Music and Music Technologies in Film

The 1900s had largely silent films until around the 1920s.

“the pure cinema must have had a ghostly effect like that of the shadow play–shadows and ghosts have always been associated. The major function of music…consisted in appeasing the evil spirits unconsciously dreaded’ the role of music in the silent film play, then, was to ‘exorcise fear or help the spectator absorb the shock’ – Hanns Eisler


Music Libraries - Silent film was generally never ever silent. There was normally an accompanying musical melody.

By 1919 Universal Films sent musical songs to attach to movies. This allowed for the movie producer to have more control over how the movie was played and heard. A famous song book at the time used was released know as a catalogue by Gulsseppe Becce's.

The first feature-length "talkie," "The Jazz Singer," 1927 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1HURXWH9FA

Within 30 years of silent film being created allot of ideas came up for importing sounds to an audience.

Early Sound FIlms were between 1928 - 1933 - Blue Angel, 1930, Friedrich Hollander... King Kong, 1933, Max Steiner.

1934 - 1940 The use of sound behind voice was widely recognized also known as underscoring.

In 1940 Disney's Fantasia was the first movie to use a multi-channel surround sound format known as Fantasound. It used screen left, screen centre and Screen right channels.

At the time a sound system that could playback all three channels was worth $85,000. It was installed in two theatres in New York and L.A.

1941 - 1951 - Patriotic style films were made to boost morale. Film Noir is an example of this. The movies during this time where generally used to transform from selfish to selfless - an important war message in the early 1940s.

1950s - The impact of

The the late 40s around 500 films per ear, by the 1960s around 250. By the 1950s there was a profusion of high quality films in an expanding range of film gneres, horror, sci-fi, life, etc.

1960s - Classical Film Score is used more sparingly and to create general moods rather than depict individual or changing emotions. Popular music was featured in movies such as Easy Rider (1969) or The Pink Panther (1963)

1965 was the introduction of Dolby a Noise Reduction as well as iMAX a sound innovation.

Dolby Stereo was introduced during the 1970s. It produced a high-quality sound.