2019 Special Exhibit
That's Entertainment: The Telephone's Role in Cinema, Television and Music
The Telephone. It appears in countless films and television programs and is found in the lyrics of various musical genres too many times to fathom. The Telephone's role in the movies and TV is far more significant than a mere prop. In many instances, the telephone is the starring role. Its influence, one might argue, supersedes even that of the actors.
As for the telephone’s musical impact; there have been songs about telephone conversations, messages left on answering machines, singers calling the operator, songs about wrong numbers and missed calls. Today, there are songs about texting.
As a society, we tend to look to film for the latest on trends, especially technology. With matters of the heart, we express our devotion or anger, more openly over the phone.
“That’s Entertainment” explores the multitude of ways the telephone, whether it appears on the big screen, plasma or radio, amuses us, frightens us or inspires us to sing along.
As for the telephone’s musical impact; there have been songs about telephone conversations, messages left on answering machines, singers calling the operator, songs about wrong numbers and missed calls. Today, there are songs about texting.
As a society, we tend to look to film for the latest on trends, especially technology. With matters of the heart, we express our devotion or anger, more openly over the phone.
“That’s Entertainment” explores the multitude of ways the telephone, whether it appears on the big screen, plasma or radio, amuses us, frightens us or inspires us to sing along.
Virtually all US phone numbers used on fictional programs begin with area code 555 and end with four random digits.
"555" is an exchange number commonly thought to be reserved by the phone companies for use by TV and movies in order to prevent prank phone calls to real people. In fact, only 555-0100 through 555-0199 are specifically reserved for fictional use, and the other numbers have been released for actual assignment.
The 555 exchange was originally useful for this purpose because under the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), which includes the United States, Canada, and several other nearby countries, it was reserved for various internal phone company service numbers, so if you called one of the 555 numbers, you wouldn’t reach an actual customer. And if you were dialing (AREA CODE)-555-1212 within North America, you would have been, most likely, connected to directory assistance.
Another fake number used in the 1950s through the 1970s, when most of Southern California was using area code 213, was to reserve the extension 1 plus the prefix in every prefix, so that the number 462-1462 or 733-1733 was never a working number. Eventually the 714-area code would be split off from 213 in 1953 and later 818 would split from 213 in the early 1980s, but Pacific Telephone continued the practice of reserving the prefix-1-prefix number in every exchange as a non-working number. TV shows and made-for-TV movies took advantage of this fictional number feature.
Another fake number was possible because, under the original NANP, the second digit of a seven-digit local number was not allowed to be 0 or 1, whereas the second digit of an area code was limited to 0 or 1. This allowed fictional telephone numbers such as 606-0842 in the song by the B-52s. Beginning in the 1980s, the need for additional prefixes and area codes eliminated these limitations in certain large cities and throughout the NANP area by 1995.
Some movies and TV shows have taken advantage of a technical requirement of NANP telephone numbers that states that the first digit of the seven-digit local number cannot be 0 or 1. So a number like 818-162-1353 or 213-079-1611 will be used.
As it happens, if the area code is "800", "888", "877", "866", "855", "844", or "833" (the NANP area codes for toll-free dialing), "555" is a valid prefix. So, 1-800-555-XXXX could be a real phone number.
During an era when exchanges were commonly specified as names, such as World War II, an exchange may use the name “KLondike” perhaps followed by a 5, which works out ostensibly to the same thing; songs “BEechwood 4-5789” and “PEnnsylvania 6-5000” are examples.
[KL — as in KLondike — translated to “55.” And so: 555]
The number 555-2368 was once particularly popular, possibly because of the “2368” combo’s use in old phone ads. Dialing 555-2368, at one time, would have connected you with the Ghostbusters, the hotel room from Memento, Jim Rockford of The Rockford Files, and Jaime Sommers from The Bionic Woman, among others.
"555" is an exchange number commonly thought to be reserved by the phone companies for use by TV and movies in order to prevent prank phone calls to real people. In fact, only 555-0100 through 555-0199 are specifically reserved for fictional use, and the other numbers have been released for actual assignment.
The 555 exchange was originally useful for this purpose because under the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), which includes the United States, Canada, and several other nearby countries, it was reserved for various internal phone company service numbers, so if you called one of the 555 numbers, you wouldn’t reach an actual customer. And if you were dialing (AREA CODE)-555-1212 within North America, you would have been, most likely, connected to directory assistance.
Another fake number used in the 1950s through the 1970s, when most of Southern California was using area code 213, was to reserve the extension 1 plus the prefix in every prefix, so that the number 462-1462 or 733-1733 was never a working number. Eventually the 714-area code would be split off from 213 in 1953 and later 818 would split from 213 in the early 1980s, but Pacific Telephone continued the practice of reserving the prefix-1-prefix number in every exchange as a non-working number. TV shows and made-for-TV movies took advantage of this fictional number feature.
Another fake number was possible because, under the original NANP, the second digit of a seven-digit local number was not allowed to be 0 or 1, whereas the second digit of an area code was limited to 0 or 1. This allowed fictional telephone numbers such as 606-0842 in the song by the B-52s. Beginning in the 1980s, the need for additional prefixes and area codes eliminated these limitations in certain large cities and throughout the NANP area by 1995.
Some movies and TV shows have taken advantage of a technical requirement of NANP telephone numbers that states that the first digit of the seven-digit local number cannot be 0 or 1. So a number like 818-162-1353 or 213-079-1611 will be used.
As it happens, if the area code is "800", "888", "877", "866", "855", "844", or "833" (the NANP area codes for toll-free dialing), "555" is a valid prefix. So, 1-800-555-XXXX could be a real phone number.
During an era when exchanges were commonly specified as names, such as World War II, an exchange may use the name “KLondike” perhaps followed by a 5, which works out ostensibly to the same thing; songs “BEechwood 4-5789” and “PEnnsylvania 6-5000” are examples.
[KL — as in KLondike — translated to “55.” And so: 555]
The number 555-2368 was once particularly popular, possibly because of the “2368” combo’s use in old phone ads. Dialing 555-2368, at one time, would have connected you with the Ghostbusters, the hotel room from Memento, Jim Rockford of The Rockford Files, and Jaime Sommers from The Bionic Woman, among others.
What you may not know, is that there are many more “real” 555 phone numbers. Since 1994, 555 numbers have been available for personal or business use. That’s when the North American Numbering Plan Administration started taking applications from people and businesses who wanted their own 555 numbers.
Theoretically, these numbers would have worked from anywhere in the continent; dialers would be able to dial 555-XXXX and always end up with the same number regardless of area code. The hope was that if you needed, say, a taxi anywhere in the country, you could just remember one number that was guaranteed to work.
However, things didn’t work quite so smoothly. People and businesses snapped up the 555 numbers —except for 555-0100 through 555-0199, which were held back for fictional use—but they soon learned that owning a phone number isn’t all that useful if you don’t also own a phone company that can connect the number.
Phone companies protested that setting up these services would be wildly expensive; in 2003 Verizon told The New York Times that adding the nationwide 555 service to its systems would cost the company $108 million. (Verizon did offer to hook up the 555 numbers for owners, but the same Times story noted that the service usually required a $2,500 set-up fee per area code.)
Skeptics claimed that the phone companies were just dragging their feet, so the 555 numbers didn’t funnel cash away from 800 numbers. There may be some truth to that theory, but the 555 system still isn’t up and running in any meaningful way. The list of people and entities that own the numbers is a pretty amusing read, though. It’s mostly newspapers, hospitals, random people, and the state of Nevada.
[Source: mentalfloss.com]
Many of these numbers are actually “KL5″ numbers — that is, Klondike-5 numbers. What we traditionally have thought of as the first three numbers of a phone number [area codes weren’t commonly included when numbers were shared] was once the indicator of the local exchange that number used. For example, a 1932 Manhattan phone directory would list numbers by exchange; CH-elsea; ST-uyvesant. This was before direct dial, so there was no need to figure out what CH or ST converted to as numbers on your rotary dial; you’d simply ask the operator to connect you.
Once people dialed directly, the first two letters became the first two numbers of the exchange. In the 1932 phone book, the number for the store Bergdorf Goodman, located near the Plaza Hotel, is given as Plaza 3-7300. That translates to 753-7300, which is still the store’s phone number today.
Whose Number Is This Anyway?
Ernie Douglas from “Cable Guy” and Paul Buchanan’s mother from “Mad About You” both shared the same phone number: 555-4329. But the Cigarette Smoking Man from the “X-Files” and Michael Rivkin from “NCIS” had different phone numbers despite the fact that they were both 555-0130. Why you ask?
Because the former’s office is 202-555-0130 and the latter’s home is in the 310-area code. When you account for area codes, the numbers are unique.
555-8383 was both Jerry Seinfeld’s car phone number (in the episode where his car is stolen) and the number George Costanza gave for Vandelay Industries — meaning that it was Jerry’s apartment phone number, too. But Jerry’s number was also given as 555-2390 when Elaine Benes wanted to avoid talking to the man at the pen store.
The most popular number found? 555-0199. It’s the Syracuse Police Department on “Homeland,” with an 800-area code. It was also the Pacific Bay Police Department on “No Ordinary Family.” It is the number for a producer on “60 Minutes,” for a “how am I driving” call center, for Dr. Becker’s office on “Becker,” and, most prominently, for one Fox Mulder on “The X-Files.”
Theoretically, these numbers would have worked from anywhere in the continent; dialers would be able to dial 555-XXXX and always end up with the same number regardless of area code. The hope was that if you needed, say, a taxi anywhere in the country, you could just remember one number that was guaranteed to work.
However, things didn’t work quite so smoothly. People and businesses snapped up the 555 numbers —except for 555-0100 through 555-0199, which were held back for fictional use—but they soon learned that owning a phone number isn’t all that useful if you don’t also own a phone company that can connect the number.
Phone companies protested that setting up these services would be wildly expensive; in 2003 Verizon told The New York Times that adding the nationwide 555 service to its systems would cost the company $108 million. (Verizon did offer to hook up the 555 numbers for owners, but the same Times story noted that the service usually required a $2,500 set-up fee per area code.)
Skeptics claimed that the phone companies were just dragging their feet, so the 555 numbers didn’t funnel cash away from 800 numbers. There may be some truth to that theory, but the 555 system still isn’t up and running in any meaningful way. The list of people and entities that own the numbers is a pretty amusing read, though. It’s mostly newspapers, hospitals, random people, and the state of Nevada.
[Source: mentalfloss.com]
Many of these numbers are actually “KL5″ numbers — that is, Klondike-5 numbers. What we traditionally have thought of as the first three numbers of a phone number [area codes weren’t commonly included when numbers were shared] was once the indicator of the local exchange that number used. For example, a 1932 Manhattan phone directory would list numbers by exchange; CH-elsea; ST-uyvesant. This was before direct dial, so there was no need to figure out what CH or ST converted to as numbers on your rotary dial; you’d simply ask the operator to connect you.
Once people dialed directly, the first two letters became the first two numbers of the exchange. In the 1932 phone book, the number for the store Bergdorf Goodman, located near the Plaza Hotel, is given as Plaza 3-7300. That translates to 753-7300, which is still the store’s phone number today.
Whose Number Is This Anyway?
Ernie Douglas from “Cable Guy” and Paul Buchanan’s mother from “Mad About You” both shared the same phone number: 555-4329. But the Cigarette Smoking Man from the “X-Files” and Michael Rivkin from “NCIS” had different phone numbers despite the fact that they were both 555-0130. Why you ask?
Because the former’s office is 202-555-0130 and the latter’s home is in the 310-area code. When you account for area codes, the numbers are unique.
555-8383 was both Jerry Seinfeld’s car phone number (in the episode where his car is stolen) and the number George Costanza gave for Vandelay Industries — meaning that it was Jerry’s apartment phone number, too. But Jerry’s number was also given as 555-2390 when Elaine Benes wanted to avoid talking to the man at the pen store.
The most popular number found? 555-0199. It’s the Syracuse Police Department on “Homeland,” with an 800-area code. It was also the Pacific Bay Police Department on “No Ordinary Family.” It is the number for a producer on “60 Minutes,” for a “how am I driving” call center, for Dr. Becker’s office on “Becker,” and, most prominently, for one Fox Mulder on “The X-Files.”
The Bell Telephone Hour
The Bell Telephone Hour (also known as The Telephone Hour) was a concert series which began April 29, 1940, on NBC Radio and was heard on NBC until June 30, 1958. Sponsored by Bell Telephone, it showcased the best in classical and Broadway music, reaching eight to nine million listeners each week. It continued on television from 1959 to 1968. Throughout the program's run on both radio and television, the studio orchestra on the program was conducted by Donald Voorhees, who received an Emmy Award nomination for his work on the television series.
