Jack Miller, 29, worked in an electrical appliance factory after graduating from college and later joined Zeus Labs to develop mechanical televisions. After the patent for the mechanical television was sold to RCA, Jack was transferred to Poseidon Radio as a superheterodyne radio technician.

Li Kangping met with Jack in the president's office, and he said: "Jack, I hope you can return to Zeus Lab and work with me to develop equipment for sound films. ”

"Dr. Lee, did I tell you that I actually started paying attention to sound movies for a long time. In 1887, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph and used it to record the famous song "Mary Had a Little Lamb" for the first time. You know, Edison became a hero because of this, and he was respected and loved. This shows that there is a strong demand for sound art. "Jack came prepared, and he had a point.

"Jack, please keep talking."

In 1898, the Dane Poulsen invented a more scientific mechanism called the voice recorder. According to the principle of magnetism, the steel wire and the electromagnet are in close contact, and because the excitation coil is connected to the receiver, the sound of speech can be heard in the receiver. At that time, the electronic tube had not yet been introduced, so it was not possible to amplify the intensity of the sound signal beyond the range of strengths that the receiver could accept, but the principle of magnetic recording was accepted. ”

"With the advent of tube amplifiers, Edison, Dr. Lee DeForrest, and others invented and improved sound film technology. Xidian is very strict about the secrecy of sound film technology, and from the analysis of extremely limited information, Dr. Lee DeForist comprehensively uses the principles of acoustics, optics, electricity, magnetism and other physics to record the sound on film and then restore the sound in the cinema. Actually, this spring, I watched that sound movie in the cinema and the experience was very bad, so the sound movie was harshly criticized by Chaplin them. In any case, I think that sound films will definitely be promising, and I would like to work with you on the development of sound film equipment. "Jack has a high level of enthusiasm for sound film technology.

Li Kangping stroked his palms and smiled: "Jack, it seems that you are a master of sound film technology!" You surprise me! I very much agree with the history and technical principles of sound film that you mentioned, so Jack, specifically in terms of sound film equipment---- I mean, we try to develop more advanced sound film equipment, and I hope that the sound film made by these new devices will not be so bad, for this improved version of sound film equipment? Jack? Do you have any specific technical suggestions? ”

Jack's face was embarrassed: "Dr. Li, you know that?" Sound movies are both old and new? I know some technical principles, but when it comes to equipment development? We need you, Dr. Lee, to lead us in this area. ”

"Jack, I'm going to say I'm sorry to you? Because I let you run around? You were transferred from Zeus Lab to Poseidon Radio, and from Poseidon Radio back to Zeus Labs. I know it's hard, so you should be compensated after joining the Zeus Labs Sound Film Equipment R&D team? Your annual salary will increase from $1,500 to $2,000. ”

"Oh? Oh, my God! ”

"I don't know if our sound film equipment development project will be successful, and if it does, Jack, you're going to be rewarded handsomely."

Li Kangping took out a Christmas card and handed it to Jack: "Merry Christmas." ”

"Merry Christmas." Jack opened the greeting card, and the text on the paper was a Christmas message written by Li Kangping himself? Attach a check for $200.

A check or cash is a form of American greeting card culture, and the $200 is equivalent to Jack's holiday fee? Jack thanked him and accepted the card and check.

Li Kangping's conversation with the other nine technicians was in a similar way? Before the Christmas holidays, the R&D team of Zeus Laboratories sound film equipment was officially established.

The team had two days off and the 25th.

Li Kangping has developed a lot of projects on a rolling basis? He is mainly strategic in the general direction? and implement key tactical details at key junctures.

In the research and development project of electronic television, Li Kangping hired Dr. Zvorikin as the project director of electronic television.

The technical director of the radio section is Alex, and the mahjong section and movie section are managed by other professionals on a day-to-day basis.

It is very important to have a very professional director-level person.

Li Kangping's strategic intent is mainly achieved at the tactical level through the director's professional team.

For sound film projects, the most suitable technical director would be Edison or Dr. Lee de Forrest.

But Li Kangping had difficulty inviting these two famous inventors.

Therefore, Li Kangping personally served as the technical director of Zeus Laboratory's sound film equipment research and development project.

Li Kangping, the technical director, is probably similar to the positioning of chief designer + chief engineer.

On Sunday, Li Kangping convened a meeting of all members of the sound film research and development team at the King's Building.

"Good morning, gentlemen. Before I start engineering the sound film equipment, I want to talk to you about the specific technology, and you can think of it as my training for you. Li Kangping stood in front of the blackboard, and he said while writing and drawing: "As far as we know, the technology used by other sound film R&D teams is to record the sound synchronously on the film film, and then restore the sound." The biggest advantage of this technology is that the picture and sound are completely synchronized, which I call 'simultaneous sound'. ”

"Simultaneous sound?"

"That's right, at the same time! A very practical technical new term! ”

The team members have recorded the key content of Li Kangping's training course in their notebooks.

Li Kangping continued: "I think you should know that Manhattan Zeus has a partnership with Walt Disney Studios, which is a Hollywood animation company. The production of animation is different from that of live-action films, and if you want to add sound to a cartoon, the most appropriate technical method should be post-dubbing. ”

"Theoretically, one of the difficulties of post-dubbing is how to achieve sound and picture synchronization? What kind of technology and equipment should we use to achieve sound and picture synchronization, and minimize noise to ensure excellent sound quality? ”

"Whether it's simultaneous sound or post-dubbing, theoretically speaking, there are a lot of recording equipment that are universal. I can't get the real thing right now, so I'll just be able to talk to you about the theory for the time being. ”

"Let's talk about the pickup device first, this kind of equipment has actually been there for a long time, that is, the receiver. Jack, I'll give you five minutes, and it's up to you to talk about the receiver. ”

Li Kangping actively interacted with his technicians, and Jack talked about his understanding of the receiver.

The English word for receiver is Receiver, which is an important component of the telephone. Before the Christmas break, Jack mentioned the receiver when he talked about the Danish inventor Poulsen. Now, Jack repeats the technical analysis he had done a few days ago.

"Thank you Jack for sharing." Li Kangping said, "In terms of sound film equipment, we need a pickup device similar to a receiver, through the pickup device, we capture the sound signal, and then store the sound signal as an electrical signal through the recording device, and restore the electrical signal to sound through the reduction device, you see, this is very similar to the technical principle of the telephone." I felt that the receiver was not enough to accurately express the technical characteristics of the sound film pickup device, so I came up with a new term for the sound film pickup device, called 'microphone'. What do you think? ”