Movies and Music “When the film first learned to speak, it sang.” --Rick Altman, The American Film Musical

Experimentation  “The primordial basis for the enjoyment of motion pictures was not an objective interest in a specific subject matter, but the sheer delight in the fact that things seemed to move, no matter what the things were.” (Erwin Panofsky)  Lee de Forest Phonofilm (optical sound) Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake (1923)  Western Electric Vitaphone (sound on disc process) The Jazz Singer (1927) Lights of New York (1928)

The First Singing Feature  The Jazz Singer (1927) –very little dialogue (and most of it improvised) –very little camera movement –framing and lighting difficult  Seeing one of your favorite performers sing—Priceless  The genre of the musical is launched.

Disney’s Response  All Music! All Dancing!  No loss of action or framing  Steamboat Willie (1928)  The Skeleton Dance (1929) –music drives the images –images become endlessly inventive in exploring visual variations –result: increased pleasure in viewing

Sound Recording Matures  Technology Advances –move to optical sound by 1930 –improved recording  use of multiple microphones  introduction of boom mike –improved amplification/sound systems –more efficient sound muffling for cameras

Is the Musical Genre Dead?  Yes –Peak years were the 1940s and 1950s –Decline in 1960s as iconic stars aged or died; production of musicals nearly ceased –Current musicals clearly represent a baroque stage of development  No –As live action musicals declined, animated musicals grew in popularity –The generation who grew up on animated musicals is now demanding a return of the genre, with new conventions to suit more modern expectations about music, plot and characters