The TV show, seen on NBC from January 12, 1959, to the summer of 1968, was one of the first TV series to be telecast exclusively in color, using the color TV system perfected by RCA in 1954. It aired every week on Friday evenings at 10:00 PM, then was switched to Tuesday evenings at 10:00 P.M. in 1963. It was noted for its Christmas specials, frequently featuring opera stars as well as stars of musical theater and ballet. In the fall of 1965, the show was switched to an earlier time slot of Sundays at 6:30pm.
During its last season, 1967-1968, the program was switched back to its old Friday night time slot and the format changed from a videotaped and mostly musical presentation to filmed documentaries about classical musicians made on location. By this point, The Bell Telephone Hour was seen as a relic of a bygone era in television history.
[Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bell_Telephone_Hour]
Telephone Time
TV Series (1956-1958)
Telephone Time was an American anthology drama series that aired on CBS in 1956, and on ABC from 1957 to 1958.
The series featured plays by John Nesbitt who hosted the first season. Frank C. Baxter hosted the 1957 and 1958 seasons.
[Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_Time]
The Bell Telephone Hour (also known as The Telephone Hour) was a concert series which began April 29, 1940, on NBC Radio and was heard on NBC until June 30, 1958. Sponsored by Bell Telephone, it showcased the best in classical and Broadway music, reaching eight to nine million listeners each week. It continued on television from 1959 to 1968. Throughout the program's run on both radio and television, the studio orchestra on the program was conducted by Donald Voorhees, who received an Emmy Award nomination for his work on the television series.
The TV show, seen on NBC from January 12, 1959, to the summer of 1968, was one of the first TV series to be telecast exclusively in color, using the color TV system perfected by RCA in 1954. It aired every week on Friday evenings at 10:00 PM, then was switched to Tuesday evenings at 10:00 P.M. in 1963. It was noted for its Christmas specials, frequently featuring opera stars as well as stars of musical theater and ballet. In the fall of 1965, the show was switched to an earlier time slot of Sundays at 6:30pm.
During its last season, 1967-1968, the program was switched back to its old Friday night time slot and the format changed from a videotaped and mostly musical presentation to filmed documentaries about classical musicians made on location. By this point, The Bell Telephone Hour was seen as a relic of a bygone era in television history.
[Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bell_Telephone_Hour]
Telephone Time
TV Series (1956-1958)
Telephone Time was an American anthology drama series that aired on CBS in 1956, and on ABC from 1957 to 1958.
The series featured plays by John Nesbitt who hosted the first season. Frank C. Baxter hosted the 1957 and 1958 seasons.
[Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_Time]
What is it about the musty, cramped space of a phone booth that sparks tension in a movie? You can almost smell the stale, acrid odors of the previous occupants and feel the sense of imprisonment.
One such notable movie scene is from the German film “Run Lola Run”. The high-speed action is set off by a phone call in a yellow phone booth in Berlin.
There’s perhaps no finer phone booth scene than that in Alfred Hitchcock's “The Birds” with actress Tippi Hedren. Hedren, trying to escape the bird’s attack, finds temporary harbor in a phone booth, only to realize that she must leave the booth if she hopes to survive the attack. That wasn’t the only time Hitchcock unnerved his audience with a phone booth scene. Hitchcock placed Cary Grant in a phone booth in Grand Central Station creating another bristling moment in “North by Northwest”.
While the movie “Falling Down” isn’t rank as one of the most memorable Michael Douglas films, but the phone booth scene is just one of the many aggressive displays fraught with frustration and bitterness.
Steven Spielberg opted to put a phone booth into the most unforgettable scene of his classical chase movie “The Duel”. The scene starring Dennis Weaver also includes the wonderful character actress, Lucille Benson.
Finally, the gritty classic, Midnight Cowboy, features phone booths throughout the film including a confrontation between Ratso Rizzo and John Voight's character in front of a bank of phone booths.
But there are so many other movies that included phone booth scenes…
In the 1978 “Superman” movie, Clark Kent is hoping to dash into a phone booth to change into Superman only to realize the phone is a more modern unenclosed booth.
During a scene in the “The Terminator” (1984), lead actor Arnold Schwarzenegger not only uses a phone booth but a phone book.
And, depending on your age, who could forget the scene in “The Graduate” (1967) when Benjamin places a fateful phone call to a Mrs. Robinson?
One such notable movie scene is from the German film “Run Lola Run”. The high-speed action is set off by a phone call in a yellow phone booth in Berlin.
There’s perhaps no finer phone booth scene than that in Alfred Hitchcock's “The Birds” with actress Tippi Hedren. Hedren, trying to escape the bird’s attack, finds temporary harbor in a phone booth, only to realize that she must leave the booth if she hopes to survive the attack. That wasn’t the only time Hitchcock unnerved his audience with a phone booth scene. Hitchcock placed Cary Grant in a phone booth in Grand Central Station creating another bristling moment in “North by Northwest”.
While the movie “Falling Down” isn’t rank as one of the most memorable Michael Douglas films, but the phone booth scene is just one of the many aggressive displays fraught with frustration and bitterness.
Steven Spielberg opted to put a phone booth into the most unforgettable scene of his classical chase movie “The Duel”. The scene starring Dennis Weaver also includes the wonderful character actress, Lucille Benson.
Finally, the gritty classic, Midnight Cowboy, features phone booths throughout the film including a confrontation between Ratso Rizzo and John Voight's character in front of a bank of phone booths.
But there are so many other movies that included phone booth scenes…
In the 1978 “Superman” movie, Clark Kent is hoping to dash into a phone booth to change into Superman only to realize the phone is a more modern unenclosed booth.
During a scene in the “The Terminator” (1984), lead actor Arnold Schwarzenegger not only uses a phone booth but a phone book.
And, depending on your age, who could forget the scene in “The Graduate” (1967) when Benjamin places a fateful phone call to a Mrs. Robinson?
This list is based on famous movie moments involving a pay phones that stand out above all the other "ordinary" pay phone scenes.
10. Get Smart
In the movie Get Smart the phone booth is used as an elevator to travel underground. In Get Smart, Maxwell Smart uses the telephone booth to get to HQ. While…
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Harry and Mr. Weasley use a London pay phone to access the Ministry of Magic.
8. Dirty Harry
Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) is a San Francisco Police Department inspector who fights his way across town to try to prevent the murder of a young girl who is being held for ransom. He receives clues from a serial killer that lead him from pay phone to pay phone.
