A collaboration between the Spanish artist Ignacio Uriarte and the US sound-effects artist Michael Winslow, best known for his roles in the Police Academy film franchise (1984-1994), History of the Typewriter as Recited by Michael Winslow traces 88 years of typewriter sounds, from 1895 to 1983, when the personal computer began rendering the world-changing machines obsolete. Beyond showcasing Winslow’s incredible capacity for impeccable vocal imitation, Uriarte’s film is a time capsule of forgotten, once ubiquitous sounds, and a uniquely creative exploration of the arcana of technological change.
What does innovation sound like? For a century, typewriters chattered an evolving story
Director: Ignacio Uriarte

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