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The Coming of Sound

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THE INTRODUCTION OF SOUND EARLY ATTEMPTS AT SOUND: EDISON 1895, combined phonograph & kinetoscope to create KINETOPHONE It was unsuccessful, mostly due to problems ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: The Coming of Sound


1
The Coming of Sound
2
THE 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.

3
Kinetophone
4
Kinetophone film, 1912
5
SYNCHRONIZED 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

6
SYNCHRONIZED 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

7
SYNCHRONIZED 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

8
John Gilbert with 33 1/3 rpm record
9
Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer (1927)
10
Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer (1927)
11
SYNCHRONIZED 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

12
Fox Movie-Tone advertisement
13
SYNCHRONIZED 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

14
SYNCHRONIZED 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

15
RCA Photophone
16
PROBLEMS 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

17
PROBLEMS 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

18
The Marx Brothers
19
Mae West
20
SOUND-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

21
Self-Regulation in Hollywood
  • Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle

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

23
THE 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

24
Fatty Arbuckle
25
Fatty Arbuckle in drag
26
William Desmond Taylor
27
Mary Miles Minter
28
Mabel Normand
29
Love letter (in code) from Mary Miles Minter to
Desmond Taylor
30
Wallace Reid in Joan the Woman
31
Wallace Reid in Carmen
32
THE 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

33
Will Hays, head of the MPPDA
34
THE 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

35
THE 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

36
THE 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

37
THE 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

38
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