CIN201Y1 Study Guide - Final Guide: Bette Davis, Darker Image, Filmmovement.Com
CIN201 TUTORIAL 2.1
INTRO TO SOUND
- Most films had used sound only in Vaudeville films
- Sound was either made by Vitaphone or Optically Printed (printed on the strip right next to the film)
ALAN WILLIAMS (READING)
- Cinema’s move towards mechanization
- Adding in sound
- Liberation of speech bring about the repression of the body (men begin to cry less frequently – becomes
a sign of hysteria and sexual ambiguity/women move towards older sensibilities and melodrama)
Ex. performance in “Blackmail” was more restrained than we had seen before
- In recorded speech cultural speech and social specificity are introduced to film
Films are more American
Dialogue leads to the rise of nationalism (because in silent film, title cards would simply be
switched out, but the need for subtitles for films in German made the foreign-ness very obvious)
You can signify with a voice a lot of things that we would take for granted (such as through
accent or level of speech class division, attitude, etc. can be shown)
Ex. actress in “Blackmail” was dubbed, because she actually had a Czech accent
Standardization, regional specificity is added
Undermines silent film theories (because they are based on film being silent, focusing on the
aesthetic, etc.)
Ex. Belazs and Arnheim would have disagreed with the implementation of sound
- Everyday sounds were not included (such as door closing)
- Technological ability determined how much could be communicated
- Filmmakers could play with volume and specific sounds to manipulate the audience
“BLACKMAIL” (FILM)
- Bird chirping heightens anxiety and tension
- Most sound is dialogue (filmmakers want the audience to focus on that)
- Drama was intensified because music wasn’t overplayed in moments of tension (silent, or dialogue)
- Guilt is treated according to gender roles (woman has guilt because she was cheating on her boyfriend,
so even though she’s not guilty she will be seen as guilty)
- Filmmakers used sounds to their advantage
Ex. running up the stairs into her room
- Source of sound always had to be present within the shot/frame
- Hitchcock advocates for a “pure cinema” (what is said isn’t always most important, although sound must
be incorporated it should be as flexible as the visuals)
- Hitchcock was rooted in Impressionism
Ex. using the bird to portray how loud and aggravating it would have been in the character’s mental state
(interior sound vs. exterior sound)
CLIP ANALYSIS - “BLACKMAIL”
- The word “knife” stands out to the character over and over again, while focused on just the character
(internal sound is filtered through the diegesis, conveyed through playing with the volume of the sound)
- Expressionist in that character’s subjectivity is represented through the sound
- In another scene, her scream carries into the scream of the landlady discovering the body
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CIN201 TUTORIAL 2.2
ARNHEIM, EISENSTEIN, PUDOVKIN
- Eisenstein and Pudovkin wanted non-synchronization
They thought sound would anchor the art, create inertia
Counter-pointal oppositional
Sound shouldn’t just illustrate narrative, it has to create opposition (grant sound
autonomy/freedom that the image has, giving more than the image would)
USE OF SOUND IN “M”
- Blind man hears whistling
Whistling sound floats and isn’t usually seen at the source
Creates fear
Often used as a signal for hunting
Role of sound thematically in relation to the image
Can see the murderer, but not his voice
Audience identifies murderer also visually by the M on his back, as do the characters in the film
Cannot really hear the killer speak until he is begging at the end (at the beginning it is
disembodied; at the end it is direct and causes a sense of repulsion)
Some sense of sympathy for the killer because he says he cannot help himself, but the rule of law
in the film is that killing children is the most immoral act (even the other criminals want him
dead)
- Camera follows sound in the film (sound knows more than the image?)
What can be seen is mostly what is heard
- The parents are identified with mostly, as they are shown more than the children—it is the adult fear that
is felt
CIN201 TUTORIAL 2.3
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STUDIO SYSTEM
BETTE DAVIS
- Stars’ roles were being handed to them by the studio, who really controlled their careers
- Willing to be an unlikeable persona
- “Jezebel” was written for her, to support her vamp-style role
even if the audience doesn’t agree with all of her choices, they are still on board with them
because they are seeing the film from her perspective
emotional motivation is key
the character ends up sacrificing herself more and more throughout the film, which is how she
atones for all of her bad behaviour at the beginning
- she went from being the blonde, busty bombshell to a darker image in suits
- gossip about the stars came from magazines, which was often released by the studios themselves
“JEZEBEL” (CLIP)
- mickey-mousing sound effects
- aunt looks scared after the cane is grabbed (think something bad might happen)
- the scene in Julie’s room is very calm, and her frame sets a comforting atmosphere
- classical film style puts the female character in control, because she gets medium-long shots, has lots of
space to move around in vs. the male character who stands outside the door with a physical barrier,
agitated and anxious, seemingly enclosed without the same freedom of movement that the tight frame
and shorter shots and off-screen talking lend to the male character
- female character visibly re-assesses the situation throughout several scenes in the film
CIN201 TUTORIAL 2.4
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find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Most films had used sound only in vaudeville films. Sound was either made by vitaphone or optically printed (printed on the strip right next to the film) Liberation of speech bring about the repression of the body (men begin to cry less frequently becomes a sign of hysteria and sexual ambiguity/women move towards older sensibilities and melodrama) Ex. performance in blackmail was more restrained than we had seen before. In recorded speech cultural speech and social specificity are introduced to film. Dialogue leads to the rise of nationalism (because in silent film, title cards would simply be switched out, but the need for subtitles for films in german made the foreign-ness very obvious) You can signify with a voice a lot of things that we would take for granted (such as through accent or level of speech class division, attitude, etc. can be shown) Ex. actress in blackmail was dubbed, because she actually had a czech accent.
