Life, 1929-04-05 · page 3 of 56
Life — April 5, 1929 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Western Electric advertisement**, not satirical content. It promotes the company's sound system for motion pictures, labeled "The Voice of Action." The image shows a film studio scene with microphones and recording equipment, illustrating how sound is captured during movie production. The caption emphasizes the need for absolute silence during recording: "Not even an undesired whisper may enter the sensitive microphones!" The advertisement highlights Western Electric's technological achievement in developing synchronized sound for films—a revolutionary innovation in the late 1920s. It lists major studios using their system (Warner Bros., Paramount, etc.) and promotes sound pictures as the future of entertainment, urging readers to "Watch—and listen!" This reflects the industry's excitement about the transition from silent to "talking" pictures.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
et te ed ae ee + Quiet in the Studio! Not even an undesired whisper may enter the sensitive microphones! Souxp Prcrures ...a product of the telephone UT of a half century’s experience, the Bell Telephone Laboratories devel- oped for Western Elec- tric the first successful system of sound pictures. This system (embracing Vita- phone and Movietone) makes pos- sible a great new art in entertain- ment. Now, in theatres all over the country—Western Electric equip- ped—you can hear stars of motion pictures, opera and stage in life- like renderings from the screen. Producers who use the Western Electric sound system exclusively: WARNER BROS. FOX FILMS VICTOR TALKING MACHINE PARAMOUNT FAMOUS LASKY METRO-COLDWYN-MAYER UNITED ARTISTS FIRST NATIONAL UNIVERSAL HAL ROACH CHRISTIE COLUMBIA PICTURES HAROLD LLOYD Hear and sce the world’s greatest personali- ties as they talk from the screen. Hear orchestral accompaniment played from the screen ... the actual roar of an airplane . . . the thunder of galloping hoofs! Yesterday’s dream is today’s fact. And tomorrow? Here is an art now in the early stages of its de- velopment which is revolutioniz- ing the field of motion picture entertainment. Watch—and listen! Wester: SOUND comicbooks.com