Silent Films And There Impact

The main characteristics that separate the silent films from the later talkies other than sound is the huge use of human expression although the first movies were nothing more than silent, short reels of film, usually depicting ordinary people performing everyday tasks people were still fascinated by watching something move on screen. During the first stages of film with the advent of Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope people would pay to view such things as Boxing Cats (1898) and most shots were just the simple acts of movement. There was no plot or characterization with the first early silent films rather Silent films emphasized body language and facial expression so that the audience could better understand what an actor was feeling and portraying on screen. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made practical in the late 1920s with the perfection of vitophone system (Moviehistory.Com). As film progressed and theaters were built to house audiences and make profits, silent films began to use live music coinciding with the film to better the experience. The grander palaces used full symphonic orchestras to accompany their movies. October 6, 1927, the success of The Jazz Singer, a Warner Brother’s a half-silent, half-talking musical signaled the beginning of the end of silent films and that wonderful experience. The orchestras were later abandoned when the talkies came. People wanted to hear what the actor or actress was saying on the screen rather than just watching movement.
I think a lot of elements are missed from the era of the silent film, one being the fascination of just the theater experience. We have grown so accustomed to hearing what is going on that some of that early artistic value is lost. I really don’t think that film studios would really be able to profit from a silent film in general but I personally would like to see some of the early characteristics come back like the live music. How cool would it be to go to a move and concert at the same time? Although in many films today you can see the first characteristics of early film for example the extreme close up shot, this was one of the first shots created during the silent film era. I think that the technological innovation of sound has forever changed film and unfortunately there is not a big market place for silent films today. Not to say that no one wants to watch them, I just don’t think they could create much of a profit. In my blog i have added a couple of video clips that I have discussed.