7. Jumpin' Jack Flash
In this spy comedy, there is a funny scene where Whoopi Goldberg answers a pay phone and ends up getting dragged through New York by a tow truck while still inside pleading for help.
6. Goodfellas
There is a great scene where Jimmy (Robert De Niro) hears the news that his partner in crime, Tommy (Joe Pesci), was murdered. When he hears the news over the pay phone, he proceeds to knock the phone booth over out of anger for his friend.
In the movie Get Smart the phone booth is used as an elevator to travel underground. In Get Smart, Maxwell Smart uses the telephone booth to get to HQ. While…
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Harry and Mr. Weasley use a London pay phone to access the Ministry of Magic.
8. Dirty Harry
Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) is a San Francisco Police Department inspector who fights his way across town to try to prevent the murder of a young girl who is being held for ransom. He receives clues from a serial killer that lead him from pay phone to pay phone.
7. Jumpin' Jack Flash
In this spy comedy, there is a funny scene where Whoopi Goldberg answers a pay phone and ends up getting dragged through New York by a tow truck while still inside pleading for help.
6. Goodfellas
There is a great scene where Jimmy (Robert De Niro) hears the news that his partner in crime, Tommy (Joe Pesci), was murdered. When he hears the news over the pay phone, he proceeds to knock the phone booth over out of anger for his friend.
5. Die Hard with a Vengeance
In the third film in the Die Hard series, John McClane (Bruce Willis) and Zeus Carber (Samuel L. Jackson) must race around New York City from one pay phone to the next, trying to sabotage a terrorist's bomb plot. The bomber calls them on pay phones all over the city, giving them clues as to where each explosion will be.
4. Dumb and Dumber
There is a classic scene in this movie where Joe "Mental" Mentaliano (Mike Star) loses his patience and punches through the glass of a phone booth to strike the annoying guy on the other side.
3. Anchorman
Upset due to seeing his dog Baxter punted off a bridge, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) uses a phone booth to call his fellow reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd). Since Brian cannot understand what Ron is babbling about because of his hysteria, he asks him where he is, to which Ron exclaims, "I'm in a glass case of emotion!"
2. The Matrix
As she's being chased by an agent driving a construction truck, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) calls "the real world" from a phone booth which transports her there from the Matrix. The truck drives full speed into the phone booth as she departs in the nick of time.
1. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) travel by way of a teleporting phone booth to collect historical figures to pass their history exam.
In the third film in the Die Hard series, John McClane (Bruce Willis) and Zeus Carber (Samuel L. Jackson) must race around New York City from one pay phone to the next, trying to sabotage a terrorist's bomb plot. The bomber calls them on pay phones all over the city, giving them clues as to where each explosion will be.
4. Dumb and Dumber
There is a classic scene in this movie where Joe "Mental" Mentaliano (Mike Star) loses his patience and punches through the glass of a phone booth to strike the annoying guy on the other side.
3. Anchorman
Upset due to seeing his dog Baxter punted off a bridge, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) uses a phone booth to call his fellow reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd). Since Brian cannot understand what Ron is babbling about because of his hysteria, he asks him where he is, to which Ron exclaims, "I'm in a glass case of emotion!"
2. The Matrix
As she's being chased by an agent driving a construction truck, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) calls "the real world" from a phone booth which transports her there from the Matrix. The truck drives full speed into the phone booth as she departs in the nick of time.
1. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) travel by way of a teleporting phone booth to collect historical figures to pass their history exam.
Acclaimed Hollywood director Steven Soderbergh is known for such films as Sex, Lies and Videotape, Erin Brockovich, Ocean’s trilogy and Magic Mike, but his latest project “Unsane” [2018] had him expounding on the benefits of using an iPhone to shoot the psychological thriller.
According to Soderberg, the iPhone's small size and superior image quality presented unparalleled flexibility in setting up and accomplishing shots. With its tiny format, Soderbergh was able to capture on-location-footage without punching holes in walls or securing bulky camera equipment to ceilings.
With the iPhone’s built-in screen and portable form factor, the phone allows directors to go straight from watching a rehearsal to shooting, Soderbergh said.
Of course, there were drawbacks, like the iPhone's diminutive footprint. The handset, very sensitive to vibrations, presented a few challenges. Whether Soderbergh enabled iPhone's hardware- and software-based image stabilization features is unknown to us.
"I have to say the positives for me really were significant and it's going to be tricky to go back to a more conventional way of shooting," Soderbergh said. "The gap now between the idea and the execution of the idea is just shrinking and this means you get to try out more ideas, so I wish I'd had this equipment when I was 15."
Soderbergh further stated that iPhone's 4K footage looks like "velvet" and is a "game changer."
Joshua Leonard, who co-stars alongside Claire Foy in "Unsane," said iPhone allowed the actors to stay immersed in the world of their character and that of the story while filming. Traditional movie sets often play host to large camera rigs, audio and lighting hardware, dollies, cranes and other equipment.
"There's nothing more fun as an actor than just being in the thick of the creative process when you're actually on set and not having to wait for the machine of filmmaking to catch up with the creative impulse," Leonard said.
Alongside Leonard and Foy, "Unsane" features Jay Pharaoh, Juno Temple, Aimee Mullins and Amy Irving. Pharaoh describes the film as a psychological thriller. The movie was shot on an iPhone 7 Plus in 4K and was in theatres 2018.
[Source: theverge.com]
Movies That Were Shot on an iPhone
As each new iPhone offers increasingly complex photography capabilities, filmmakers are beginning to recognize the Apple device as a legitimate medium. It’s often difficult to imagine that this small device was once used to simply share a spoken thought and now, feature films are being created using the very invention that has revolutionized the way we live.
From the Steven Soderbergh drama, “Unsane,” starring Claire Foy, to the Oscar-winning documentary “Searching for Sugar Man,” here is a list of feature films and shorts shot either partially or entirely with iPhones.
“Unsane”
This film, starring Claire Foy, follows a woman who is convinced she has a stalker, but later comes to question her own sanity when she is admitted to a mental institution against her will. Director Soderbergh’s crew shot the entire medical thriller using an iPhone 7 Plus.
“Tangerine”
Sean Baker’s “Tangerine,” stars Kitana Kiki Rodriguez as Sin-Dee, a transsexual worker who sets out on a rampage through Los Angeles after learning a pimp has cheated on her. Baker’s crew shot the entire 2015 film using three iPhone 5S devices, with additional photography from an anamorphic clip-on lens, an app, and Steadicam Smoothee Mounts.
