Making Stereo Fit: The History of a Disquieting Film Technology
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Description
Surround sound is often mistaken as a relatively new phenomenon in cinemas, one that emerged in the 1970s with the arrival of Dolby. Making Stereo Fit reveals that, in fact, filmmakers have been creating stereo and surround-sound effects for nearly a century, since the advent of talking pictures, and argues that their endurance owes primarily to the longstanding battles between stereo and mono technologies. Throughout the book, Eric Dienstfrey analyzes newly discovered archival materials and myriad stereo releases, from Hell’s Angels (1930) to Get Out (2017), to show how Hollywood’s financial dependence on mono prevented filmmakers from seeing surround sound’s full aesthetic potential. Though studios initially explored stereo’s unique capabilities, Dienstfrey details how filmmakers eventually codified a conservative set of surround-sound techniques that prevail today, despite the arrival of more immersive formats.
ISBN
978-0520379541
Publication Date
1-16-2024
Publisher
University of California Press
City
Oakland, California
Keywords
sound in motion pictures, surround-sound systems, stereophonic sound systems, sound effects, sound recording, Dolby Stereo
Disciplines
Audio Arts and Acoustics | Film and Media Studies
Comments
A volume in the series: California studies in music, sound and media.