• The Myth of the Speakers: A Critical Reexamination of Dolby History

    Author(s):
    Eric Dienstfrey (see profile)
    Date:
    2016
    Group(s):
    Film Studies, Music and Sound
    Item Type:
    Article
    Permanent URL:
    https://doi.org/10.17613/a1zy-vb52
    Abstract:
    This article corrects misconceptions regarding the history of film stereo. I show that the technical and aesthetic innovations regularly credited to Dolby Stereo, to sound designers like Walter Murch, and to films like Apocalypse Now (1979) were not revolutions but extensions of surround-sound practices that Hollywood codified in prior decades. I call such historical misconceptions the “Dolby myth.” Further, I argue that practitioners circulated this myth to critics and scholars in order to elevate the value of postproduction sound labor following the industry’s transition from a studio-based economy to one dominated by independent productions.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. DOI:
    https://doi.org/10.2979/filmhistory.28.1.06
    Publisher:
    Indiana University Press
    Pub. