Triergon

Triergon ( German: Tri-Ergon ) - the first sound cinema system with optical sound recording on film , patented in 1919 by three German inventors Josef Engel, Hans Voigt and Joseph Massol ^[1] . The name is made up of two Greek words and literally means "Work of Three." The technology provides accurate synchronization of sound with the image, regardless of the settings of the movie projector , through the use of a common medium . The first demonstration took place during the premiere of the film “Pyro” ( German: Der Brandstifter ) on September 17, 1922 in Germany ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] . Due to technical features, the standard did not receive commercial distribution, but became the basis for the development of most similar systems around the world.

Content

Technical Features

The system provides for the creation of a photographic method on a film of an optical sound track of variable density . To place it, a non-standard film of 42 mm wide is used ^[5] ^[3] ^[6] . It differs from the usual 35 mm film by a wider gap between one of the perforation rows and the edge of the film, which makes it possible to record a phonogram of 7 mm wide ^[7] . Such dimensions made it possible to ensure satisfactory sound characteristics over a wide sound track without changing the aspect ratio of the 18 * 24 mm “ silent ” frame that was usual in those years. The frequency of shooting and projection is also set to non-standard - 20 frames per second ^[8] ^[3] . The main consideration when choosing this parameter was to ensure a sufficient speed of motion of the film past the sound recording and sound-reading light stroke necessary for a sufficient frequency range of the phonogram.

The non-standard film width and frame rate did not allow the distribution of Triergon in commercial cinema . None of the existing film projectors was adapted to work with such a film, and the subsequent introduction of a universal standard of 24 frames per second for sound films made it impossible to rent such films. As a result, not a single full-length film was shot using this system, and all existing paintings with the Triergon soundtrack remained experimental, capturing musical numbers and performances by famous speakers. Nevertheless, the format became the prototype of most subsequent systems, many of which were widely used. For the first time, developers used a low - inertia gas - light lamp for recording, providing high-quality high-frequency recording. In addition, a flywheel was used for the first time to stabilize the speed of film in a sound unit, and an electrostatic loudspeaker was used to reproduce sound.

In 1927, after Joseph Angle's trip to the United States , the 20th Century Fox film company bought the rights to use patents from Triergon AG for $ 50,000 ^[9] ^[3] . In the same year, Massol demonstrated his technology in Moscow ^[10] . The standard was not used in its original form, but its elements served as the basis for the development of the American systems " Forest Phonofilm " and " Moviton ", as well as the Soviet " Tagone ". However, the Soviet system, like most modern ones, was more sophisticated due to the use of inertialess optical light modulator based on the Kerr effect ^[11] .

Notes

↑ Fundamentals of Film Engineering, 1965 , p. 379.
↑ Technique of Film and Television, 1975 , p. 66.
↑ ¹ ² ³ ⁴ Tri-Ergon (Swedish) . Film Sound Sweden. Date of treatment January 9, 2015.
↑ Der Brandstifter . Progressive Silent Film List . Silent Era. Date of treatment January 9, 2015.
↑ The End of Silent Cinema, 1929 , p. 17.
↑ Film sizes, marvelous scope for collecting . More than one hundred years of Film Sizes. Date of treatment April 11, 2015.
↑ Movie Restoration, 2000 , p. 316.
↑ Goldovsky, 1971 , p. 186.
↑ Cinema Technology, 1998 , p. eight.
↑ Triergon 1 (Russian) . "Cinema Technician." Date of treatment January 9, 2015.
↑ T.A. Platonova. P.G. Tager and his "ticket to life" (Russian) . The first steps in creating a sound movie in the USSR . Polytech Museum at VDNH. Date of treatment January 11, 2015.

Literature

Goldovsky , E. Chapter I // Film projection in questions and answers. - 1st ed. - M.,: Art , 1971. - S. 42-47. - 220 p.

E.M. Goldovsky . Fundamentals of film technology / L.O. Eisymont. - M.,: “Art”, 1965. - 636 p.

Weisenberg E. End of silent cinema. - L.,: “Teakinopechat”, 1929. - 32 p.

Paul Read, Mark-Paul Meyer. Sound Restoration Case Studies // Restoration of Motion Picture Film = Movie Restoration. - Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2000 .-- S. 314-316. - 368 p. - ISBN 0-7506-2793-X .

On the 80th anniversary of the invention of cinema (Russian) // " Technique of cinema and television ": magazine. - 1975. - No. 12 . - S. 64–67 . - ISSN 0040-2249 .

Bernard Happé. The History of Sound in the Cinema (Eng.) // “Cinema Technology”: magazine. - 1998. - No. 7/8 . - P. 8-13 . - ISSN 0995-2251 . Archived October 11, 2010.

Links

Tri-Ergon (Swedish) . Date of treatment January 3, 2015.

[_ec08918b965ed3ba-1] Fundamentals of Film Engineering, 1965 , p. 379.

[_768002dc0003ccdc-2] Technique of Film and Television, 1975 , p. 66.

[sved-3] ¹ ² ³ ⁴ Tri-Ergon (Swedish) . Film Sound Sweden. Date of treatment January 9, 2015.

[4] Der Brandstifter . Progressive Silent Film List . Silent Era. Date of treatment January 9, 2015.

[_a508ff2c13399c8f-5] The End of Silent Cinema, 1929 , p. 17.

[6] Film sizes, marvelous scope for collecting . More than one hundred years of Film Sizes. Date of treatment April 11, 2015.

[_3d8ba2253d761b7d-7] Movie Restoration, 2000 , p. 316.

[_070be428ddc2146d-8] Goldovsky, 1971 , p. 186.

[_b759f0d5d5df042f-9] Cinema Technology, 1998 , p. eight.

[10] Triergon 1 (Russian) . "Cinema Technician." Date of treatment January 9, 2015.

[11] T.A. Platonova. P.G. Tager and his "ticket to life" (Russian) . The first steps in creating a sound movie in the USSR . Polytech Museum at VDNH. Date of treatment January 11, 2015.