The Shift to Talking Film: Optical Soundtrack and Microphones - Text 3
The success of sketches, or short films shown before the main attraction, pushed the studios to make feature films with spoken sequences. In May and June 1928, every Hollywood company decided to shift to sound. A few small companies making silent films remained. Halting the production of silent films was done gradually, and these films continued to be distributed to theatres not equipped for sound until the mid-1930s. In France, every studio was transformed in the year 1930. In Japan, this happened around 1936. All the equipment used in film studios had to be adapted. The set had to be soundproofed. Bags of sand, for example, were placed under the floor to avoid inopportune resonances. Cameras were “blimped” with an enormous case to prevent the whirring motor from being heard. New, soundproofs movie cameras were also introduced to the market in 1929.[3] Silent incandescent lamps had already begun to be installed before the transition. The shift to talking films accelerated this process. Similarly, the film stock used was no longer the same, in keeping with the change in lighting. Panchromatic film entered widespread use at the moment when crackling spotlights were replaced by silent lights. This also brought about changes to the actors’ make-up used. Above all, however, one new piece of equipment appeared on film sets: the microphone.
