Because silent cinema is widely perceived as having been exactly
that-silent-no one has fully examined how souns was used to
accompany the films of this era. Silent Film Sound reconsiders all
aspects of sound practices during the entire silent film period.
Based on extensive origianl reserach and accompanied by gorgeous
illustrations, the book challenges the assumptions of earlier
histories of this period in film and reveals the complexity and
swiftly changing nature of American silent cinema. Contrary to
received opinion, silent films were not always accompanied, nor
were accompaniments uniform. Beginning with sound practices before
cinema's first decade and continuing through to the more familiar
sound practices of the 1920s, Rick Altman discusses the variety of
sound strategies and the way early cinema exhibitors used these
strategies to differentiate their products. During the nickelodeon
period prior to 1910, this variety reached its zenith, with
theaters often deploying half a dozen competing sound
strategies-from carniva-like music in the street, automatic pianos
at the rear of the theater, and small orchestras in the pit to
lecturers, synchronized sound systems, and voices behind the
screen. During this period, musical accompaniment had not yet begun
to support the story and its emotions as it would in later years.
But in the 1910s, film sound acquiesced to the demands of the
burgeoning cinema industry, who successfully argued that
accompaniment should enhance film's narrative and emotional content
rather than score points by burluesqiung or "kidding" the film. The
large theaters and blockbuster productions of the mid-1910s
provided a perfect crucible for new instruments, new music
publication projects, and the development of a new style of film
msuic. From that moment on, film music would become an integral
part of the film rather than its adversary, and a new style of
cinema sound would favor accompaniment that worked in concert with
cinema story-telling. For the first time, Silent Film Sound details
the ways in which these diverse intersts and industires cam
together to produce an extraordinarily successful audiovisual art.
Because silent cinema is widely perceived as having been exactly
that-silent-no one has fully examined how sound was used to
accompany the films of this era. Silent Film Sound reconsiders all
aspects of sound practices during the entire silent film period.
Based on extensive original research and accompanied by gorgeous
illustrations, the book challenges the assumptions of earlier
histories of this period in film and reveals the complexity and
swiftly changing nature of American silent cinema. Contrary to
received opinion, silent films were not always accompanied, nor
were accompaniments uniform. Beginning with sound practices before
cinema's first decade and continuing through to the more familiar
sound practices of the 1920s, Rick Altman discusses the variety of
sound strategies and the way early cinema exhibitors used these
strategies to differentiate their products. During the nickelodeon
period prior to 1910, this variety reached its zenith, with
theaters often deploying half a dozen competing sound
strategies-from carnival-like music in the street, automatic pianos
at the rear of the theater, and small orchestras in the pit to
lecturers, synchronized sound systems, and voices behind the
screen. During this period, musical accompaniment had not yet begun
to support the story and its emotions as it would in later years.
But in the 1910s, film sound acquiesced to the demands of captains
of the burgeoning cinema industry, who successfully argued that
accompaniment should enhance the film's narrative and emotional
content rather than score points by burlesquing or "kidding" the
film. The large theaters and blockbuster productions of the
mid-1910s provided a perfect crucible for new instruments, new
music-publication projects, and the development of a new style of
film music. From that moment on, film music would become an
integral part of the film rather than its adversary, and a new
style of cinema sound would favor accompaniment that worked in
concert with cinema storytelling. For the first time, Silent Film
Sound details the ways in which these diverse interests and
industries came together to produce an extraordinarily successful
audiovisual art.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
