moive assignment

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Sound Singin’ in the Rain Complex involvement amongst the studios, new technology industries (telephone, radio, television), and independent inventors Many imitators, new service industries (Electric Research Products, Inc—ERPI) Sound changed industry business practices and production of filmmaking **See “recommended reading” in course reader

-There had been many earlier attempts at synchronized sound: -1900—Exposition Universelle, Paris. the Danes introduced the Telegraphone to see/to hear simultaneously -Edison introduced “speaking pictures” in February 1913 in Chicago. -Sound quality was poor; too expensive an experiment to continue investing at this point. -Leon Gaumont-Chronophone (1905-1906) -Cameraphone in 1907 -Laemmle imported the Synchroscope from Germany in 1908 -Eugene Augustine Lauste worked on the -Photocinematophone in 1907 -Edison, of course, from the beginning was endlessly trying to bridge his two inventions: the kinetoscope with the phonograph -There were always minimal amounts of success with these ventures

The first obstacle for inventors was to figure out how to transmit sound. Western Electric is urgently trying to discover the means to send sound over long distances Inventor 1: Lee De Forest solves this dilemma with his invention of the Audion Tube in 1906.

Another Edison type who will claim to have invented everything pertaining to sound Western Electric buys the rights to De Forest’s Audio tube in 1913 1920 De Forest develops a method for amplifying sound waves— sound is turned into light.

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De Forest begins his own small film production company in 1924—Phonofilms Theodore Case is a partner of his

Inventor 2:

-Theodore Case, however, is able to perfect this amplification of sound waves so as to create a synchronized film strip—SOUND ON FILM -But Western Electric is also working on a synchronized sound apparatus using - wax discs--known as SOUND ON DISC. -1925 Fox and Warner Brothers are very interested in these inventions. -Fox explores and hires Case for his SOUND ON FILM INVENTION

3. Tri-Ergon Sound—Germany sound on film major US competitor to American sound system oddly, Germany and England refused to patent the system in 1919—“not original” Fox buys 90% of American rights Warner Bros. cut a deal with Western Electric’s SOUND ON DISC apparatus. Warner Bros. and Western Electric form the Vitaphone Company Both Warner Bros. and Fox invest heavily in their new ventures. Fox sees his invention not only for musicals and short vaudeville films but for use in NEWSREELS: MOVIETONE NEWS. -1926 Fox purchases rights of theatrical plays for future production Warner Bros. see their equipment primarily for creating musical films—“virtual orchestras” according to one journalist of the period

-Warner Bros. does first sound tests in New York in 1926. -Hire singers and entertainers for a shorts collection: Al Jolson, George Jessel -1926, they purchase and produce the musical operetta Don Juan. -The music is recorded on disc--synchronized--no more need for orchestra

Don Juan premieres 6 August 1926.

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-At the same time two of the last great silent films were simultaneously showing-- King Vidor’sThe Big Parade and The Son of the Shiek (Valentino) January 1927, William Fox’s SOUND ON FILM newsreel, Movietone, opened in New York -By May Fox has great success. -Movietone records Lindbergh event--flight to Paris and is enormously successful -Ironically, Fox’s last great silent film Sunrise is released the year of his success with sound. -Even with the success of Fox and Warner Bros., the other studios (Paramount, MGM, and Universal) agree to study sound for one year before agreeing to commit to the venture

While they’re thinking about it, Warner Bros. releases The Jazz Singer in 1927 with Al Jolson.

-It is a huge hit. -Released on Yom Kippur -Sam Warner--who had initiated the studio’s interest in sound--died the day before the film opened. -None of the Warner Bros. could attend the opening of their first major sound film

What Sound Does to the Industry

-Once the studios get the equipment in place, the look of Hollywood film changes dramatically -For the first few years of sound technology, the camera became stifled and curtailed in terms of movement. -The camera made noise when operating, it had to be place in a sound-proof box Dollies for tracking shots were put out of commission -Lighting also became a problem. The old arc lights used during the silent era were too noisy--they made a horrible hissing sound General Electric’s Mazda Lamps were developed and put into service. -Sound stages had to be built.

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-Dual Productions: silent/sound -“Foreign Problem”: Language barriers double productions/multi-lingual -Trailers: no longer simple slides of movie stars, now mini productions (almost mini narratives) to sell movies -Theaters across the country had to be re-wired. This was enormously expensive

Politics: Mussolini: “Let me speak through [the newsreel] in twenty cities in Italy once a week and I need no other power” The emigration to Hollywood

-Between 1928 and 1930 a great number of New York theater and musical directors are lured to Hollywood (Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern) -Radio performers are hired for their “good” sound voices -Shift in Hollywood talent: Some Hollywood directors, however, could not make the transition: Rex Ingram for example -Several actors failed with the rise of sound: John Gilbert’s career slowly and painfully came to an end when he is told that his voice is not suitable for sound movies, Norma Talmadge and Vilma Banky are left aside as well

1928, Vitaphone films begin to supplant live vaudeville performances at the Picture Palaces--End of vaudeville and live presentations with films With no need for live orchestras--hundreds of musicians are out of a job 1929-1930 First feature film to use all synch sound is The Lights of New York in 1928. 1929--The Broadway Melody opens as the first backstage musical that combines both dialogue and singing In 1930-the studios release 70 musicals

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-25 March 1929, William Fox announces that he is no longer producing silent films -1929 is also when the first camera blimp is utilized to hush the camera motor sound -By the end of 1930 10,000 theaters are wired for sound in the US -Warner Bros. soon discover that their disc on film format is much too difficult and cumbersome. (debate over which is better: sound on film or sound on disc) They are stubborn, though--lots of money invested -By 1929 all majors have chosen to go with Fox’s/Case’s sound on film technique -Warner Bros. finally gives in by 1932 with the production of Public Enemy -The industry will switch in 1950 to sound on tape which is dubbed in later.

The Nagra tape recorder achieves synchronized sound through a light-crystal mechanism that synchs the image between film and magnetic tape Sound drastically increases audience attendance: 1926-50 million weekly 1928-65 million weekly 1930-90 million weekly (General Population 130 million)