test 2 Flashcards
What coincided with the spread of sound in cinema?
The early years of the Great depression in the US
When was sound added to films and who did it?
1927 Warner Bros released The Jazz Singer, a successful movie in the US; first film of synchronized sound
Which country was the 1st to move to sound production?
US. Germany & USSR came after
When were all films converted to sound?
By 1932 despite Great depression
Who invented the Phonofilm and when?
Lee Deforest, an American inventor in 1923
What was the phonofilm?
A sound on film process that converted sound into light waves reproduced on a photographic strip running alongside images on a film strip
Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system
Where were films distributed?
Where they were in most demand
What were the big 5 studio systems in hollywood? called major
Paramount, MGM, RKO, 20th century fox, Warner bros
Where did storytelling originate or what is the earliest forms of storytelling we have?
myths
Where can we see the ideological use of storytelling in uses of genre?
For example in sitcoms like the fresh prince of bel air where there’s always a lesson at the end of the episode
What are the 3 important ways of understanding movie genre?
Atmosphere, character, story
What brings in an audience to a movie?
Expectation
What country had strict policies for subject matter and style of films during 1930s?
Soviet Union. Nazis gradually absorbed the film business and installed strict censorship, which later controlled French filmmakers during WW2.
What resulted in a move toward political documentary in western countries?
Growing power of fascist regimes around WW2 1930s
What 3 countries dominated the world’s conversion to sound?
US germany USSR (US First)
What did the Jazz Singer film signify?
1927 synchronized sound, a cheaper way of reproducing stage acts and music
What were films with sound called?
talkies
What was the big 5 agreement in 1927?
five largest producing companies in hollywood agreed to act together in adopting whatever sound system that was best, which were western electric sound on disc and RCA sound on film systems. Western Electric was picked as best
When was the conversion to sound virtually complete in the us?
mid 1932
What genre was made possible by the invention of sound?
musicals
What are the 3 elements of sound?
direction, cue, and perception/interpretation
when the the camera invented?
1895
when could cameras record sound?
1926
When was sound first introduced?
In the US in a film The jazz singer where a man is wearing black face, “you aint heard nothin yet.”
What does this element of sound mean? Direction
Sound directs audience to a particular part or detail of a frame. For example, when we hear the Jaws theme, we look to the sea for the shark
What does this element of sound mean? Cue
Sounds gives viewers cues about what’s about to happen. Ex: scary music leading up to violent scene