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The year 1929 found sound pictures off to an auspicious start, due to the announcement of lower prices by Western Electric for either the Vitaphone or Movietone reproduction equipment for June 1st delivery at a price of $5,500 each, or $7,000 for "both. At the end of 1929, wired theatres numbered 9,350. Will H. Hays estimated that theatre attendance increased 15,000,000 weekly during the year.
Sound in Production
The introduction of sound in production caused a change in style of making pictures, the erection of more than 100 sound stages, and the installation of millions of dollars in equipment. Old talent was eliminated in numerous instances and new talent introduced. An addition of approximately 5,000 employees was reported at the end of 1930. It has been estimated that 99 per cent of all pictures produced in 1930 were either sound or all-talking pictures.
The cost of making a picture with sound was estimated to be from five to seven times the cost of making an all-silent picture. The increased overhead, loss of "box-office names of players who had starred in silent pictures, employment of additional writers, loss of time through experimentation, and the use of more film were the major contributing factors.
At the end of 1930, 60 per cent of the exhibitors were using the sound-track method of projection and the remainder were using the disc method. Until late 1930, Warner Brothers and First National were producing all pictures on discs, but in that year they began to use the sound-track method. The disc method has the disadvantage that the discs are cumbersome and hard to handle, and the method is also more expensive.
According to the Motion Picture Daily of July 29, 1935, 18 patent licenses for a new sound system have been issued. The invention is known as "the dynamic multiplier system," by which the undesirable characteristics of present sound apparatus are eliminated. More life-like quality is effected, which may again revolutionize the Industry.
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