Wanna see it in action?
9 Comments on American Fotoplayer – How Silent Movies Were Scored in the Movie House
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Very cool. You’d really have to be on top of your game to manage all the effects. I didn’t know (until now) that it was done by one person, live.
Yes… very cool. It is so sad what happened to all all the old theater organs. In the larger houses, the pipes were so big that when they converted to talkies, they couldn’t remove them, but filled them with cement. This one-man-band is remarkable in so many ways. 🙂 Great post!
Most of the old intact theater organs were bought by rich Japanese and shipped to Japan. There are very few left her in the states.
Well, better than scrapping them.
This fascinates me. I love silent films and seeing the fotoplayer in action makes me appreciate them even more. Thanks for posting this BFH !
Phenomenal. The craftsmanship and technology of the time made life more enjoyable for those who were near a theater.
Wow. What an art to master.
I did not know it was like that.
Every showing at different theaters was – different.
I wonder if theaters had advertising attraction with a well known “Fotoplayer DJ” (If you will) that was especially good. “Oh, we always go to the Rialto to see any movies! Their sounds guy is the best!”
Also just realized silent movies weren’t so silent.
Pretty neat history lesson! I can see how entertaining it was to go to the picture show back then, especially if there was a particularly good artist playing the fotoplayer.
And as in any live performance, I’m sure there were mistakes as well accidentally pulling the wrong sound effect. Of course if it was good for a few laughs, some of them probably got planned into the performance!
That guy is really earning his dollar in that second video!
Good things once came out of Oakland. That is a great machine/instrument.
i took piano lessons because Fotoplayer lessons werent available. That man was a.w.e.s.o.m.e.
Thanks!