A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound,
especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for
entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, mime and tittle cards. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made practical in the late 1920s with the perfection of the Audio Amplifier Tube and the introduction of the Vitaphone system. Intertitles
Because silent films had no synchronized sound
for dialogue, onscreen intertitles were used to narrate story points, present key dialogue and sometimes even comment on the action for the cinema audience. Intertitles Live music and sound Showings of silent films almost always featured live music, starting with the pianist at the first public projection of movies by the Lumiere Brothers on December 28, 1895 in Paris. From the beginning, music was recognized as essential, contributing to the atmosphere and giving the audience vital emotional cues. (Musicians sometimes played on film sets during shooting for similar reasons.) Small town and neighborhood movie theatres usually had a pianist. Acting techniques
Silent film actors emphasized body language and facial
expression so that the audience could better understand what an actor was feeling and portraying on screen. Much silent film acting is apt to strike modern-day audiences as simplistic or campy. Acting techniques
The melodramatic acting style was in some cases a habit actors
transferred from their former stage experience. The pervading presence of stage actors in film was the cause of this outburst from director Marshall Neilan in 1917: "The sooner the stage people who have come into pictures get out, the better for the pictures." Acting techniques
In other cases, directors such as John Griffith Wray required their
actors to deliver larger-than-life expressions for emphasis. Projection Speed Until the standardization of the projection speed of 24 frames per second (fps) for sound films between 1926 and 1930, silent films were shot at variable speeds (or "frame rates") anywhere from 12 to 26 fps, depending on the year and studio. "Standard silent film speed" is often said to be 16 fps as a result of the Lumiere brothers' Cinématographe, but industry practice varied considerably; there was no actual standard. Cameramen of the era insisted that their cranking technique was exactly 16 fps, but modern examination of the films shows this to be in error, that they often cranked faster. Unless carefully shown at their intended speeds silent films can appear unnaturally fast or slow. However, some scenes were intentionally unercranked during shooting to accelerate the action—particularly for comedies and action films. Projection Speed Until the standardization of the projection speed of 24 frames per second (fps) for sound films between 1926 and 1930, silent films were shot at variable speeds (or "frame rates") anywhere from 12 to 26 fps, depending on the year and studio. "Standard silent film speed" is often said to be 16 fps as a result of the Lumiere brothers' Cinématographe, but industry practice varied considerably; there was no actual standard. Cameramen of the era insisted that their cranking technique was exactly 16 fps, but modern examination of the films shows this to be in error, that they often cranked faster. Unless carefully shown at their intended speeds silent films can appear unnaturally fast or slow. However, some scenes were intentionally unercranked during shooting to accelerate the action—particularly for comedies and action films. Mostly known silent films' actor: