‘Singing in the Rain’

The story of “Singing in the Rain” is a transformation of sound into images that improved cinema viewing. The transition from silent to talkies dramatized the directors and actors, notably, and this caused the emergence of the tabloid “Talkie Terror” (Ames 58). The advent of studio microphones caused several performers to have their careers destroyed due to the drama that erupted as the backdrop. Numerous actors were eventually made obsolete since it was believed that they had Brooklyn accents and squeaky voices, which led to their eventual unemployment. This made the talkies to spread the news all over.

As far as 1885, Thomas Edison always desired to marry images to sounds through the connection of the phonograph with the kinetoscope (Buss 124). The biggest challenge he encountered was synchronizing the sound with the pictures. Beyond that, the directors had a problem with the audience because whenever they projected onto a screen in the theaters, the pre-electric amplification sound was not loud enough.

Changes and challenges during the transition

Most actors who had foreign accents eventually had their fortune change because the silent era did not recognize anyone who had a thick German accent. The primary reason for this was because of the microphone since none of them knew how to use it. For instance, an actor by the name Reginald Denny had his career change because his acting was based on the corn-fed American plays which were something different according to the British actors, particularly when he was required to speak (Liebman 214).

The old actors on the other hand also had problems with their voices that made the entire medium change. How they worked was considered to be a rethought. A good example was also seen with the directors because, in the silent films, they had to shout for directions. The challenge came when the talkie era emerged because they had to whisper (Leibman 288). The technical issue of the early sound recording was the lampoon in ‘singing in the rain’ because some actors like Fairbanks had to change the way they acted to a stiff, motionless style. This meant that they had to talk right into microphones that were hidden thus modifying the meaning of the pictures due to the minimum body motion.

Nevertheless, the aesthetic movement that changed the look of photos also made the performers notice that the audience could tell that they were forced into a new world which they could not blend with the expression. The old actors’ way of working, in this case, was seen to be slow. Other actors like Wallace Beery were also victims of the introduction of sound. This is because the studios used the new talkies as ways of reducing their cost through declining their contracts. The primary purpose why they did that was because many new actors had verbal talents ready to take advantage of the introduction of sound. Such players included Ethel Merman and Marx brother. The studio also wanted to get rid of the oldies stars since they were seen to be expensive to maintain.

The first film by the name the ‘Talkie.’

‘The Jazz singer’ was the first film that was introduced as the ‘Talkie’ because it changed the way Hollywood operated. Produced by the Warner brothers, it was not the first movie to use sound, but they released it with the utilization of the Vitaphone which had Don Juan to do its sound and music on its music track during the phonograph time (Reid 176). Al Jonson acted the jazz singer at the age of thirteen who made it break the barriers of operating in a way that it took time before the rest caught up (Reid 224). This was because the studios only released films based on the ages of the 30’s and sometimes releasing the silent and talkie version movies on the side. The reason was that not every studio had the opportunity to use the wired sound and before they could upgrade, they would take time. However, in 1929, Clara Bow destructed the trend by bringing in the new soundstage that had burning sounds. Not every actor was prepared for this transition because most of them preferred the silent acting (Leibman 304).

How the synchronized sound effect the motion picture experience

The clarity effects of the temporal structure of action and sound are that there are different impression of the audiovisual contents that are combined with various semantic methods. The audio-visual combinations stimuli the speed of the tempo of the auditory as well as the motion picture thus forming a relationship between the visual and auditory accents. The synchronization of auditory and visual rhythm also affects the congruency subject because its impact is high as the effects of the audiovisual contents (Souto 71). The matching of the visual speed and the auditory tempo makes the speed of the motion pictures to be a bit faster. The visual contents which are facilitated by light also determine the tempo of the music because of the faster the music. The more the light impressions, the higher of the audiovisual materials. The complexity of the subject, on the other hand, is based on the imbalance between the auditory and visual speeds. In other words, the musical and tempo speed should always match to make the feeling of the audio-visual perfect.

The impact of the synchronized sound on the art of film-making business

The transition that took place from the silent film to the ‘talkies’ transformed the film industry and mass entertainment operated. A good example was seen in the ‘Going to the pictures’ in America due to the small amount of fee that made everyone escape from their tedious lives (Thompson 90). The impact of technology in Hollywood business of acting was used as tools to analyze the role of movies in America and the culture of the world concerning different media careers as well as legal changes that shaped Hollywood. The transition also made people engage with learners globally who had a broad range of experience.

Conclusion

The transition from the silent film to the talkies as elaborated in the essay was something the old actors hated. Not everyone was comfortable with the way sound was to match with the pictures, and that’s why either they quit or complained. But when looked into details, the introduction of sound was meant to make the movies industry more entertaining and attractive. As seen, the Hollywood grew to a level where everybody found a reason to live their boring lives to be entertained. The studio’s on the other hand also had a difficult time changing but as seen they managed to balance the auditory tempo with the motion pictures.

Works Cited

Ames, Christopher. Movies About the Movies: Hollywood Reflected. University Press of Kentucky; 48-69, 2015.

Buss, David M. Recorded Sound, Issues 25-36. British Institute of Recorded Sound: 110-147, 2010.

Liebman, Roy. From Silents to Sound: A Biographical Encyclopedia of Performers who Made the Transition to Talking Pictures. McFarland; 107-321, 2009.

Raimondo-Souto, H. Mario. Motion Picture Photography: A History, 1891–1960. McFarland; 47-101, 2010.

Reid, John Howard. Silent Films & Early Talkies on DVD: A Classic Movie Fan’s Guide. Lulu.com; 200-287, 2012.

Thompson, Kristin. Minding Movies: Observations on the Art, Craft, and Business of Filmmaking. University of Chicago Press;77-121, 2011.