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DRAMATURGY OF SOUND 199
means of such guidance along a series of close-ups will be able to emphasize, separate and bring into relation with each other the sounds of life as he has done with its sights, then the rattle and clatter of life will no longer overwhelm us in a lifeless chaos of sound. The sound camera will intervene in this chaos of sound, form it and interpret it and then it will again be man himself who speaks to us from the sound screen.
DRAMATURGY OF SOUND
The genuine sound film which has a style of its own will not be satisfied with making audible the speech of human beings, which in the past has been only visible, nor will it rest content with an acoustic presentation of events. Sound will not merely be a corollary to the picture, but the subject, source and mover of the action. In other words it will become a dramaturgical element in the film. For instance, sounds will not merely be an accompaniment to a duel but possibly its cause as well. The audible clash of blades may be of less importance— because devoid of a dramaturgical function — than perhaps a song heard coming from a garden by the listening rivals and occasioning a quarrel between them. Such sounds would be essential elements of the story. There is no reason why a sound should be less apt to provoke action than a sight would be.'
The first sound films were still intent on exploiting these special possibilities of sound. At that time a film operetta was made in Berlin. In it a young composer absolutely has to produce a new valse before the end of the coming day. He racks his brains and can find nothing suitable. Then through a mistake an unknown girl comes to his room. The result of the sudden and unexpected adventure is the birth of a valse. The composer plays it on the piano and the girl sings it. But the musician's unknown muse vanishes as she had come and the composer again forgets the tune which he had no time to write down. Only the unknown girl might possibly remember it. So the composer puts a want ad. in the paper : 'The young lady, who . . .' After some naive, even inane complications all turning on the melody, the valse finally brings the lovers together