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Bosse (Karl Kurt)How the Ear Functions (1940)

Structure and function of the human hearing system, with excellent animation.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Bosse (Karl Kurt)
Sponsor: N/A
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Keywords: Perception: Sound; Animation

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: trafalgar - - May 29, 2004
Subject: entertaining and weird
A surreal, yet educational film (how often can you say that?)...
Actually, when I saw this, I was suffering from a ruptured eardrum, which had been mis-diagnosed by an MD as something else. After watching this, I suspected my true condition, and went to a specialist for a 2nd opinion...and thanks to that, everything is now OK.
So, thank you, Prelinger Archives, for saving my left ear.

Reviewer: Dgold at AHT - - April 3, 2004
Subject: sights about sounds
If you really enjoy music, sounds, or close listening, learn about how the ear works. This detailed but simple educational video shows some great close-ups of the inner ear and its parts.

Since they say you are free to re-use video montages found on this Archive - I think it would be neat to use some segments of this in a music video or other music-related visual project. There are various visual representations of sound waves which are suggestive of musical themes.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - August 1, 2003
Subject: Fun with pointers
A pretty interesting science film which title says it all, spices itself up with some pretty gonzo illustrations. Now, watch carefully at the face shot during the animated sequence, in it, is a subliminal skull shot which is never really explained and seems very strangely placed. Also worth watching is the delirious pointer action. It goes everywhere! Finally, there's a great theater audience shot, where all the seats are exactly in rows. Arghh!

Shotlist

OUTLINES STRUCTURE & FUNCTION OF THE HUMAN EAR, SOUND WAVES ARE BRIEFLY EXPLAINED. ANIMATION REVEALS FUNCTION OF TYMPANIC MEMBRANE & OSSICLES OF EAR BONES & OTHER PARTS OF THE EAR. Shows the transmission of sound waves by the tympanic membrane and the ossicles to the oval window and illustrates pressure equalization in the middle ear by the eustachian tube.



06:20:16:10 LS audience sitting in theatre, probably shot in 1920s or 1930s
06:20:32:14 Kaleidoscopic montage of man's ear, rotating (good surreal shot of ears and hearing)
06:20:57:16 CU old alarm bell showing animated sound waves emanating from it
06:22:42:16 Hand-drawn stills showing man's head and anatomy of ear and hearing apparatus, including sinuses and frontal lobes
06:23:46:01 Drawings of inner ear labeled to show anatomical parts

EARS SCIENCE HEARING HUMAN BODIES ANIMATION DIAGRAMS DRAWINGS Sound Sound waves (animated) Ears (animated) Heads Senses Physiology Audiences Theaters Eardrums (animated) Montages Surrealism Ears (rotating) Visual effects