- Panoram
Panoram was the
trademark name of a visualjukebox that played music accompanied by a synched, filmed image (the effect being the equivalent of today's music videos) popular within theUnited States during the1940 s. The device consisted of a jukebox playing a closed-loop16mm film reel projected onto a glass screen.The Panoram is now best known for the vast library of short, three minute
music video s that were created for it. Calledsoundies , these films featured most of the great musical stars of the period, includingDuke Ellington ,Count Basie , andCab Calloway . Many of the filmed interludes survive and are considered a priceless archive.The Panoram was priced more than $10,000 in 2006 dollars. It was generally seen in bars, cafes, and upscale dancing establishments where they ran as a curiosity. Following
World War II , the device never recovered its previous popularity due to competition fromTelevision .The
Soundies were printed backwards (mirror image) so that they would appear in a correct orientation when played in a Panoram machine. A Panoram was the size of a refrigerator and employed a series of mirrors to reflect the image from a projector onto a 27-inch, rear-projection, etched-glass screen in a tight, enclosed cabinet. The popular machines were first produced in 1939 by theMills Novelty Company ofChicago, Illinois , (which also made art-deco, fancy slot machines) and found their way into countless soda shops, taverns, bus and train stations and other public places across the nation. The specially-made 16mm films ran in a continuous loop and stopped when an in-line metal strip passed a sensor. The patron then put another nickel (or dime) in the machine to run the series of four to six 2- to 3-minute films again. The Panoram mechanics were housed in an Art Deco, high quality wood cabinet, the Soundies being 8 to 12 minute films that typically showed jazz and other musicians of the day, as well as dance troups and other acts. With the beginning of World War II, production of the Soundies and Panoram machines was drastically reduced due to a wartime raw material shortage and the Mills Panoram's 1940 success quickly faded.
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