Chapter 07: The Coming of Sound and Color: 1926-1935
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The earliest sound synchronization in the cinema was achieved by
a. W. K. L. Dickson in 1889.
b. Georges Demeny and Auguste Baron in 1900.
c. Oskar Messter in 1903.
d. the Tri-Ergon system in 1919.
e. the Vitaphone system in 1925.
f. none of the above
2. Which of the following sound systems did NOT emerge before World War I?
a. Gaumont’s Chronophone
b. Hepworth’s Vivaphone
c. de Forest’s Phonofilms
d. Edison’s Kinetophone
e. Berthon’s Phonorama
f. All of the above emerged prior to WW I.
3. The earliest motion picture sound systems used as a recording medium were
a. vinyl discs. d. sound on film.
b. wax cylinders. e. spinning metal plates.
c. magnetic wires. f. none of the above
4. Which of the following was NOT a problem of early sound recording?
a. imperfect synchronization
b. insufficient amplification
c. films were longer than any available recording medium
d. not enough technical experimentation
e. poor sound quality
f. All of the above were problems.
5. The Allefex and Kinematophone were
a. sound recording systems.
b. machines for playing prerecorded music in theaters.
c. synchronization systems linking camera and recorder.
d. synchronized sound cameras.
e. sound effects machines for theaters.
f. none of the above
6. Silent feature films
a. did not have originally composed scores but rather used popular musical themes exclusively.
b. were often shown with no accompanying sound.
c. never had sound-effects accompaniment.
d. were always accompanied by at least a small group of musicians.
e. Both a and d are true.
f. None of the above are true.
7. The first successful attempt to record sound on film, which failed before becoming the basis for the
Hollywood standard RCA Photophone system, was accomplished by
a. Eugene Lauste. d. Engl, Massole, and Vogt.
b. Lee de Forest. e. Léon Gaumont.
c. Oskar Messter. f. none of the above
8. The Tri-Ergon process
a. was never used in the United States.
b. included several patented innovations that made it the best sound–on-film system.
c. was invented in England.
d. was the first time sound was successfully recorded on the film strip itself.
e. was a deeply flawed system that was rejected by the Hollywood studios as too unpredictable.
f. none of the above
9. Lee de Forest’s audion tube was a central innovation in the process of
a. synchronization. d. image projection.
b. recording. e. both a and b
c. amplification. f. none of the above
10. Lee de Forest’s Phonofilms
a. were made in very small numbers.
b. were primarily original short narratives.
c. created a great deal of interest in Hollywood.
d. required specially wired theaters of which there were fewer than 100.
e. could be shown in conventional theaters with a minimum of modification.
f. none of the above
11. Vitaphone
a. was developed in close coordination with the Hollywood studios.
b. was a sound-on-film system.
c. was first adopted by Paramount Pictures.
d. was the worst quality sound system available at the time.
e. was developed by a radio and a telephone company.
f. all of the above
12. The primary reason for the adoption of the Vitaphone system was
a. to develop talking pictures.
b. to provide a consistent prerecorded effects track for all films.
c. a last resort since the studio that did it was about to go out of business.
d. as a novelty to win back dramatically dwindling audiences.
e. pressure from Wall Street.
f. none of the above
13. The first Vitaphone feature film was
a. Don Juan. d. Seventh Heaven.
b. The Jazz Singer. e. What Price Glory?
c. The Thief of Baghdad. f. none of the above
14. The first Vitaphone performances
a. had no lip-synched speech.
b. were extremely successful with audiences.
c. were generally panned by critics.
d. caused the other studios to immediately begin the transition to sound.
e. occurred in Los Angeles at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
f. all of the above
15. Which of the following was NOT a factor in Hollywood’s reluctance to convert to sound?
a. potential disruption of overseas markets
b. a fear of throwing the star system into chaos
c. a formal agreement among the studios not to be the first to convert to sound
d. concern for the value of their back catalogs of films
e. the expense of wiring theaters for sound
f. All of the above were factors.
16. Which of the following companies did NOT sign or have a parent company sign the original
agreement pledging to adopt a uniform sound system in the event of an industry transition to sound?
a. MGM d. Warner Brothers
b. Paramount e. 20th Century Fox
c. Universal f. All of the above signed.
