macro lenses, the cinematography used in these sections was designed to take the viewer inside the inner workings of the 1920s Western Electric amplifier and microphone and the 1920s Scully cutting lathe, and to give the recording system a larger than life persona. Exterior shots of the dilapidated and nondescript studio building were occasionally employed with pedestrians walking by oblivious to the activities going on inside. MacMahon said this was to “remind people that behind every door there are a thousand stories.” Sound recording Western electric recording system In 1925, Western Electric launched a new electronic recording process that could capture the nuances of the human voice and subtle instrumental shadings that had eluded the old acoustic systems. The machine revolutionized the recording of music because it could record every type of instrument and voice whereas the acoustic horn recordings that predated it were severely limited in what they could record effectively. The new system consisted of an electrical microphone whose signal was amplified by a 6’ amplifier rack. The amplified signal was then sent to a cutting head that cut a wax disc on a Scully lathe that was pulley powered by a 100Ib brass weight. In the 1920s as radio took over the pop music business, record companies were forced to expand their markets and leave their studios in major cities in search of new musical styles and markets. They organized field recording sessions across America and recorded blues, gospel, Cajun, country, Hawaiian, Native American and many other hitherto unrecorded types of music using the Western Electric system which technologically made these recordings possible. These recordings would go on to have vast cultural impact in North America and the rest of the world. The recording system was leased out to the major record labels who had to pay a royalty on every record sold to Western Electric. The success of music recordings led to the system being leased by the major Hollywood studios for talking pictures after initial resistance. Although there are no records of how many of these machines were leased out to the record companies, estimates range from a dozen to two dozen. Prior to the release of The American Epic Sessions the recording system was mysterious and had not been seen in almost 80 years. Engineer Nicholas Bergh explained, “I had two mentors when I was getting into audio who started their careers in the