It's very hard to imagine what our favorite movies would be like without music, sound effects, or the voices of the actors, but several decades ago, this was a reality. Sound cinema did not always exist, so how did it come about? How did the film world adapt to sound in productions?
The origin of sound cinema
Sound cinema was born in the 1920s after several experiments, marking a turning point for everyone. Directors, producers, viewers, and even actors had to adapt to a new reality. Although it's normal today, for them it was something completely new.
The first inventions aimed at adding sound to films were TriErgon and Movietone. The former was patented by three Germans in 1918: Joseph Massole, Hans Vogt, and Jo Engel. In 1922, a film was released that used this system, titled "Der branstifer".
Another invention that led to the birth of sound cinema was Phonofilm. Lee De Forest created this device that recorded sounds onto the film reels. Despite how innovative these elements were, no one was interested in them for the following reasons:
- Silent cinema was successful at that time.
- Switching to sound meant making a significant investment.
- It was necessary to renovate projection rooms and even the places where movies were produced.
The first sound film
Despite the initial reactions, Lee De Forest continued with his experiments. When Warner was experiencing a series of failures, they began looking for a way to attract audiences to improve their financial situation. What the company did was use Vitaphone, a system that synchronized image and sound.
In 1926, the film "Don Juan" premiered, starring John Barrymore and directed by Alan Crosland. This was the first film in which sound was synchronized with the image throughout the entire movie. It featured sound effects such as ringing bells and sword clashes, and the music was by Mozart.
Don Juan 2917, the first commercial film with a soundtrack
Many consider that the first film in sound cinema was “The Jazz Singer”, but why, if it was released in 1927? In “Don Juan” there was only sound and music, but dialogue was not heard.
The Jazz Singer «The first sound film»
The world of silent cinema began to wobble with “Don Juan,” and the plans for silent films were completely changed by “The Jazz Singer.” As we mentioned before, this is considered the first sound film because, in addition to music and sound effects, it had recorded dialogues.
This significant cinematic breakthrough greatly influenced professionals in the industry and future projects. In 1927, a turning point was marked, as the term “cinema” no longer existed alone but began to be classified into “silent” and “sound”.
After Warner's Vitaphone, Fox and Paramount implemented their own system: Movietone. As expected, many companies wanted to patent their sound systems, which generated many problems. Therefore, for a time, studios used a standard sound system.
Adaptation of the film industry to sound cinema
Productions had to make many changes to update themselves and keep up with the entertainment sought by viewers. To achieve this, they were obliged to make large investments because the arrival of sound in cinema created new positions, such as sound engineers.
It was also necessary to adapt the studios and acoustically condition them. At first, it was a bit difficult; for example, sound equipment not only recorded the actors' voices but also ambient noises. This caused the first shootings to be static.
In order to improve, the sound equipment also evolved, and its soundproofing improved over the years. On the other hand, what the actors had to do to adapt was learn to vocalize so they could perform their interpretations in the best possible way.
New challenges with the beginning of sound cinema
As we mentioned before, it was not easy to incorporate music, sound, and dialogues into films; with the arrival of these elements in cinema, a new challenge emerged. Obviously, with silent films there was no problem with broadcasting them abroad, so what changed with sound?
The fact that dialogues could be heard created the need to eliminate the language barrier. The first solution that was implemented was to add subtitles, but this was unsuccessful because there was a lot of illiteracy and people were not used to reading all the text that appeared on the screen.
With the failure of subtitles, the next idea was to produce the same film in several languages. Although this worked for some years, companies realized that doing so was very costly. It was at that moment that dubbing was born.
Technologies that contributed to the evolution of sound in cinema
The most modern systems are: Dolby Stereo, THX, DTS, SDDS or Sony Dynamic Digital Sound, Dolby Surround 7.1, Barco Auro 11.1, and 3D Dolby Atmos. With all of them, an immersive experience has been achieved for viewers; the sound effects are incredible, you can hear how a spaceship flies above you or how they shoot to your sides.
Sound is a tool of great importance in the film world; music, effects, and dialogues can captivate us. Although we may not always be aware of the great work done by sound engineers, it is something we should appreciate. The quality of a film and its success depend a lot on this factor.
Sound cinema has evolved significantly; the quality it has today would surprise those who took the first steps to implement this factor in the industry. What advancements and technologies will be introduced in the future? We are eager to find out, and surely the upcoming developments will improve the way we enjoy movies.