Hazard E. Reeves
Encyclopedia
Hazard E. Reeves was a pioneer in sound and sound electronics, and introduced magnetic stereophonic sound
to motion pictures. He was also the president of over 60 companies, including Cinerama Inc.
.
, Maryland
, Reeves graduated from Georgia School of Technology
in 1928 with a degree in engineering.
. After being appointed as a special consultant to the Harvard University
Film Foundation, his interests shifted from phonograph recordings to motion picture audio. By 1933, Reeves had set up his own sound recording studio in New York. The studio soon became the largest on the east coast of the US.
In 1939, Reeves met Fred Waller during the construction of the 1939 New York World's Fair
on an exhibit for Eastman Kodak
. Waller showed Reeves his idea for a multiple-camera photography system that would fill the peripheral vision
, initially dubbed "Vitarama". Waller asked Reeves if he could invent a multi-channel system of sound. Reeves agreed, and ultimately invested money into the company.
During World War II
, Reeves ran the Reeves-Ely Laboratories, manufacturing electronic products for the war effort. His company won the Army-Navy "E" Award for merit four times, fulfilling contracts totaling millions of dollars.
Utilizing magnetic tape recording
, Reeves created a six-channel sound system for Cinerama, the company of which he was president by 1952. That same year, Cinerama released its first picture, This is Cinerama
. Reeves' sound system was the first, discrete stereophonic sound system used in post-war commercial application. (Walt Disney had released Fantasia in three-track optical sound in 1940, but the Disney "Fantasound" system was not used for any other film afterwards.)
Reeves Soundcraft Corporation won an Academy Award in 1953 for their development of a process of applying stripes of magnetic oxide to motion picture film for sound recording and reproduction.
Reeves died of a heart attack in Tuxedo Park, New York
.
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
to motion pictures. He was also the president of over 60 companies, including Cinerama Inc.
Cinerama
Cinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it...
.
Early life and education
Born in BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, Reeves graduated from Georgia School of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
in 1928 with a degree in engineering.
Early career and war
Reeves moved to New York, where his first job was for the Columbia Phonograph CompanyColumbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. After being appointed as a special consultant to the Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
Film Foundation, his interests shifted from phonograph recordings to motion picture audio. By 1933, Reeves had set up his own sound recording studio in New York. The studio soon became the largest on the east coast of the US.
In 1939, Reeves met Fred Waller during the construction of the 1939 New York World's Fair
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
on an exhibit for Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak Company is a multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquarted in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1892....
. Waller showed Reeves his idea for a multiple-camera photography system that would fill the peripheral vision
Peripheral vision
Peripheral vision is a part of vision that occurs outside the very center of gaze. There is a broad set of non-central points in the field of view that is included in the notion of peripheral vision...
, initially dubbed "Vitarama". Waller asked Reeves if he could invent a multi-channel system of sound. Reeves agreed, and ultimately invested money into the company.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Reeves ran the Reeves-Ely Laboratories, manufacturing electronic products for the war effort. His company won the Army-Navy "E" Award for merit four times, fulfilling contracts totaling millions of dollars.
Later career
Following the war, in 1946, Reeves founded the Reeves Soundcraft Corporation and directed the operation of a number of companies manufacturing a variety of products including recording tape and film, record discs, wire cable, television tubes and cameras and precision recording equipment. Reeves introduced magnetic recording to the film industry in 1948.Utilizing magnetic tape recording
Magnetic tape sound recording
The use of magnetic tape for sound recording originated around 1930. Magnetizable tape revolutionized both the radio broadcast and music recording industries. It did this by giving artists and producers the power to record and re-record audio with minimal loss in quality as well as edit and...
, Reeves created a six-channel sound system for Cinerama, the company of which he was president by 1952. That same year, Cinerama released its first picture, This is Cinerama
This is Cinerama
This is Cinerama is a 1952 full-length film designed to introduce the then-new widescreen process Cinerama, which broadens the aspect ratio so the viewer's peripheral vision is involved...
. Reeves' sound system was the first, discrete stereophonic sound system used in post-war commercial application. (Walt Disney had released Fantasia in three-track optical sound in 1940, but the Disney "Fantasound" system was not used for any other film afterwards.)
Reeves Soundcraft Corporation won an Academy Award in 1953 for their development of a process of applying stripes of magnetic oxide to motion picture film for sound recording and reproduction.
Reeves died of a heart attack in Tuxedo Park, New York
Tuxedo Park, New York
Tuxedo Park is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 731 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined...
.