– Why do older movies/shows/news/recordings have a much different “tone” of voice and feel to them? Like if you watch old movies like “It’s a Wonderful Life” or hear any of Kennedy/FDR’s speeches, it sounds so different than the voices on tv today?

Question

Sorry for the awful explanation…

In: Technology

Answer 1

My 2c…

Early movies followed the tone of stage plays, as this is what early movie actors were trained in and this is the tone the audience expected and understood.

Stage actors need to speak loudly and clearly, as there was little or no audio setup. They had no microphones, there were no speakers. Just loud, clear actors.

There are also no close-ups in stage plays. Actors had to exaggerate their reactions to make it clear what the character felt.

Over time, the tone of movies evolved. Acting generally became more natural. Actors no longer had to shout to the back of the theater, instead they had to act as real people would behave in real situations. Actors reactions became minimal. The camera did the work.

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I’d like to think old movie audiences would have a hard time understanding a modern movie. Sudden scene changes, unnatural camera angles, actors in the far distance being heard clearly. It may seem very artificial to them.