Title: The Coming of Sound
1The Coming of Sound
2THE INTRODUCTION OF SOUND
- EARLY ATTEMPTS AT SOUND EDISON
- 1895, combined phonograph kinetoscope to create
KINETOPHONE - It was unsuccessful, mostly due to problems with
synchronization - OTHER ATTEMPTS AT SOUND IN THE SILENT ERA
- Other experiments provided sound with movies
- Primary source of sound provided at theater
music, sound effects, etc.
3Kinetophone
4Kinetophone film, 1912
5SYNCHRONIZED SOUND(1927-28)
- ECONOMICS OF THE TRANSITION
- STUDIO CONSERVATISM
- Big 3 Paramount, Loew's/MGM, 1st National
- All profitable, resisted the transition to
sound - All 3 had extensive chains of picture palaces
- Radio telephone companies researched sound,
rejected by Big 3
6SYNCHRONIZED SOUND(1927-28)
- WARNER BROS. ATT (Western Electric)
- WARNER BROS.
- 1 of the 2nd tier, had mostly 2nd 3rd run
theaters - 1925, cooperated with AMERICAN TELEGRAPH
TELEPHONE (ATT) on sound development - WESTERN ELECTRIC
- Subsidiary established by ATT to research
manufacture technology - Developed 33 rpm turntables records,
amplifiers loudspeakers
7SYNCHRONIZED SOUND(1927-28)
- VITAPHONE
- Both process holding company created to exploit
process - They began with musical shorts
- 1st big feature film success The Jazz Singer
(1927) - Had 4 Vitaphone segments, all primarily musical
numbers - Rest was silent (with inter-titles)
- PROBLEMS WITH SOUND ON DISC
- Difficult to maintain consistent synchronization
- Supposedly, because each disc was 10 min. long,
each shot in the film also had to be 10 min. long
8John Gilbert with 33 1/3 rpm record
9Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer (1927)
10Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer (1927)
11SYNCHRONIZED SOUND(1927-28)
- FOX MOVIE-TONE SYSTEM
- Fox interested in sound after Warner's success
- 1927, adopted OPTICAL sound system (sound
recorded on film) - Developed by General Electric, still used today
- Superior to Vitaphone system
- Always in synchronization
- Greater flexibility in editing
- But required Western Electric amplifiers
speakers
12Fox Movie-Tone advertisement
13SYNCHRONIZED SOUND(1927-28)
- THE PATENTS POOL
- Big 3 waited to see which system would succeed
- Formed a committee of Academy to choose a system
- 1928, patents pool resulted in standard system
Fox's optical sound Western Electric equipment - At this point, all important film companies
committed to sound films using new system
14SYNCHRONIZED SOUND(1927-28)
- RCA RKO
- RCA developed optical sound system in 1928 called
RCA PHOTOPHONE - Created its own studio, RKO (RADIO-KEITH-ORPHEUM),
to exploit its new sound system
15RCA Photophone
16PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS
- TECHNICAL
- MICROPHONES
- Had to be hidden from view
- Eventually, mounted on mobile booms
- CAMERAS
- Had to be electrically powered
- Motors were noisy
- 1st placed in sound-proof booths, later
surrounded by sound-proof, mobile blimps - Finally, noiseless cameras were developed
17PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS
- PERSONNEL
- Many veterans of the silent era did not make the
transition to sound - Had unpleasant voices, or voices that did not
match screen images - Assumption that writers, directors, etc. did not
"know how" to work with sound - New talent largely from Broadway stage
18The Marx Brothers
19Mae West
20SOUND-ON-FILM
- An alternative to an existing option dialog
inter-titles - It had other functions as well
- It helped define characters
- It increased verisimilitude
- Decreased costs of exhibition
- 3 major changes in industry
- Fox became 1 of the Big 5 due to its success with
sound - Warner joined Big 5 (bought 1st National
Stanley theater chain) - RKO completed Big 5
- Big 5 (Paramount, Loew's/MGM, Fox, Warner Bros.,
RKO) controlled industry until at least 1950s
21Self-Regulation in Hollywood
22- Movies seen as 1st real threat to cultural
dominance of upper classes over lower classes - Created by lower class
- Patronized by lower classes
- Accepted by middle upper classes
- Groups sought to reestablish control primarily
through censorship
23THE CREATION OF THE MPPDA
- CENSORSHIP
- Numerous state local censorship boards
- Each imposed different set of standards
- THE HOLLYWOOD SCANDALS
- FATTY ARBUCKLE CASE
- DESMOND TAYLOR CASE
- WALLACE REID CASE
24Fatty Arbuckle
25Fatty Arbuckle in drag
26William Desmond Taylor
27Mary Miles Minter
28Mabel Normand
29Love letter (in code) from Mary Miles Minter to
Desmond Taylor
30Wallace Reid in Joan the Woman
31Wallace Reid in Carmen
32THE CREATION OF THE MPPDA
- MPPDA set up by industry in 1922
- In theory, a self-regulatory body in practice, a
public relations body - Created to accomplish 2 goals
- End spread of state local censorship boards
- Improve image of film industry
- Will Hays served as head of MPPDA
- Former Postmaster-General, ultra-conservative
Republican from Indiana, a devout Presbyterian - Much later, it became clear that Hays was a crook
33Will Hays, head of the MPPDA
34THE PRODUCTION CODE THE BREEN OFFICE
- In early 1930s, 2 factors renewed the criticism
- Box-office decline resulted in more violent
racier content - Sound added a new way for movies to be offensive
- 1933, LEGION OF DECENCY, Catholic organization,
led boycotts of Hollywood films
35THE PRODUCTION CODE THE BREEN OFFICE
- THE PRODUCTION CODE
- 1929, production code drafted to codify
suggestions made by MPPDA regarding content, to
deal with problems of sound - PRODUCTION CODE ADMINISTRATION (PCA) created in
1934 to enforce code - THE BREEN OFFICE
- Joseph Breen appointed director of PCA
- No film not approved by PCA would be shown in a
theater owned by a member of MPPDA
36THE PRODUCTION CODE THE BREEN OFFICE
- STAGES IN APPROVAL
- Preliminary story conference
- Approval of the script negotiations
- Production conferences
- Approval of scenes as produced during production
- Approval of the completed film negotiations
- Appeal if not approved
37THE PRODUCTION CODE THE BREEN OFFICE
- RESTRICTIONS
- CRIME
- SEX
- VULGARITY, OBSCENITY, PROFANITY
- RELIGION
- GOVERNMENT
- REPELLENT SUBJECTS IN GENERAL
- END OF THE CODE
- 1950s 1960s, Church began to lose control over
younger generation TV threatened film industry - Code was abandoned
- Replaced by RATINGS SYSTEM in 1968
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