film quiz 2
Nickelodeon Theaters
-Permanent storefront theaters -Named for the original Nickelodeon Theater (Greek for "nickel theater) the opened in Pittsburgh in 1905, By 1908, there were 10,000 in the U.S. -Originally associated with working class, but soon appealed to the middle class
foreground/background
A distinction of visual staging carried over to film and affecting the sound track as well: in the classical model, dialogue occupies the sonic foreground and music and effects the background.
Vaudeville shows
A touring show comprised of several types of acts that were popular in the US from the late 1800's through the 1920's
Picture Palaces
Fancy, expansive film going theaters designed to create a larger than life experience (i.e. Radio City) Atmospheric and conventional styles.
• What are the three subgenres of the musical current during the transition to sound?
Folk musical, backstage musical and. Fairy tail mysicals
According to Mark Larkin, what was the truth about voice doubling?
Guy behind the camera singing and the star is in front of the camera pretending to serenade girl in window.
original score
Music that is newly composed for a particular film.
briefly describe a typical nickelodeon program around 1910. In particular what were some ways music was used in these shows?
Storefront Theatre (200-300 audience members). Combination of short reels (2-3 reels of 10-18 minutes each) with live entertainment between reels. Music was not closely matched to the screen action but served as a draw for elite classes of people.
sound advance
a longer version of overlapping sound, long enough to focus one's main attention on the overlap, thus raising question about its narrative function.
Vaudeville Theater
a stage show that was popular in the 1880s and 1890s that was meant for entertainment of urban masses
what evidence do we have that musicians in the early nickelodeons did not play to the picture?
ads for Yerkes' Sound Affects.
Nickelodeons were sometimes called electric or mechanical vaudeville. Why? What is the meaning of this term?
because they were very manufactured like, and had many shows all manipulated as purposeful distractions and buffers, and this is also the meaning.
What are some of the distinctive characteristics of photoplay music?
convenient fill ins, and full compositions are indispensable.
• Briefly explain some of the differences between a picture palace and a nickelodeon. What are some of the ways the music differed?
difference in classes, n- middle, p- high, and elaborate and fancy, convenient and atmospheric, while n- was trail, accompanyment , other shows, and lectures, and for common people, mostly working class.
hard cut
direct shot (or scene) change in which sound track changes as abrupt as image track
Briefly explain why The Jazz Singer was in important film in the history of the sound track.
famous because it encouraged studios to take "talking pictures" seriously
From which industries did Hollywood recruit most of its sound technicians? How did the technicians' training in these industries affect how they thought about the task of recording sound?
from telephone, or radio industries, because Western Electric and RCA were the two primary companies involved.
four types of scene transitions
hard cut, sound advance, sound lag, sound link(or match)
The three modes of musical accompaniment in the silent era were improvisation, compilation and original score. briefly explain how they differed from each other.
improvisation was without planning, compilation is a listing and generalized ideas, and original score was made specifically for the film.
What sort of venues did prologues appear in and at what time period? How typical is "By a Waterfall" from Footlight Parade of prologues from the time?
in picture palaces, and betweeen the 1910s and the 1940s
Prologue
introductory remarks in a speech, play or literary work, introductory action
Explain why Lights of New York is an important film in the history of the sound track.
it is the first all-talking full-length feature film, released by Warner Bros., who had introduced the first feature-length film with synchronized sound
• Briefly explain why The Jazz Singer was not the first talking film.
it was more of a silent film with loosely synchronized sound scenes, there isn't any synchronized talking just singing,
Briefly explain some of the consequences the conversion to sound had for theater musicians.
less jobs since not all theaters were able to be converted to sound since equipment was in short supply
compilation
listing of information in tabular or book form; compiling
From the textbook, readings and lecture, briefly explain some of the challenges of being a musician in a movie theater in the 1910s.
noon union men, underpaying salaries, time constricting compostion.
