Get Into the Groove

My documentary would be about the history and evolution (or rather, revolution) of the vinyl record.  I would begin with showing how original records only featured one song per side and were made of plastic shellac.  This original format is what led to the idea of the "album" because of the way in which they were originally sold and packaged.

To best illustrate this early format, I would use the images in Figure 1 and 2.  Both of these photos are available for use without restriction.  The first just shows a group of vintage 78 rpm discs, with the one in the top row showing signs of visible wear caught in the flash of the camera.  The second image shows a more well-preserved example, and the fact that it is on RCA will segue nicely into the video that would follow in the documentary's historical narrative.

Figure1 Just spinning on the couch.

Figure 2 A fine and well preserved piece of the past.

The following public domain video shows how a company like RCA Records advertised their products with very distinct images showing how records are to be played and cared for.

At this point in the documentary, I would then explain how these heavy, shellac discs set the stage for the album that most music fans are familiar with today.  The fact that there was only one song per side of these rather cumbersome discs meant that in order for an artist to express a more complete musical idea, several discs were released in a set. These sets resembled bound books that looked like photo albums because each page was essentially a record sleeve that housed a single disc (Figure 3).  Albums were made up of four to six "pages" meaning that the first albums featured between eight to ten songs.  Popular artists of the day like Frank Sinatra released their music in this format.  Albums gained steady popularity as more and more American families purchased record players.

Figure 3 This is what a typical album looked like from the inside. (image licensed for reuse)

Figure 4  Top of the pops with Frank Sinatra--here is one of his earliest "albums." (image licensed for reuse)

At this point in the documentary, I would focus on how records (both albums and 45 rpm singles) not only became a highly profitable industry, but I would also show how these particular shiny pieces of vinyl became an inextricable part of the emotional experience of listening to music.  While that experience is an intensely personal one, I would showcase images and clips from the movies Diner and High Fidelity (Figures 5 and 6) to underscore this.  (The images and the clips would be utilized through fair use.)

Figure 5 "Don't EVER touch my records!"

Figure 6 "I feel bad taking their money...but I'm, sort of, one of them..."

Finally, if I had the money to use it in my documentary, I would incorporate "Pump Up the Volume" by MARRS, emphasizing the "put the needle on the record" line as much as possible.