Process&Production- A Brief History of Animation- Silent Era

A Brief History of Animation- Silent Era

Early animations were created during the silent era, this meant that to keep the audiences attention, sound needed to be added. This tended to be a live orchestra that was placed just lower than the stage so the screen could be seen.

These are two types of animation that used a lot of backing sounds to fill silences during the animated movies. The music was always very chirpy and happy that contrasted to the very dramatic music that gets played when the scenes get dramatic. They were famous for capturing the audience and entertaining the masses for years on end. They wouldn't have been nearly as popular if they were left to be silent as it really does make a massive difference to animation even now. It can make a sad scene heartbreaking by just adding a few notes where needed, and can make a boring animation, seem a little more interesting. This is why when animations are created, having the correct sounds and music was so important.