“9 Rides”
Director Matthew A. Cherry shot his 2017 feature film about an Uber driver who gets life-changing news on New Year’s Eve using an iPhone 6s. He engages with nine different sets of passengers over the course of the night. The film includes stars Dorian Missick, Omar Dorsey, Robinne Lee, Xosha Roquemore, Amin Joseph and Skye P. Marshall.
“I Play with the Phrase Each Other”
“I Play with the Phrase Each Other,” a 2014 crime drama from director Jay Alvarez, refers to itself as the first film with a plot entirely comprised of phone conversations, but phones played a major role in filming the movie as well. Shot completely on an iPhone, the film details a complex cyber-criminal world as Jake, played by Alvarez, moves in with a friend who makes money by scamming people on Craigslist.
“Night Fishing”
Korean directors Chan-kyong Park and Chan-wook Park shot the 2011 fantasy short film “Night Fishing” using an iPhone 4. The movie stars Kwang-rok Oh as a fisherman whose life is altered when he makes an unexpected catch.
“Uneasy Lies the Mind”
Another 2014 feature, “Uneasy Lies the Mind,” stars Jonas Fisch as a man who begins to lose his mind while enjoying a couple’s retreat at his grandiose winter home. Director Ricky Fosheim shot the thriller using only an iPhone 5.
“Searching for Sugar Man”
Malik Bendjelloul’s Oscar-winning documentary, “Searching for Sugar Man,” follows two South African men as they attempt to uncover the mysteries surrounding Rodriguez, a 1970s rock-and-roll artist. After Bendjelloul ran out of film for his 8mm camera, he used an iPhone app called 8mm Vintage Camera to shoot the remainder of the movie, which came out in 2012.
“Romance in NYC”
Tristan Pope’s short film, “Romance in NYC,” stars Pope and Rachael Winegar as a couple navigating the ups and downs of their relationship against a New York City backdrop. Pope shot the 18-minute film with an iPhone 6.
“Framed”
“Framed,” from French director Mael Sevestre, is about a photographer, played by Franck Descombes, who is struck by an unanticipated incident while taking photos in the woods. Sevestre made the short using an iPhone 4S.
According to Soderberg, the iPhone's small size and superior image quality presented unparalleled flexibility in setting up and accomplishing shots. With its tiny format, Soderbergh was able to capture on-location-footage without punching holes in walls or securing bulky camera equipment to ceilings.
With the iPhone’s built-in screen and portable form factor, the phone allows directors to go straight from watching a rehearsal to shooting, Soderbergh said.
Of course, there were drawbacks, like the iPhone's diminutive footprint. The handset, very sensitive to vibrations, presented a few challenges. Whether Soderbergh enabled iPhone's hardware- and software-based image stabilization features is unknown to us.
"I have to say the positives for me really were significant and it's going to be tricky to go back to a more conventional way of shooting," Soderbergh said. "The gap now between the idea and the execution of the idea is just shrinking and this means you get to try out more ideas, so I wish I'd had this equipment when I was 15."
Soderbergh further stated that iPhone's 4K footage looks like "velvet" and is a "game changer."
Joshua Leonard, who co-stars alongside Claire Foy in "Unsane," said iPhone allowed the actors to stay immersed in the world of their character and that of the story while filming. Traditional movie sets often play host to large camera rigs, audio and lighting hardware, dollies, cranes and other equipment.
"There's nothing more fun as an actor than just being in the thick of the creative process when you're actually on set and not having to wait for the machine of filmmaking to catch up with the creative impulse," Leonard said.
Alongside Leonard and Foy, "Unsane" features Jay Pharaoh, Juno Temple, Aimee Mullins and Amy Irving. Pharaoh describes the film as a psychological thriller. The movie was shot on an iPhone 7 Plus in 4K and was in theatres 2018.
[Source: theverge.com]
Movies That Were Shot on an iPhone
As each new iPhone offers increasingly complex photography capabilities, filmmakers are beginning to recognize the Apple device as a legitimate medium. It’s often difficult to imagine that this small device was once used to simply share a spoken thought and now, feature films are being created using the very invention that has revolutionized the way we live.
From the Steven Soderbergh drama, “Unsane,” starring Claire Foy, to the Oscar-winning documentary “Searching for Sugar Man,” here is a list of feature films and shorts shot either partially or entirely with iPhones.
“Unsane”
This film, starring Claire Foy, follows a woman who is convinced she has a stalker, but later comes to question her own sanity when she is admitted to a mental institution against her will. Director Soderbergh’s crew shot the entire medical thriller using an iPhone 7 Plus.
“Tangerine”
Sean Baker’s “Tangerine,” stars Kitana Kiki Rodriguez as Sin-Dee, a transsexual worker who sets out on a rampage through Los Angeles after learning a pimp has cheated on her. Baker’s crew shot the entire 2015 film using three iPhone 5S devices, with additional photography from an anamorphic clip-on lens, an app, and Steadicam Smoothee Mounts.
“9 Rides”
Director Matthew A. Cherry shot his 2017 feature film about an Uber driver who gets life-changing news on New Year’s Eve using an iPhone 6s. He engages with nine different sets of passengers over the course of the night. The film includes stars Dorian Missick, Omar Dorsey, Robinne Lee, Xosha Roquemore, Amin Joseph and Skye P. Marshall.
“I Play with the Phrase Each Other”
“I Play with the Phrase Each Other,” a 2014 crime drama from director Jay Alvarez, refers to itself as the first film with a plot entirely comprised of phone conversations, but phones played a major role in filming the movie as well. Shot completely on an iPhone, the film details a complex cyber-criminal world as Jake, played by Alvarez, moves in with a friend who makes money by scamming people on Craigslist.
“Night Fishing”
Korean directors Chan-kyong Park and Chan-wook Park shot the 2011 fantasy short film “Night Fishing” using an iPhone 4. The movie stars Kwang-rok Oh as a fisherman whose life is altered when he makes an unexpected catch.
“Uneasy Lies the Mind”
Another 2014 feature, “Uneasy Lies the Mind,” stars Jonas Fisch as a man who begins to lose his mind while enjoying a couple’s retreat at his grandiose winter home. Director Ricky Fosheim shot the thriller using only an iPhone 5.
“Searching for Sugar Man”
Malik Bendjelloul’s Oscar-winning documentary, “Searching for Sugar Man,” follows two South African men as they attempt to uncover the mysteries surrounding Rodriguez, a 1970s rock-and-roll artist. After Bendjelloul ran out of film for his 8mm camera, he used an iPhone app called 8mm Vintage Camera to shoot the remainder of the movie, which came out in 2012.
