Stage Lighting & Sound History of Lighting & Sound Recording
Stage Lighting & Sound History of Lighting & Sound Recording
Stage Lighting & Sound History of Lighting & Sound Recording
Cathedral nave
History of Lighting
History of Lighting
o Medieval Period
• Productions had common elements
1. mansions – sets depicting Biblical locations
2. platea – common playing area in front of mansions
3. secrets – stage machinery used to create special effects, trap
doors and rigging was used to move people
History of Lighting
o The Renaissance
• Sebastiano SERLIO (1475-1554)
1. The beginning of modern theatre
2. Returned to classical sources, rediscovered Roman periaktoi
History of Lighting
o The Renaissance
• Sebastiano SERLIO (1475-1554)
1. The beginning of modern theatre
2. Returned to classical sources, rediscovered Roman periaktoi
3. Used candles and oil lamps but began concealing the source
4. Distinguished between scenic lighting and lighting effects
History of Lighting
o The Renaissance
• Sebastiano SERLIO (1475-1554)
4. Distinguished between scenic lighting and lighting effects
5. Described scene painting in conjunction with lighting
Theatre at Epidaurus
History of Sound
o Research into Sound
• Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) : sketched design for a tube speaker
• Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (1778-1850) : determined velocity of sound
at sea level (1130 ft/s)
• Felix Savart (1791-1841) : measured frequencies of musical pitches
• Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894) : developed laws of harmonics,
resonance
History of Sound
o PHONAUTOGRAPH (1857)
1. Invented by Leon Scott (1817-1879)
2. Visibly recorded sound vibrations on blackened paper
History of Sound
o PHONOGRAPH (1877)
1. Invented by Thomas Edison (1847-1931)
2. Fruit of experiments to develop a telephone signal repeater
3. Edison foresaw many uses such as the answering machine, dictation
4. Built with tinfoil cylinder as recording medium
History of Sound
o PHONOGRAPH (1877)
5. A.G. Bell patented the Gramophone using a wax cylinder (1881)
6. Emil Berliner developed a flat disc for recording (1887)
7. By 1900 the standard was a shellac disc spinning at 78 rpm,
allowed mass production of discs
History of Sound
o PHONOGRAPH (1877)
8. Western Electric developed the electric pickup (1918)
9. Sawyer created the crystal (piezoelectric) pickup (1931)
10. DC motors replaced by rim-drive system, increasing quality (1938)
11. Shellac replaced with vinyl plastic, allowed smaller groove and
higher speeds, 45 and 33 1/3 rpm (1944)
12. Stereo sound developed (1957)
History of Sound
o MAGNETIC RECORDING
1. Oberlin Smith suggested the wire recorder (1888)
Valdemar Poulsen made first working model in 1898
History of Sound
o MAGNETIC RECORDING
2. First audio tape (paper/FeO) created by Fritz Pfleumer (1928)
3. Different mediums experimented with including a tungsten/steel strip
so dangerous it had to be housed separately from the operator,
a reel of tape for a half-hour program weighed 25 kg (55 lbs)
History of Sound
o MAGNETIC RECORDING
4. Polyester replaced paper as substrate (1957)
5. Polyester tape found wide use in the music industry, easy to edit
6. Phillips introduced the 8-track cassette tape (1963)
gained popularity in car stereos
History of Sound
o MAGNETIC RECORDING
4. Polyester replaced paper as substrate (1957)
5. Polyester tape found wide use in the music industry, easy to edit
6. Phillips introduced the 8-track cassette tape (1963)
gained popularity in car stereos
7. Sony released the Walkman (1979)
used stereo cassette tape, was portable and easily editable
History of Sound
o DIGITAL AUDIO
1. Charles Babbage (1791-1871) theorized analytical engine (1842),
his Difference Engine was the predecessor to modern computers
History of Sound
o DIGITAL AUDIO
2. Harry Nyquist (1889-1976) wrote about sampling theory (1928)
sampling is a method of turning analog signal into digital information
3. NHK demonstrated digital audio tape (DAT) recorder (1967)
4. Phillips introduced prototype compact disc (CD) player (1979)
5. Phillips and Sony developed CD standard for mass production (1980)
6. Semiconductor laser allows for smaller CD systems (1982)
7. First CD marketed in the US (1983)