Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1894)

Friday

Mar052010

William K.L. Dickson | United States of America | 1894

The first sound film was released with its original soundtrack only in the 21^st century. Originally a technical failure, nowadays Dickson Experimental Sound Film looks as one of the most original pieces in the early cinematic oeuvre.

Two men dance under the sound of the violin played by William K.L. Dickson. A lyrical piece, void of any sexual charge, the film sets the tone for symphonic cinema, in which it is the image, and not the setting it reproduces, that creates the pace of the production.

Dickson’s setting was improvised in order to test the efficiency of the Kinetophonograph, and therefore the action in the film is a set workshop piece, with no meaning beyond the one set by the director at the point of the shooting. The emotions watching the two young workers dance are a mixed bag of nostalgia and excitement for novelty. Everyone involved knew they were making history, particularly if the experiment would have been successful; hence we witness the dedication of the actors, hence we attest the rawness of the material.

The meaning is derived in accordance to our emotions. It is spectator-led cinema, therefore it is not surprising why the film was the subject of many controversies regarding its assumed queer status quo ante. In fact, taking in consideration the conditions of filming the work, this claim has indeed no backing, unless we are to take on board Dickson’s metaphor that the "Black Maria" studio resembled as male an environment as the lyrics of the seaman’ song he is playing suggest. What is important is that first of all Dickson Experimental Sound Film is a piece of art and therefore it touches on many issues; anyone can find something meaningful in it.

The only way to make one’s mind about it is to watch it, then after some time to try to remember it. We will find the images still lingering in our minds, whatever they may mean.

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ESSENTIAL FILMS: Chapter III – The invention of sound