Q&A Hero

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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.

Q: 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

Q: The most sophisticated hand-tinting system available before World War I was devised by a. Gaumont. d. Edison. b. Path. e. DeMille. c. Mlis. f. none of the above

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: Lee de Forests 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: Which of the following was NOT a factor in Hollywoods 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: The Jazz Singers 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

Q: The Fox Movietone sound system was based on a. the Tri-Ergon process. d. Gaumonts Chronophone. b. the Vitaphone system. e. a combination of a and b c. de Forests Phonofilms. f. none of the above

Q: Lee de Forests 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

Q: 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 densitieseither 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

Q: 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.

Q: 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

Q: Which of the following sound systems did NOT emerge before World War I? a. Gaumonts Chronophone b. Hepworths Vivaphone c. de Forests Phonofilms d. Edisons Kinetophone e. Berthons Phonorama f. All of the above emerged prior to WW I.

Q: 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

Q: 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.

Q: 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

Q: 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.

Q: 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. Lon Gaumont. c. Oskar Messter. f. none of the above

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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.

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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.

Q: 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

Q: The French director who first wrote about the dramatic possibilities of film sound was a. Jean Renoir. d. Ren Clair. b. Georges Mlis. e. Ferdinand Zecca. c. Lon Gaumont. f. none of the above

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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

Q: 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.

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: Von Stroheims The Merry Widow a. adhered closely to the text of the original operetta. b. was taken away from von Stroheim by the studio and radically re-edited. c. included a Technicolor sequence at the end of the film. d. was released exactly in the form von Stroheim originally intended. e. celebrates the nobility and culture of the Hapsburg Empire. f. none of the above

Q: The director originally assigned by Paramount to work with von Stroheim to assemble a cut of The Wedding March was a. Ernst Lubitsch. d. Josef von Sternberg. b. Richard Boleslavsky. e. F. W. Murnau. c. Cecil B. DeMille. f. none of the above

Q: The star for whom von Stroheim wrote and directed Queen Kelly was a. Gloria Swanson. d. Mae Marsh. b. Mary Pickford. e. Zasu Pitts. c. Mae Busch. f. none of the above

Q: Queen Kelly a. was never released because of the coming of sound. b. has never been reconstructed like so many other lost von Stroheim films. c. ruined von Stroheims career so that he never directed again. d. was finished with principle photography before von Stroheim was fired. e. was the last film on which von Stroheim is the credited director. f. all of the above

Q: Which of the following was NOT a role performed by von Stroheim on his own productions? a. screenwriter b. cinematographer c. art director d. star e. editor f. Von Stroheim performed all of the above jobs in his films.

Q: Von Stroheims use of sexual perversion in his films is the result of his desire to a. display his worldly sophistication. b. provoke the Hays Office. c. shock the Hollywood industry out of its creative complacency. d. titillate his audiences. e. create a metaphor for cultural decadence. f. none of the above

Q: The American director most responsible for developing a naturalistic style featuring hyperrealistic mise-en-scne and composition in depth that links together objects, characters, and setting was a. Lubitsch. d. Von Stroheim. b. DeMille. e. Keaton. c. Flaherty. f. none of the above

Q: The demise of individualistic directors like von Stroheim and Keaton was the result of a. the coming of sound. b. the consolidation of the studio system. c. the changing tastes of the American public. d. the increased complexity of the studio production process. e. both a and b f. all of the above

Q: 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. 19321933 d. 19421943 b. 19351936 e. 19471948 c. 19391940 f. none of the above

Q: 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

Q: 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.

Q: The final editing on Greed was overseen by a. Erich von Stroheim. d. Rex Ingram. b. Samuel Goldwyn. e. Irving Thalberg. c. Josef von Sternberg. f. none of the above

Q: Which of the following is NOT characteristic of von Stroheims approach to directing? a. obsessive realism b. dynamic camera movement c. long takes d. composition in depth e. atmospheric mise-en-scne f. All of the above are characteristic of his style.

Q: Which of the following best describes the style of Greed? a. soft-focus photography b. regular intercutting of close shots of objects in the style of Griffith c. elaborate sets built on enormous sound stages d. naturalistic, highly-detailed mise-en-scne e. abstract and metaphorical with many expressive lighting effects f. all of the above

Q: Nanook of the North a. was an inexpensive film to make by Hollywood standards. b. utilized close-ups and reverse angles like a function film. c. was a great popular success, instantly creating a market for documentaries. d. was financed by a French fur company for public relations purposes. e. was made by a mineralogist with no background in filmmaking. f. all of the above

Q: The difference between panchromatic and orthochromatic film stock is a. orthochromatic film stock requires less light for exposure. b. panchromatic film stock is no longer in use. c. panchromatic film stock is sensitive to the entire spectrum of light. d. orthochromatic film stock produces a softer image. e. orthochromatic film stock is sensitive to only red and yellow light. f. There is no significant difference between the two.