Illustration of the Style 40 Fotoplayer. The Academy’s installation is the Style 41, built in 1917.
Following the enthusiastic response at the Fotoplayer’s inaugural program at the Academy of Motion Pictures Linwood Dunn Theater, Joe Rinaudo was asked by Jon Erland of the Academy’s Science and Technology Council to speak at the yearly Los Angeles gathering of The Reel Thing, a group that addresses current thinking and most advanced practical examples of progress in the field of preservation, restoration and media conservation.
On August 20, 2016, Mr. Rinaudo gave the group the “fifty-cent tour” of the restoration process needed to restore the Academy’s 1917 American Fotoplayer.
Afterward, the Fotoplayer was demonstrated by Joe, showing off all its bells and whistles (literally), and then several musical selections were played as the group was exiting.Playing the machine with his back to the audience, Mr. Rinaudo was surprised when he turned around to find that nobody had left—they all stayed to watch him perform and applauded enthusiastically.
Mr. Erland has discussed the possibility of Joe returning at next year’s meeting for a more extensive discussion of the laborious effort to restore the Fotoplayer to its better-than-original condition.
Learn about The Reel Thing here and Joe Rinaudo’s explanation of the Fotoplayer here.
When Joe Rinaudo restored his Model 20 Fotoplayer over three decades ago, he never intended to play classic rock & roll on it. But the people of YouTube made sure he did. Here is one of the cleverist, perfectly timed dubs you’ll ever see and hear and LOL to. (Don’t be fooled—this is not the Huell Howser segment you saw on TV.)
Here’s a poster series for anyone who is in tune with ampersands, brand names with ampersands, or Guns & Roses with an ampersand instead of their official n’ (which should really be ‘n’). AmperArt is created by Chaz DeSimone, who also restores title cards for Joe’s silent films.
This documentary explores the use of orchestras, bands, sound effects artists, piano players & organists during the Silent Film Era (1895-1927).
Feature interviews:
Dr. Paul Monaco
Bob Mitchell
Joe Rinaudo
Mildred Lewis
Ed Kelsey
Produced by Chapman University as a graduate film project Jeff Callaway & Craig D. Forrest, co-directors Aaron Burns & Ben Bateman, editors Special thanks to David Shepherd (film historian), Michael Kowalski (advisor) & the late David Garcia (advisor)
Awards: Voted Best Short Documentary @ Oxford Int’l Film Fest (2007) Best Student Short Documentary @ Family Film Fest (2008) Best Student Short Documentary @ Hollywood Int’l Student Film Fest (2007) Official Selection: Whittier Film Fest (2008), Scene First Student Film Fest (2006), Charleston Film Fest (2008), Reynolda Film Fest (2009).
Of Special Interest:
Famous Players Orchestra
Famous Players Orchestra performs and records historic cinematic music used by movie theater orchestras during the silent film era. Listen to samples and learn about the organization here:
Illustration of the Style 40 Fotoplayer. The Academy’s installation is the Style 41, built in 1917.
Watch The Reel Thing demonstration video, filmed and posted on Joe Rinaudo’s Facebook page by Stan Taffel.
