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How did Vitaphone synchronize sound with motion pictures?

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Zazu Pitts, Gibson Gowland, and Hughie Mack in a dramatic scene from the silent film Greed (1924); Gowland stands center, supported by Pitts and Mack on either side. — Silent film era (From left) Zasu Pitts, Gibson Gowland, and Hughie Mack in the silent film *Greed* (1924), directed by Erich von Stroheim.

The Vitaphone system, marketed by the Warner Bros. studio, achieved sound synchronization by recording audio onto 16-inch phonograph discs that were played in tandem with the motion picture.1

Unlike later sound-on-film methods, Vitaphone relied on a sound-on-disc process where the audio was captured separately from the film. To ensure the sound remained in sync with the images, the system required the projector and the phonograph turntable to be mechanically linked and operated at a constant, standardized speed.12

This method presented significant practical challenges, as the audio and visual components were physically separate. Because the sound was recorded continuously onto the discs, scenes were often filmed in long, 10-minute takes to match the capacity of the records, making editing extremely difficult. Furthermore, the system was prone to technical issues, such as the difficulty of shooting outdoors or editing the sound, which eventually led Warner Bros. to abandon sound-on-disc technology in 1931 in favor of more convenient sound-on-film systems.21