Beschreibung

A lifelong innovator, Yale Ph. D. Lee de Forest invented the three-element vacuum tube which he developed between 1906 and 1916 as a detector, amplifier, and oscillator of radio waves. Beginning in 1918, he began to develop a system for recording and playing back sound by using light patterns on motion picture film. While he received many patents for this technology, he was ignored by the film industry. In order to promote and demonstrate his process he made hundreds of short sound films, found theatres for their showing, and issued publicity to gain audiences for his invention. Yet he didn t receive the acclaim he sought until 25 years later, when in 1959 he was awarded an Oscar. Why? This question is asked and answered in: Lee de Forest: King of Radio, Television, and Film.

Inhaltsangabe

Chapter 1 Born to Invent.- The Century of the Inventor.- Toward Communication Without Wires.- Inventing the Motion Picture.- Enter Lee de Forest.- Toward the New Century.- Chapter 2 The Race for Wireless.- The Significance of Marconi.- De Forest s Early Career.- Seeking a Better Detector.- The Complex Wireless Business.- A Silent Film Industry Emerges.- Chapter 3 The Meaning of the Audion.- The Dawn of Modern Electronics.- De Forest Creates the Audion.- Broadcasting s Pioneers.- De Forest as an Early Broadcaster.- De Forest s Complex Love Lives.- Chapter 4 California Days.- Film Finds Language and Locations.- De Forest and the Law.- Selling the Audion.- The High Bridge Broadcasts.- The Watershed Year 1920.- Chapter 5 Radio s Arrival.- The RCA Agreements.- Defining American Radio Broadcasting.- Hugo Gernsback and Radio News.- Creating a Radio Audience.- Radio Technology Matures.- Chapter 6 Phonofilm, the Promise.- De Forest s Inspiration.- Inventing Phonofilm.- The Case Connection.- The Arc of Family.- The Silent Film as Mature Medium.- Chapter 7 Phonofilm, the Realization.- Case is Impatient.- De Forest Introduces Phonofilm.- The Business of Phonofilm.- De Forest Diversions.- What the Phonofilms Say.- Chapter 8 Phonofilm, the Rejection.- A Deaf Ear to Phonofilm.- Death by Vitaphone.- The End of Mary.- The Industry and the Public Adapt.- Sound-On-Film Technology Wars.- Chapter 9 Phonofilm, the Lawyers.- The Fox-Case Suit.- The Final Days of Phonofilm.- The Loneliness of Lee.- Hollywood Happiness.- Old Patents and New Awards.- Chapter 10 Lesson and Legacy.- The Father of Radio.- Awards and Accolades.- Other Opinions.- And In The End.- The Significance of Lee De Forest.

Klappentext

The life-long inventor, Lee de Forest invented the three-element vacuum tube used between 1906 and 1916 as a detector, amplifier, and oscillator of radio waves. Beginning in 1918 he began to develop a light valve, a device for writing and reading sound using light patterns. While he received many patents for his process, he was initially ignored by the film industry. In order to promote and demonstrate his process he made several hundred sound short films, he rented space for their showing; he sold the tickets and did the publicity to gain audiences for his invention. Lee de Forest officially brought sound to film in 1919. Lee De Forest: King of Radio, Television, and Film is about both invention and early film making; de Forest as the scientist and producer, director, and writer of the content. This book tells the story of de Forest s contribution in changing the history of film through the incorporation of sound. The text includes primary source historical material, U. S. patents and richly-illustrated photos of Lee de Forest s experiments. Readers will greatly benefit from an understanding of the transition from silent to audio motion pictures, the impact this had on the scientific community and the popular culture, as well as the economics of the entertainment industry.