17. After the introduction of the Vitaphone system, Warner Brothers
a. was saved from the brink of bankruptcy.
b. proceeded cautiously with the implementation of the system.
c. began making only its big-budget prestige films with synchronized scores.
d. temporarily suspended production of Vitaphone films.
e. planned to buy a wired-for-sound theater in every major city in the United States.
f. none of the above
18. The Jazz Singer
a. was the first film not to utilize intertitles to convey dialogue.
b. was the first synchronized sound film.
c. was the first time dialogue had been seen in a motion picture.
d. was planned as a talking film from the beginning.
e. made George Jessel a great movie star.
f. none of the above
19. The dialogue in The Jazz Singer
a. was the first that audiences ever heard delivered in a realistic, dramatic way.
b. was scripted by director Alan Crosland.
c. occurs about a dozen times throughout the film.
d. was a deliberate attempt by Warner Brothers to exploit audience interest in talking pictures.
e. only lasts for a few moments.
f. all of the above
20. The Jazz Singer’s success
a. was initially limited by the small number of theaters that could show it.
b. convinced the other studios also to adopt their own sound systems.
c. convinced the other studios to adopt the Vitaphone system.
d. had little impact on the other studios’ interest in sound.
e. both a and d
f. none of the above
21. The Fox Movietone sound system was based on
a. the Tri-Ergon process. d. Gaumont’s Chronophone.
b. the Vitaphone system. e. a combination of a and b
c. de Forest’s Phonofilms. f. none of the above
22. The subjects of the early Fox Movietone films were most often
a. musical acts.
b. newsworthy events.
c. vaudeville-based comic routines.
d. celebrities speaking directly into the camera.
e. both b and d
f. none of the above
23. The relationship between Warner Brothers and Fox during the transition to sound was
a. purely competitive with no sharing of technology.
b. dominated by Fox because of their superior technology.
c. cooperative with a formal agreement to share technology.
d. dominated by Warner Brothers since Movietone was not as popular with audiences.
e. both a and b
f. none of the above
24. The first years of synchronized sound film production can be characterized as
a. being dominated by Fox Movietone.
b. several systems competing for industry dominance.
c. a smooth transition to a standardized system.
d. continuing domination by the Vitaphone system.
e. the gradual emergence of the Tri-Ergon process.
f. none of the above
25. The company formed specifically to employ the RCA Photophone system was
a. RKO. d. Columbia.
b. Christie. e. Film Booking Office (FBO).
c. Tiffany-Stahl. f. none of the above
26. The first true all talking-feature was
a. The Jazz Singer. d. The Love Parade.
b. Lights of New York. e. Don Juan.
c. Hallelujah. f. none of the above
27. The transition to sound in the United States
a. happened gradually, with silents and talkies existing side–by-side until 1932.
b. was nearly complete by the end of 1927.
c. was extremely rapid, taking less than two years from the premier of The Jazz Singer.
d. was hindered by the commercial failure of the first talkies.
e. was chaotic and uncontrolled from the industrial perspective.
f. all of the above
28. The transition to sound in Hollywood
a. had little initial impact on box-office receipts.
b. was less costly than was originally feared.
c. resulted in the merger of Fox and First National.
d. was financed by Wall Street banks.
e. had no effect on the ownership and administration of the major studios.
f. none of the above
29. Sound in Hollywood
a. led to immense profits for the studios.
b. produced a series of acquisitions and mergers that had to be stopped by the U.S. government.
c. helped the film industry survive the Depression.
d. eventually settled on solid standards for sound–on-film.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
30. The two sound systems eventually adopted by the Hollywood studios were
a. the Tri-Ergon process and RCA Photophone.
b. Vitaphone and RCA Photophone.
c. the ERPI system and Fox Movietone.
d. Fox Movietone and Vitaphone.
e. Vitaphone and the Tri-Ergon process.
f. None of the above pairings is correct.
31. Dr. Lee de Forest
a. eventually won his lawsuit against the studios for patent infringement, but he still lost money on
the suit.
b. was never given credit or compensation for the work that led to the sound system eventually
adopted by the studios.
c. eventually won his lawsuit against the studios for patent infringement and was awarded enough
money to make him wealthy for the rest of his life.
d. contributed little to the sound system eventually adopted by Hollywood.
e. was hired by Fox as a sound consultant and developed most of the commonly used recording
technology in Hollywood.
f. none of the above
32. The most sophisticated hand-tinting system available before World War I was devised by
a. Gaumont. d. Edison.
b. Pathé. e. DeMille.
c. Méliès. f. none of the above
33. The Handschiegl process
a. was developed in Germany.
b. was a toning process.
c. was a three-color stencil process.
