86 Moving Images: Making Movies, Understanding Mediainterested in making the investment. Once sound fi lms
showed their enormous profi tability, the studios engaged
in an astonishingly rapid switch to sound fi lms. In just two
years, virtually all fi lms being produced were sound fi lms.
Aft er a brief period in which sound-on-disc fi lms continued
to be made, by 1930 superior systems of optical sound had
won out and were adopted by studios and distributors across
the world.The Effects of Changing Technology
Th e eff ects of the conversion of equipment and theaters to
sound movies on the economics of the fi lm industry were
enormous. In addition, production also was fundamentally
altered in a variety of ways. In Hollywood studios, the demands
of sound recording immediately dictated how movies were
shot. Instead of being freely used to develop creative visual
solutions to tell stories, the camera itself was now literally
attached to the needs of sound recording. In addition to
being stuck to cables, the camera now had to be isolated.
Th e loud sound of a rolling camera would be picked up by
microphones, so cameras had to be stuck in soundproof
booths with windows for shooting.
However, some directors pointed out that a sound track was simply a new
tool at the disposal of fi lmmakers and that the way to approach sound was
to use it as a creative means of expression. In particular, Soviet fi lmmakers
Eisenstein and Pudovkin and Frenchman René Clair pointed out the creative
potential for the use of sound and went on to demonstrate provocative and
artistic audio innovations in their fi lms of the early 1930s.
Th e story of the transition to sound and its eff ects on the techniques,
artistry, economics, and other aspects of fi lmmaking is typical in fi lm history.
As you saw in the last unit, motion pictures are grounded in technology.
Just as technology tends to be developed as it is being used, motion picturesFigure 3-6 Camera in the
bulky, sound-proof box in- (Courtesy Photofest)
- What have been the most important new
developments in media technology over the past
decade? Compile a list of at least five key changes
or innovations. - How have any of these developments altered how
movies are viewed? In what ways are various
types of motion pictures viewed today? - How have these changes in media technology
altered moviemaking in terms of access to
filmmaking? - What are the most important economic effects of
these changes? Are there new challenges that have
presented themselves to filmmakers, distributors,
cinemas, or other sources of media? List the three
most important challenges that you perceive.
Framing the Discussion
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