Sound in Film

In 1877, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph which recorded sound that could be played back at later times. In the 1890's, Thomas Edison created the motion picture camera. However, these two inventions did not work well together as the sound could not sync with the movement, so the movies that could be played would be silent. Because there was no sound, the dialogue would be shown on screen in the form of "titles" and actors would express emotions through facial expressions and body language. A famous actor from that time period was Charlie Chaplin, despite there being no sound, the audience could always tell what was happening because of his body language and facial expressions. Because films were silent, theatres hired musicians to play music during the films. They sat in a pit below the screen and played music that would fit the mood. Then Warner Brothers had opened their first movie theatre and started spreading nationwide. In 1925, they suggested trying sound and used electricity to play music instead of hiring a live band. In 1927 the first film with sound and dialogue was made. By 1930, sound movies were just as action packed as silent films and since that day there has always been sound in film.
After watching some films and doing some research I found that films that are considered to have the beat sound include;

• Saving Private Ryan
• Wall-E
• Jurassic Park
• Eraserhead

Films that have won an Academy Award for best sound mixing include;

• Whiplash
• Gravity
• Mad Max
• Les Miserables

In my thriller opening I will focus on the sound and the atmosphere it will create and how it fill influence the audiences perceptions of the characters in the film. I will do this by using different scores/ soundtracks for different characters to give the audience an insight into the character and gives hints towards their personalities and what will happen later on in the film.