d. was utilized primarily on Warner Brothers films.
e. was never used in Hollywood.
f. none of the above
34. Tinting and toning
a. were used by only 20 to 25 percent of all American films.
b. were never used once the transition to sound occurred.
c. could not be used together on the same image.
d. could produce naturalistic, believable color if used carefully.
e. were equally possible on any type of film stock.
f. none of the above
35. Toning is different from tinting in that toning
a. produces a uniform color throughout the image.
b. was a mechanical process.
c. was a photographic process that was accomplished in camera.
d. only affects the black-silver portion of the image.
e. cannot be used in conjunction with other visual effects.
f. none of the above
36. James Clerk Maxwell discovered that
a. tinting and toning could be used together to produce dramatic effects.
b. color can only be produced through an additive process.
c. the quality of tinting and toning were dependent on the chemistry of the specific film stock.
d. color film stock could be produced by varying the emulsion chemistry.
e. all colors in the visible spectrum are composed of different combinations of red, green, and blue.
f. none of the above
37. The first color photography process for motion pictures based on an additive system was
a. Gaumont’s Chronochrome. d. Charles Urban’s Kinemacolor.
b. the British Raycol system. e. Edison’s Kineto-color system.
c. Technicolor. f. none of the above
38. Urban’s Kinemacolor films
a. were primarily comic shorts.
b. were not commercially successful.
c. included a -hour epic shot in India.
d. were shown exclusively in England.
e. were limited to a handful of short actualities.
f. none of the above
39. The decline of Kinemacolor
a. was the result of successful patent litigation.
b. technological problems inherent in the system.
c. the company’s commitment to factual films during the rise of dramatic features.
d. the high cost of additive color systems.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
40. The first successful Technicolor process was
a. three-strip subtractive. d. two-strip additive.
b. two-strip subtractive. e. single-strip additive.
c. three-strip additive. f. none of the above
41. The initial goal for Kalmus at Technicolor was
a. eliminating the need for special color projectors.
b. eliminating the need for special color cameras.
c. creating a three-strip additive system.
d. creating color on a single strip of camera negative.
e. eliminating the need for multiple processes in developing and printing.
f. none of the above
42. The first successful Technicolor film was
a. The Gulf Between. d. The Desert Song.
b. The Toll of the Sea. e. The Sheik.
c. The Ten Commandments. f. none of the above
43. Technicolor’s improved 1928 color process eliminated the need for
a. relief-print matrices. d. dye-transfer processes.
b. imbibation. e. multiple steps in printing.
c. the cemented positive print. f. all of the above
44. The genre for which the 1928 Technicolor process was primarily used was
a. the dialogue comedy. d. the actualité.
b. the western. e. the melodrama.
c. the action-adventure film. f. none of the above
45. By 1932, production of Technicolor films
a. had nearly ground to a complete halt.
b. had stabilized to a fixed number of films per year.
c. had increased to the point that the company was operating at full capacity.
d. had become inexpensive enough so that even lower-budget films could afford it.
e. had become one of the markers of a high-prestige process in Hollywood.
f. none of the above
46. The Technicolor process that was to monopolize color cinema for over twenty years
a. was not the best color system available at the time.
b. utilized three separate negative strips.
c. required three separate positive images for projection.
d. did not require a prismatic beam splitter.
e. was a single-strip system.
f. none of the above
47. The successful Technicolor process used between 1932 and the 1950s
a. required a special camera that was large, heavy, and expensive.
b. needed more light than standard cinematography.
c. required every production that used the system to hire a Technicolor cameraman.
d. required every production that used the system to hire a Technicolor color consultant.
e. were only used on a small percentage of Hollywood films.
f. all of the above
48. The first production in three-strip Technicolor was made by
a. David O. Selznik. d. Rouben Mamoulian.
b. Pioneer Films. e. Walt Disney.
c. MGM. f. none of the above
49. The first feature film in three-strip Technicolor was
a. a musical called Wings of the Morning.
b. animated and directed by Walt Disney.
c. La Cucaracha, directed by John Whitney.
d. Becky Sharp, directed by Rouben Mamoulian.
e. not produced until 1939.
f. none of the above
50. The producer whose films proved the commercial viability of the Technicolor feature by making a
consistent string of hits was
a. Merian C. Cooper. d. Herbert Kalmus.
b. Louis B. Mayer. e. Rouben Mamoulian.
c. David O. Selznik. f. none of the above
51. Which of the following were the breakthrough years for Technicolor, during which twenty-five color
features were produced including Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz?