“Romance in NYC”
Tristan Pope’s short film, “Romance in NYC,” stars Pope and Rachael Winegar as a couple navigating the ups and downs of their relationship against a New York City backdrop. Pope shot the 18-minute film with an iPhone 6.
“Framed”
“Framed,” from French director Mael Sevestre, is about a photographer, played by Franck Descombes, who is struck by an unanticipated incident while taking photos in the woods. Sevestre made the short using an iPhone 4S.
Telephone Scenes in Movies
There are many films, both foreign and domestic, that include a telephone scene central its plot. Here are 10 such films.
1. Phone Booth (2004)
Colin Farrell is walking along the streets when he picks up a ringing telephone in a phone booth. The voice on the other end is that of an extortionist sniper who tells Farrell that he will be shot if he hangs up. The voice of Kiefer Sutherland (star of 24 and Designated Survivor) as the sniper was added in post-production, but Farrell is talking to someone on the line during his scenes.
William Gray invented the first pay phone in 1889. It was installed in a bank located in Hartford, Connecticut, but the first New York City pay phone was installed in 1905. There were 25,000 of these booths in New York City by 1925.
While some enclosed indoor booths are still sprinkled throughout the city, only four old-style sidewalk phone booths are left in New York City, and they are all on West End Avenue, at 101st, 100th, 90th and 66th Streets, according to the technology company that operates them.
2. Cellular (2004)
2004 was a big year for telephones in the movies. Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, Jason Statham and William H. Macy star in this crime thriller that involves tampering with a broken phone, stealing a cellphone, robbing a store for a phone charger and retrieving another mobile phone in order to help an abducted Basinger.
As is the case in many films, a cat and mouse chase creates a flurry of confusion, but the ringing of a phone betrays the hiding place of the ‘bad guy’ and he is shot. As the movie ends, Ryan, the good guy played by Chris Evans, humorously tells Basinger to never call him again.
3. The President's Analyst (1967)
A clever spoof of the secret agent films of the 1960s, James Coburn, plays the reluctant psychiatrist of the President of the United States who finds himself the target of multiple secret agencies and proceeds to run. Although the KGB is on the scene, when Coburn is finally captured in an isolated roadside phone booth and the real villain of the film is revealed as TPC (The Phone Company). TPC wants Coburn to influence his client the President to pass legislation mandating implanted telephone receivers in everyone's brain to reduce telephone equipment and outside plant maintenance and service expenses. Years ahead of its time, the film featured a prerequisite psychedelic hippie scene common to so many later 1960s films that is laughable today. A scene late in the film featuring a TPC commercial explaining the reasoning behind telephone implants was dead-on and a great parody of the low-tech commercials of the time. A must film for all telephony enthusiasts.
4. Pillow Talk (1969)
Doris Day is a middle-aged single woman and Rock Hudson is a rampant womanizer. They meet via the party lines in New York City. Although the two squabble because Hudson is always, selfishly using the telephone line, Day can’t help wonder what this cad looks like.
This was Doris and Rock's first film together. Once the romance blooms, Doris and Rock cozy up and share an online bathtub scene that was considered quite risqué for its time with a split screen shot of the two showing their feet seemingly pressing against each other while lounging in their tubs on the telephone.
5. Dial M for Murder (1954)
According to several movie critics, this Hitchcock film did well at the box-office because it was filmed using 3D effects (especially during the plunging scissor murder scene). The pivotal plot point occurs when Grace Kelly, on an alibi telephone call from her husband (played by Ray Milland), is attacked by a blackmailed colleague of her husband. Kelly fends off the attacker and kills him instead. The film was remade for television several times and was also remade for the big screen as Perfect Murder (1998) with Gwyneth Paltrow and Michael Douglas taking on the Kelly and Milland roles.
6. The Spiral Staircase (1945)
This was a bloodless serial killer film that would be the plot model for countless beautiful teenagers in distress films during the past 30 years. Dorothy McGuire (perhaps best known as the Mother in the Disney classic Old Yeller) played Helen, a mute house worker who is the target of the local village's resident serial killer of disabled young woman. Helen turned mute at a young age following a traumatic experience, but must make a phone call to the local constabulary for help when the killer is identified as the owner of the house, she is working in.
Picking up the handset, Helen is unable to make a sound for what seems an eternity until she finally utters her first words of the film minutes before the conclusion. Life lesson: It takes a traumatic event to correct a traumatic event. The film thriller is noteworthy for its cinematographic use of shadows and darkness to convey a sense of fear and danger. The background thunderstorm doesn't hurt, either, during the climatic telephone scene. This film was also remade several times for television and once for the big screen, but none approached the scare factor of the original.
7. The Great Ziegfield (1936)
This Best Picture Oscar winner features one of the most famous telephone scenes in film as played by Best Actress Oscar winner Luise Rainier. Ms. Rainier played a supporting role in the film but managed to beat out Greta Garbo's classic Camille performance to win the Academy Award that year, based almost exclusively on her telephone scene. Her famous scene was a phone conversation with ex-husband Florenz Ziegfield (played in the film by William Powell). It was shot as a one-sided conversation without an appearance by Powell. Rainier's telephone scene was the primary reason for her Oscar win. At the time it was considered a bravura performance, but when seen today it appears too over the top to be taken seriously as great acting. Her French-accented English sounds like a parody of itself. Ironically, Ms. Rainier also won the Best Actress Oscar the following year for her role as O-Lan in The Good Earth, a part for which she spoke very little. In contrast to her role as Anna Held, her O'Lan was quiet and understated. No phone scenes in the latter film.
8. Bells are Ringing (1960)
This film version of the Broadway musical starred Judy Holliday (her last film appearance and a re-creation of her Tony-winning stage role) and Dean Martin. Ms. Holliday played an answering service operator who unwittingly fronted a bookie operation by taking bets placed over the phone in not-too-ingenious code. She also falls in love with one of her clients (Dean Martin), but she uses a little old lady voice when they talk with each during phone conversations, complicating the romance situation. Answering services have largely been replaced by voice mail, and off-track betting has helped pushed aside bookies who take racing bets.
9. Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
The title of this Barbara Stanwyck starrer is probably more famous than the film itself. Stanwyck played an invalid wife confined to her bed; Burt Lancaster played her husband who hires someone to kill his wife. The key plot point occurs when Stanwyck picks up her telephone and accidentally hears two men plotting a murder (her murder as it turns out) when telephone wires somehow become crossed. What a coincidence!! This is one of Stanwyck's most famous roles. She received her fourth (and final) Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, but she plays it too hysterically for modern tastes. After a while you don't blame Lancaster for planning to knock her off. As an aside, Agnes Morehead (now known primarily as Samantha's Mother on the Bewitched television comedy) played the role in its original radio broadcast and gave a superior performance as the sole performer in the drama. At the end of the film Lancaster has second thoughts about his plan, tries to warn his wife by phoning her, but the deed has just been done. The killer answers the phone with the words "Sorry, wrong number." Quick shot of Lancaster with a look of shock, then a fade to black. The film was remade for television in the late 1980s with famous thespian Loni Anderson taking on the Stanwyck role. She may not have given a better performance, but Loni looked a lot better in a nightgown.
10. Telefon (1977)
This is one of the few good movies Charles Bronson starred in after he made the original Death Wish (1974). Bronson plays a "good" Russian KGB agent on the trail of a "bad" KGB agent who is triggering a series of sabotage attacks on American military installations by phoning sleeper agents and reciting a line of a Robert Frost poem. The sleeper agents were part of Operation Telefon, hence the film's title. Bronson's Lithuanian heritage (he was born Charles Buchinsky, a name used in the credits of his very early film roles) was useful for the part, because his Russian-accented English as KGB Colonel Borzov was not laughable. The film's title was taken from the KGB's plan called Operation Telefon: brainwash young agents into thinking they were Americans, have them grow up in America unaware of their Russian heritage, and be available for suicide missions should Cold War escalation require attacks on American soil. In the end, Bronson tracks down and kills the rogue KGB agent and returns to Mother Russia. The movie is surprisingly suspenseful and also gave a nice role to Lee Remick, a very underappreciated actress, as an American operative assisting Bronson in his mission.
1. Phone Booth (2004)
Colin Farrell is walking along the streets when he picks up a ringing telephone in a phone booth. The voice on the other end is that of an extortionist sniper who tells Farrell that he will be shot if he hangs up. The voice of Kiefer Sutherland (star of 24 and Designated Survivor) as the sniper was added in post-production, but Farrell is talking to someone on the line during his scenes.
William Gray invented the first pay phone in 1889. It was installed in a bank located in Hartford, Connecticut, but the first New York City pay phone was installed in 1905. There were 25,000 of these booths in New York City by 1925.
While some enclosed indoor booths are still sprinkled throughout the city, only four old-style sidewalk phone booths are left in New York City, and they are all on West End Avenue, at 101st, 100th, 90th and 66th Streets, according to the technology company that operates them.
2. Cellular (2004)
2004 was a big year for telephones in the movies. Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, Jason Statham and William H. Macy star in this crime thriller that involves tampering with a broken phone, stealing a cellphone, robbing a store for a phone charger and retrieving another mobile phone in order to help an abducted Basinger.
As is the case in many films, a cat and mouse chase creates a flurry of confusion, but the ringing of a phone betrays the hiding place of the ‘bad guy’ and he is shot. As the movie ends, Ryan, the good guy played by Chris Evans, humorously tells Basinger to never call him again.
3. The President's Analyst (1967)
A clever spoof of the secret agent films of the 1960s, James Coburn, plays the reluctant psychiatrist of the President of the United States who finds himself the target of multiple secret agencies and proceeds to run. Although the KGB is on the scene, when Coburn is finally captured in an isolated roadside phone booth and the real villain of the film is revealed as TPC (The Phone Company). TPC wants Coburn to influence his client the President to pass legislation mandating implanted telephone receivers in everyone's brain to reduce telephone equipment and outside plant maintenance and service expenses. Years ahead of its time, the film featured a prerequisite psychedelic hippie scene common to so many later 1960s films that is laughable today. A scene late in the film featuring a TPC commercial explaining the reasoning behind telephone implants was dead-on and a great parody of the low-tech commercials of the time. A must film for all telephony enthusiasts.
4. Pillow Talk (1969)
Doris Day is a middle-aged single woman and Rock Hudson is a rampant womanizer. They meet via the party lines in New York City. Although the two squabble because Hudson is always, selfishly using the telephone line, Day can’t help wonder what this cad looks like.
This was Doris and Rock's first film together. Once the romance blooms, Doris and Rock cozy up and share an online bathtub scene that was considered quite risqué for its time with a split screen shot of the two showing their feet seemingly pressing against each other while lounging in their tubs on the telephone.
5. Dial M for Murder (1954)
According to several movie critics, this Hitchcock film did well at the box-office because it was filmed using 3D effects (especially during the plunging scissor murder scene). The pivotal plot point occurs when Grace Kelly, on an alibi telephone call from her husband (played by Ray Milland), is attacked by a blackmailed colleague of her husband. Kelly fends off the attacker and kills him instead. The film was remade for television several times and was also remade for the big screen as Perfect Murder (1998) with Gwyneth Paltrow and Michael Douglas taking on the Kelly and Milland roles.
6. The Spiral Staircase (1945)
This was a bloodless serial killer film that would be the plot model for countless beautiful teenagers in distress films during the past 30 years. Dorothy McGuire (perhaps best known as the Mother in the Disney classic Old Yeller) played Helen, a mute house worker who is the target of the local village's resident serial killer of disabled young woman. Helen turned mute at a young age following a traumatic experience, but must make a phone call to the local constabulary for help when the killer is identified as the owner of the house, she is working in.
Picking up the handset, Helen is unable to make a sound for what seems an eternity until she finally utters her first words of the film minutes before the conclusion. Life lesson: It takes a traumatic event to correct a traumatic event. The film thriller is noteworthy for its cinematographic use of shadows and darkness to convey a sense of fear and danger. The background thunderstorm doesn't hurt, either, during the climatic telephone scene. This film was also remade several times for television and once for the big screen, but none approached the scare factor of the original.
7. The Great Ziegfield (1936)
This Best Picture Oscar winner features one of the most famous telephone scenes in film as played by Best Actress Oscar winner Luise Rainier. Ms. Rainier played a supporting role in the film but managed to beat out Greta Garbo's classic Camille performance to win the Academy Award that year, based almost exclusively on her telephone scene. Her famous scene was a phone conversation with ex-husband Florenz Ziegfield (played in the film by William Powell). It was shot as a one-sided conversation without an appearance by Powell. Rainier's telephone scene was the primary reason for her Oscar win. At the time it was considered a bravura performance, but when seen today it appears too over the top to be taken seriously as great acting. Her French-accented English sounds like a parody of itself. Ironically, Ms. Rainier also won the Best Actress Oscar the following year for her role as O-Lan in The Good Earth, a part for which she spoke very little. In contrast to her role as Anna Held, her O'Lan was quiet and understated. No phone scenes in the latter film.
