Downloaddigital photo player5/30/2023 The piano console houses the piano, sleigh bells, xylophone, claxon horn, siren, triangle and a variety of organ pipes. It was meticulously restored by Joe Rinaudo in 1976…after being shipped back to California. and shipped to a theater in Saskatchewan Canada. This machine was originally built in 1926 in Van Nuys Calif. When sound films came into being in the late 1920’s, the fotoplayer became passé. Of the thousands of American fotoplayers made during their heyday, sadly less than 50 survive, and of those only 12 are known to be in playing condition. Pedals, levers, switches, buttons, and pull cords were all used to turn on the xylophone, beat a drum, ring a bell, create the sound of thunder, or chirp like a bird. The fotoplayer used a fascinating combination of piano, organ pipes, drums, and various sound effects designed to narrate the action of any silent film. Fotoplayers were in expensive to operate because you didn’t have to be a musician to play them as they were also playable by way of player piano rolls. These machines appeared around 1912 and were used in medium sized theaters. The fotoplayer (“foto” from photoplay and “player” from player piano) is a wonderful contraption that was built to provide music and sound effects for silent movies. So what exactly is an American Fotoplayer ? Joe Rinaudo, founder of the Silent Cinema Society, has a passion for antique phonographs, hand crank motion picture projectors, and mechanical musical instruments. Among these, his most prized possession is the American Fotoplayer. Joe Rinaudo discusses the American Fotoplayer: Plug your ears! Joe Rinaudo demonstrates his American Fotoplayer on Huell Howser’s California Gold:
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