a. 1932–1933 d. 1942–1943
b. 1935–1936 e. 1947–1948
c. 1939–1940 f. none of the above
52. The advantage of Technicolor monopack was that
a. it was less expensive.
b. it was easier to use on location.
c. it could produce a direct color positive print.
d. it could be exposed in a conventional camera.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
53. Technicolor delayed the implementation of its monopack color process until the 1950s because
a. it was not yet technically advanced enough.
b. competition with Eastman prevented the company from marketing the system.
c. it was too expensive.
d. the postwar attendance boom kept demand for three-strip Technicolor too high.
e. the studios were reluctant to adopt a new system.
f. All of the above were significant problems.
54. The introduction of film sound is analogous to the invention of cinema itself because
a. the technological principles on which they were based had been known for years.
b. the original use was for novelty without any thought to aesthetic application.
c. there was a long delay between the introduction of the apparatus and its being used in a
sophisticated way.
d. both had to overcome aesthetic as well as technical problems.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
55. Which of the following was NOT an early problem of synchronized sound recording?
a. Speaker technology was inadequate to reproduce intelligible speech.
b. The old studio lights used to hum, making sound recording impossible.
c. There were three noncompatible recording systems in use simultaneously.
d. The intermittent movement of the projector created distortion.
e. Theater owners had to maintain both sound on film and sound on disc systems.
f. All of the above were significant problems.
56. Which of the following was NOT a problem presented by early microphones?
a. They were too large not to be seen by the camera.
b. They had a limited range so actors had to speak directly into them.
c. They were not compatible across various recording systems.
d. They were omnidirectional, recording every sound within their range equally.
e. Only b and d were significant problems.
f. All of the above were significant problems.
57. Sound rendered the cinema more static because
a. the camera had to be encased in a soundproof booth.
b. the microphones picked up the sound of the camera moving.
c. actors were not trained to walk and speak at the same time.
d. there was no way to move the microphones.
e. Only a and d were significant problems.
f. All of the above were significant problems.
58. Tungsten incandescent lamps
a. were brighter than arc lamps.
b. created a hum that made sound recording difficult.
c. allowed for the use of fewer lights to illuminate a gin scene.
d. were increasingly used after the coming of sound.
e. are no longer used in film production.
f. None of the above are true.
59. After the coming of sound, film editing
a. was the least affected aspect of film production.
b. became increasingly expressive rather than just purely functional.
c. was easier to accomplish with sound on disc than sound on film.
d. was often only possible through the use of multiple cameras.
e. both b and c
f. none of the above
60. At the beginning of the sound era
a. film form changed very little.
b. the same writers and stars continued to work in the Hollywood industry.
c. both editing and camera movement seemed to move backwards in terms of their aesthetic
development.
d. the creative possibilities of sound were recognized immediately.
e. filmmakers and critics alike embraced the new innovation.
f. All of the above are true.
61. Which of the following was NOT sought out by Hollywood from the Broadway stage after the coming
of sound?
a. directors
b. actors
c. writers
d. specific plays for adaptation
e. lighting technicians
f. All of the above were vigorously recruited.
62. In the early sound era, sound technicians
a. were imported from the Broadway theater.
b. were extremely sensitive to the artistic and dramatic qualities of cinema and often contributed
creatively to the films they worked on.
c. often had significant control over directorial functions like camera placement and actor movement.
d. were always subordinate to the creative vision of the director.
e. both b and c
f. none of the above
63. After the coming of sound, silent stars
a. were all replaced by actors from the Broadway stage.
b. only had career troubles if they had heavy foreign accents.
c. sometimes had voices that did not match their screen images.
d. worked with diction coaches from the theater world.
e. Both c and d are true.
f. None of the above are true.
64. In their manifesto on sound, Eisenstein, Pudovkin, and Alexandrov predicted that the early sound film
would
a. emphasize lip-synched dialogue at the expense of other sounds.
b. be unpopular with audiences because of their static visual style.
c. use music and sound effects in dramatically interesting ways.
d. feature contrapuntal sound as their dominant style.
