When “talkies” were first being made, there was a problem with the camera noise. During this time a movie was being produced of “Barney Google” and his horse “Spark Plug”. One of the camera operators used Spark Plug’s blanket to stifle the noise of the camera. The blankets that were used after that were called “Barneys”.  

 

The first Sound Barneys were made in the 1970’s and were created with a layer of vinyl and fiberglass that muffles the sound and used Duvetyn as a liner. In the 1980’s a company began using Baryfol as the material to stifle the sound. This was first used in a camera for Panavision.

 

Panavision realized that the mechanical noise could be controlled, but that the sound was still being emitted through the lens of the camera. This is still a problem today, and people are still working on finding new material to stop the sound from emitting through the lens.