8. Bells are Ringing (1960)
This film version of the Broadway musical starred Judy Holliday (her last film appearance and a re-creation of her Tony-winning stage role) and Dean Martin. Ms. Holliday played an answering service operator who unwittingly fronted a bookie operation by taking bets placed over the phone in not-too-ingenious code. She also falls in love with one of her clients (Dean Martin), but she uses a little old lady voice when they talk with each during phone conversations, complicating the romance situation. Answering services have largely been replaced by voice mail, and off-track betting has helped pushed aside bookies who take racing bets.
9. Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
The title of this Barbara Stanwyck starrer is probably more famous than the film itself. Stanwyck played an invalid wife confined to her bed; Burt Lancaster played her husband who hires someone to kill his wife. The key plot point occurs when Stanwyck picks up her telephone and accidentally hears two men plotting a murder (her murder as it turns out) when telephone wires somehow become crossed. What a coincidence!! This is one of Stanwyck's most famous roles. She received her fourth (and final) Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, but she plays it too hysterically for modern tastes. After a while you don't blame Lancaster for planning to knock her off. As an aside, Agnes Morehead (now known primarily as Samantha's Mother on the Bewitched television comedy) played the role in its original radio broadcast and gave a superior performance as the sole performer in the drama. At the end of the film Lancaster has second thoughts about his plan, tries to warn his wife by phoning her, but the deed has just been done. The killer answers the phone with the words "Sorry, wrong number." Quick shot of Lancaster with a look of shock, then a fade to black. The film was remade for television in the late 1980s with famous thespian Loni Anderson taking on the Stanwyck role. She may not have given a better performance, but Loni looked a lot better in a nightgown.
10. Telefon (1977)
This is one of the few good movies Charles Bronson starred in after he made the original Death Wish (1974). Bronson plays a "good" Russian KGB agent on the trail of a "bad" KGB agent who is triggering a series of sabotage attacks on American military installations by phoning sleeper agents and reciting a line of a Robert Frost poem. The sleeper agents were part of Operation Telefon, hence the film's title. Bronson's Lithuanian heritage (he was born Charles Buchinsky, a name used in the credits of his very early film roles) was useful for the part, because his Russian-accented English as KGB Colonel Borzov was not laughable. The film's title was taken from the KGB's plan called Operation Telefon: brainwash young agents into thinking they were Americans, have them grow up in America unaware of their Russian heritage, and be available for suicide missions should Cold War escalation require attacks on American soil. In the end, Bronson tracks down and kills the rogue KGB agent and returns to Mother Russia. The movie is surprisingly suspenseful and also gave a nice role to Lee Remick, a very underappreciated actress, as an American operative assisting Bronson in his mission.
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr was one of the most provocative film stars of Hollywood’s golden age. She also invented something in 1942 that the average person uses all the time and carries with them everywhere they go.
Hedy Lamarr was about as far from the image of a technical innovator and inventor as one could expect. A 1930’s and 40’s starlet, she graced movie screens with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Clark Gabel. Despite such a busy filming schedule, Hedy Lamarr still had time to invent what is now known as Spread Spectrum Frequency Transmission.
It’s very easy to interfere with a transmitter that sits on the same frequency. In World War II this had serious implications for radio communications. All the enemy had to do was find the frequency the Allies were on and jam it, or they could quietly eavesdrop and collect intelligence data.
But if the transmitter constantly changes frequencies, and the receiver changes with it, then the transmission is much more secure because it never stays on any one channel for very long. It would be impossible for the enemy to follow the constant changes.
That’s basically how spread spectrum frequency transmission works. Hedy Lamarr, along with a musician neighbor, came up with a device that used something like paper piano rolls to change the frequencies. If both the transmitter and receiver had copies of the same roll, and the rolls were running exactly in sync, the system would work. The paper rolls were a 1940’s version of “software.”
Lamarr was granted a patent on August 11, 1942.
As things went, the US Navy took a pass on Hedy Lamarr’s invention until 1962 when the Cuban Missile Crisis forced the American military to up their technological game. By then the patent had expired but Lamarr’s legacy was secure.
Today, cellphones, wifi, Bluetooth, remote controlled devices, security alarms, public safety communications systems…almost everything wireless uses some form of spread spectrum. The frequency hopping is controlled by computers instead of paper rolls and occurs thousands of times per second. The net result is less interference and more security.
Hedy Lamarr died in 2000, just about when cellphones became an everyday item and well before Bluetooth or wifi.
[Source: Chris Warren]
Hedy Lamarr was about as far from the image of a technical innovator and inventor as one could expect. A 1930’s and 40’s starlet, she graced movie screens with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Clark Gabel. Despite such a busy filming schedule, Hedy Lamarr still had time to invent what is now known as Spread Spectrum Frequency Transmission.
It’s very easy to interfere with a transmitter that sits on the same frequency. In World War II this had serious implications for radio communications. All the enemy had to do was find the frequency the Allies were on and jam it, or they could quietly eavesdrop and collect intelligence data.
But if the transmitter constantly changes frequencies, and the receiver changes with it, then the transmission is much more secure because it never stays on any one channel for very long. It would be impossible for the enemy to follow the constant changes.
That’s basically how spread spectrum frequency transmission works. Hedy Lamarr, along with a musician neighbor, came up with a device that used something like paper piano rolls to change the frequencies. If both the transmitter and receiver had copies of the same roll, and the rolls were running exactly in sync, the system would work. The paper rolls were a 1940’s version of “software.”
Lamarr was granted a patent on August 11, 1942.
As things went, the US Navy took a pass on Hedy Lamarr’s invention until 1962 when the Cuban Missile Crisis forced the American military to up their technological game. By then the patent had expired but Lamarr’s legacy was secure.
Today, cellphones, wifi, Bluetooth, remote controlled devices, security alarms, public safety communications systems…almost everything wireless uses some form of spread spectrum. The frequency hopping is controlled by computers instead of paper rolls and occurs thousands of times per second. The net result is less interference and more security.
Hedy Lamarr died in 2000, just about when cellphones became an everyday item and well before Bluetooth or wifi.
[Source: Chris Warren]