Sound in Film

1. Sound in Film I thought we’d start with a little irony and NOT talk in this one.  There are some clips though, so make sure you enable content, click that yes it is a trusted source if prompted, and watch in full screen slideshow view.

2. First, there weren’t really “silent films.” • Sound was created live at the theater. • Before 1928, movies had any combination of sound effects, soundtrack, singing, and sometimes even actors performing live at the theater or on a phonograph. That’s right! Sometimes the dialogue was actually dubbed. • Sometimes there was specific sheet music to accompany a film, and sometimes a talented organist at the theater just made it up. • Much of the complexity depended on the size and $ of the theater itself.

3. "Edison invented the motion pictures as a supplement to his phonograph, in the belief that sound plus a moving picture would provide better entertainment than sound alone. But in a short time the movies proved to be good enough entertainment without sound. It has been said that although the motion picture and the phonograph were intended to be partners, they grew up separately. And it might be added that the motion picture held the phonograph in such low esteem that for years it would not speak. Throughout the long history of efforts to add sound, the success of the silent movie was the great obstacle to commercialization of talking pictures." Edward W. Kellog ,June 1955, Journal of the SMPTE

4. I saw you skip that slide. Go back and actually read that.

5. So that’s right. Believe it or not, “talkies,” as they were first called, were not instantly preferred nor popular.

6. The love of silent films might surprise you, but watch these clips of Hollywood legend Buster Keaton. There is something truly “Visual Word” about having no dialogue. Also remember, these scenes involve no special effects and he did his own stunts! Buster Keaton Compilation Buster Keaton Famous Soda Shop Scene

7. Early Experiments • William Dickson working for Thomas Edison had some very early limited success with synching sound and visuals. • This early experiment is a little bizarre and surrealistic when viewed today! • Early Dickson Sound Experiment

8. The Jazz Singer • If someone asks wha the first “talkie” was, they just expect you to say The Jazz Singer. • It was made in 1927, and starred a man named Al Jolson. • Only a few parts of the film have sound, and in it he appears in black face, which is considered very offensive in this era, so I’m not really comfortable imbedding a clip here.

9. Today sound is an important aspect of the cinematic experience. Sound can establish mood.(suspense, sadness, humor, etc.) Sound can establish atmosphere and location. (busy city street, restaurant, etc.) Sound can be linked to characterization. Some characters have their own theme songs. And of course sound provides dialogue.

10. Here are some examples I put together of what sound can do. Sound Examples