a film would be licensed for exhibition. While films using the

sound-on-film Sound-on-film is a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying a picture is recorded on photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an Analog s ...

process could accommodate a patch for a requested cut with ease, a film using sound-on-disc would require an expensive retake. If the cost of compliance with a censor board was too high, the film would not be shown in that state or city.

References

Film sound production History of film Film and video technology Motion picture film formats {{Filming-stub