A sound film, as opposed to a silent film, is a motion picture with synchronized sound or sound that is technologically related to the image. The first public showing of projected sound films was in Paris in 1900, but it took decades for sound motion pictures to become economically viable. With early sound-on-disc systems, reliable synchronization was difficult to establish, and amplification and recording quality were also lacking. In 1923, sound-on-film innovations led to the first commercial exhibition of short motion films employing the technique.
Towards the mid-to-late 1920s, the first steps in the commercialization of sound cinema were taken. Initially, sound films with the synchronized conversation, known as “talking pictures” or “talkies,” were only available as shorts. The Jazz Singer, which premiered on October 6, 1927, was the first feature picture to be shown as a talkie.
Lee De Forest, an American inventor, was awarded multiple patents in 1919 that would lead to the first commercially viable optical sound-on-film technology. The soundtrack was photographically recorded onto the side of the strip of motion picture film in De Forest’s method to create a composite, or “married,” print. If correct sound and picture synchronization was established during recording, it could be relied upon in playback.
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