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
65. Eisenstein, Pudovkin, and Alexandrov ultimately believed that
a. titles are a better way to convey narrative information than sound.
b. sound provides an effective and efficient way to convey narrative information.
c. sound film poses a dire threat to the art of cinema.
d. sound must reinforce the content of the image through parallelism.
e. both a and d
f. none of the above
66. The French director who first wrote about the dramatic possibilities of film sound was
a. Jean Renoir. d. René Clair.
b. Georges Méliès. e. Ferdinand Zecca.
c. Léon Gaumont. f. none of the above
67. Among the early theorists of film sound, the distinct preference was for
a. naturalistic sound.
b. dialogue.
c. asynchronous sound.
d. synchronized musical effects.
e. a minimum of sound effects and music.
f. none of the above
68. Contrapuntal sound can be described as
a. combining both naturalistic and non-naturalistic sound in a single scene.
b. the sound and image being literally related to each other with no external sound.
c. the audience only hearing what it sees and always seeing what it hears.
d. image and sound alternating in importance throughout the film.
e. the audience hearing sounds that are not naturalistically connected to the image.
f. none of the above
69. In the early years of sound, the primary emphasis of sound recorders was
a. developing creative ways to use sound to tell a story.
b. exploring the possibilities of asynchronous sound.
c. obtaining high quality sound in production with little concern for anything else.
d. creating ways for the camera to move while sound was being recorded.
e. moving away from the practices of the radio broadcast industry.
f. All of the above are true.
70. In the early years of sound, which of the following was NOT a reason for the Hollywood industry
practice of using sound recorded on set as the final audio for a film, with no further manipulation?
a. The technology did not yet exist.
b. A feeling existed among producers that sound and image should be synchronous.
c. Sound recording practice was imported from live radio.
d. The emphasis was on the technical quality of the sound, not on its artistic qualities.
e. Neither b nor d are reasons.
f. None of the above is a reason.
71. The process that permitted synchronous and asynchronous sound to be used together
a. was postsynchronization.
b. was dubbing.
c. allowed sound effects to be added after shooting.
d. allowed for more complex camera movements.
e. Only a and b are true.
f. All of the above are true.
72. The breakthrough film in early sound recording that first utilized postsynchronization was
a. Hallelujah! d. Don Juan.
b. Lights of New York. e. Queen Elizabeth.
c. The Jazz Singer. f. none of the above
73. During the period between 1929 and 1931
a. films had to be shot entirely on sound stages.
b. the camera continued to be restricted to minimal movement.
c. synchronized dialogue was the only significant sound source.
d. postsynchronization became increasingly important.
e. there was no way to edit dialogue after it was recorded.
f. all of the above
74. The great innovation pioneered by Rouben Mamoulian for the film Applause was
a. postsynchronization.
b. constructing a sound track out of entirely nonnaturalistic sounds.
c. multichannel sound recording.
d. recording dialogue and music simultaneously.
e. recording all the dialogue after the film was shot.
f. none of the above
75. In City Streets, Mamoulian pioneered the technique of
a. multitrack recording. d. postsynched dialogue.
b. the sound flashback. e. live music and effects recording.
c. multichannel recording. f. none of the above
76. Technology to mix separately recorded tracks of dialogue, music, and sound effects first became
available in
a. 1927. d. 1947.
b. 1933. e. 1951.
c. 1939. f. the 1960s.
77. Postsynchronization today
a. accounts for as much as 90 percent of the dialogue in an American feature film.
b. is still used but only for music and sound effects.
c. is no longer used for theatrical features.
d. is still limited to only four tracks of sound.
e. is only used for dialogue.
f. none of the above
78. The camera “blimp” allowed for
a. the use of tungsten lighting.
b. microphone mobility.
c. multicamera filming from a variety of height perspectives.
d. crane shots where the camera could go up and down.
e. quiet camera operation outside the isolation booth.
f. all of the above
79. Which of the following was NOT a technical innovation that aided in camera movement on the set?
a. the boom crane
b. the steerable dolly
c. the Moviola
d. the blimp
e. the microphone boom
f. All of the above aided camera movement on set.
80. “Edge numbering” was a process that aided in
a. camera movement. d. editing.
b. sound recording. e. lighting.
c. postsynchronization. f. none of the above
81. Variable-density optical sound
a. was superior in terms of dialogue reproduction.
b. suffered from distortion at the high and low vocal frequencies.
c. works off a binary modulation of two densities—either complete opacity or transparency.
d. was superior in terms of reproducing music.
e. had a relatively low output and narrow frequency range.
f. none of the above
82. By 1945
a. the industry had moved to magnetic sound recording.
b. compression made optical variable density sound the industry standard.
c. optical variable density sound had been gradually phased out.
d. optical variable area sound was no longer in use.
e. sound-on-disc was still a competitive system.
f. None of the above are true.