• diagetic/nondiagetic sound
o Voice over narration- when the narrator talks while following the story. Its diegetic if its character from the story is talking about herself or about the story and the narrator is interm-40volved in the story. Nondiegetic.. the narrator is not from inside the story world. Ex the old man voice from Rudolph just telling the story. Hes not involved in it.
onscreen and offscreen sound
offscreen sound: shapes our sense of how a scene will develop, fill in information very economically. offscreen sound: shapes our sense of how a scene will develop, fill in information very economically
• What is a music cue sheet and what was its role in regulating musical accompaniment during the silent era?
paper where each film broken down into scenes, w appropriate music listed for each. They taught players how to think of music in terms of dramatic classification.
briefly explain the meaning of "playing the pictures" in the context of silent film practice.
playing accompanying music in order to influence the mood of the audience
• Explain the difference between playing to the details and playing the overall mood in terms of music scoring practice.
playing to the mood would be more light and accompaniment, while music scoring practice would have larger more brazen sections of compositions.
illustrated song what is it and what is its role in early cinema exhibition?
popular songs accompanied by a set of lantern slides, which were often richly colored. and they were common part of the program, featured as prominently as films in advertising for their shows.
Leitmotifs are
recurring themes representing a person, object, or idea. Wagner made extensive use of these in his operas
sound lag
sound from one shot (or scene) lingers over as images from the next appear onscreen
Briefly explain the primary differences between the sound-on-film and sound-on-disk systems for sound film. What were the primary advantages and disadvantages of each system?
sound on film, less clunky, one package. sound on disk, better sound less handling deterioration.
What are the three basic types of sound film c. 1929? Name a title of each type. Briefly explain how the exhibition practice of traditional silent film differed from that of "synchronized" sound film.
synchronized, part talkie, and 100-percent talkie. s-don juan. p, t- Redes. 100-% t- lights of new york. only the 100% talkie could be shwn only in theaters equipped w sound, while silent film would have silent yet buzzing sounds,, in a theater, or showing area that changed radically once the talkie arrived.
Improvisation
the art or act of making, inventing, or arranging offhand, without advance planning
Musical topic
the combination of musical elements to create symbolic meaning
• How does a recording system based on foreground and background differ from one based on fidelity?
the foreground is clearer, irealistically clear, and close up, and sometimes the background can be perceived louder or quieter than in real life.
What were the two sources from which Hollywood drew its musical personnel?
the large deluxe theaters and the popular music industry , especially the part associated with musical theater.
Why were love scenes important to the construction of nondiegetic space?
the music helps authorize the physical proximity by seeming to give the audience emotional proximity to the character's feelings, thus illuminating the intention of the film.
sound link ( or match)
the use of sound to bridge a series of cuts, transforming what might otherwise seem a collection of unrelated shots.
Briefly explain the significance of the Vitaphone [or Movietone]. Name at least two systems of sound film that preceded the Vitaphone [or Movietone] and its chief rival around 1927.
they used amplification systems, and that replaced live music. The chronophone, and the kinetograph. its chief rival around 1927 was movietone wth a sound apparatus that was less bulky thus less affected by the rough handling of vinyl records
before the nickelodeon, what sorts of venues showed motion pictures? how did these venues accompany the pictures?
vaudeville theaters, and they would treat a film as an act, the music was chosen to accord with similar live vaudeville acts, such as lectures, or singing dancing and comedy routines.
briefly summarize the point " Jackass Music with respect to musical and sound accompaniment to film. How do the sentiments the article expresses fit into the movement of "playing the pictures"?
when they allow their musicians to play the wrong accompaniment to the right composition whether of song or picture.THEY SAY THAT MUSIC SHOULD ACCOMPANY AND NOT RIFF OFF ON IS OWN DISREGARDING THE TONE OF THE FILM.
Was studio era sound film more concerned with the clarity of the recording or the fidelity of the recording? Explain.
with the clarity of the recording, in order to engage the audience more effectively.
Compare and contrast the image editing of "You Were Meant for Me" and "Wedding of the Painted Doll" in The Broadway Melody. Which is closer to the idea of a recorded performance? Why?
you were meant for me since it didn't need to be reshot to match the music and was more fluid of a result, required less editing.