Fantasound
Sign in to saveFantasound was a sound reproduction system developed by engineers of Walt Disney Studios and RCA for Walt Disney's animated film Fantasia, the first commercial film released in stereo.
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Article
14 sectionsContents
- Origins
- Recording the ''Fantasia'' soundtrack, 1938–39
- ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice''
- Academy of Music sessions
- Development and testing, 1939–40
- Pan pot and togad device
- Fantasound set-ups
- ''Fantasia'' roadshows with Fantasound, 1940–41
- End of roadshows and development, 1941
- Legacy
- Personnel
- Further reading
- References
- Sources
Fantasound was a sound reproduction system developed by engineers of Walt Disney Studios and RCA for Walt Disney's animated film Fantasia, the first commercial film released in stereo.
==Origins== Walt Disney's cartoon character Mickey Mouse entered a decline in popularity in the mid-1930s. Disney devised a comeback appearance for Mickey in 1936 with ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice, a more elaborate edition of the animated Silly Symphonies series set to the music of The Sorcerer's Apprentice'' by Paul Dukas. Disney met conductor Leopold Stokowski in late 1937 at Chasen's, a noted Hollywood restaurant, and Stokowski agreed to conduct the piece at no cost. Stokowski was an enthusiast for new and improved methods of sound reproduction and had already participated in experimental stereophonic sound recordings in 1931 and 1932, and a live, long-distance demonstration of multi-channel sound a year later.