The development of sound in the cinema happened around the time two major social commotions were going on: the Great Depression and World War II. Before sound came about, most silent films were accompanied ranging from a piano/organ to a full orchestra. Inventors tried joining images to reproduce sound through phonograph records, but it was too difficult to synchronize the sound due to the inadequacy of loudspeakers for theater auditoriums. Finally in 1927, the Warner Brothers released The Jazz Singer which was the beginning of synchronizing sound. Though sound had economic and technological implications, the style was affect. Before filmmakers realized that sound was used imaginatively, directors feared wide-ranging dialogue scenes in adapted
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The United States had the first successful film industry with sound production. Lee DeForest was famous for his Phonofilm in which, was a sound-on film-process that converted sound into light waves reproduced on a photographic strip that ran alongside the images on a regular 35mm film strip. Western Electric created a sound-on-disc system, but Hollywood studios were too cautious to adopt it. As time progressed, the Warner brothers considered sound a cost-cutting substitute for live entertainment on film programs that would save on labor in their theaters and offer the same to other exhibitors. After sound-on-disc, Western Electric developed a sound-on-film system by Theodore Case and Earl Sponable which was a mimic of the Phonofilm. RCA also developed a sound-on-film system called the Dubbed Photophone. There were five major producing companies in Hollywood that had to show each other’s films through by …show more content…
The Soviet film industry pursed its own path to sound as well. The Soviets, however, ran into technical problems which resulted in releasing silent films. To improve its film industry, Soviet officials order equipment from the U.S. and had specialist from the U.S. to install it. Officials also made trips to the U.S. to study techniques for sound production. Shortly after, the film industry transitions to sound during the First Five Year Plan. This transition did not go as planned due to the Depression which cause a lack of funds and the lack of trained technicians. The French film industry was dominated based upon American and German systems despite its weakness. Because studios were still being wired in France, filmmakers produced in London and Berlin. By 1930, most of the main studios were ready for use using American or German systems. Great Britain also imitated American practices as a means of building up its film industry. They ran into financial issues with converting to sound primarily because of silent films having little value in the big first-run cinema; however, synchronizing sound helped provide a series of historical films that Britain filmmakers hoped would gain entry in the productive American market. Japanese cinema focused on “talkies,” and were one of the last to convert to synchronizing sound in movies. Again because of the Depression,
The United States had the first successful film industry with sound production. Lee DeForest was famous for his Phonofilm in which, was a sound-on film-process that converted sound into light waves reproduced on a photographic strip that ran alongside the images on a regular 35mm film strip. Western Electric created a sound-on-disc system, but Hollywood studios were too cautious to adopt it. As time progressed, the Warner brothers considered sound a cost-cutting substitute for live entertainment on film programs that would save on labor in their theaters and offer the same to other exhibitors. After sound-on-disc, Western Electric developed a sound-on-film system by Theodore Case and Earl Sponable which was a mimic of the Phonofilm. RCA also developed a sound-on-film system called the Dubbed Photophone. There were five major producing companies in Hollywood that had to show each other’s films through by …show more content…
The Soviet film industry pursed its own path to sound as well. The Soviets, however, ran into technical problems which resulted in releasing silent films. To improve its film industry, Soviet officials order equipment from the U.S. and had specialist from the U.S. to install it. Officials also made trips to the U.S. to study techniques for sound production. Shortly after, the film industry transitions to sound during the First Five Year Plan. This transition did not go as planned due to the Depression which cause a lack of funds and the lack of trained technicians. The French film industry was dominated based upon American and German systems despite its weakness. Because studios were still being wired in France, filmmakers produced in London and Berlin. By 1930, most of the main studios were ready for use using American or German systems. Great Britain also imitated American practices as a means of building up its film industry. They ran into financial issues with converting to sound primarily because of silent films having little value in the big first-run cinema; however, synchronizing sound helped provide a series of historical films that Britain filmmakers hoped would gain entry in the productive American market. Japanese cinema focused on “talkies,” and were one of the last to convert to synchronizing sound in movies. Again because of the Depression,