Slopfest #2 · 1928 · Vienna

Synchronized, More or Less

Picture and sound had finally been matched. The committee took this as a personal challenge.

Concert programme on a steamer's deck rail, close-up: 'SLOPFEST #2, LIVE SCORE (SOUND TO FOLLOW)' in Art Deco type, a mouse doodled in the margin

Venue: Danube Canal, a moored paddle steamer
Attendance: 19
Guest of honour: Buster Keaton (sat through the nine-second audio delay without changing expression)
Fun fact: 9-second audio delay, preserved in every edition since

What happened

Edition two attempted a live soundtrack for a silent film, with the orchestra on one boat and the projector on another. Sound arrived nine seconds after picture, which the committee declared an artistic choice. Buster Keaton sat through all of it without changing expression. Several guests drew a mouse on their programs. Lawyers were involved until 2024.

Elsewhere in 1928

Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie, one of the first cartoons with synchronized sound, premieres in New York.

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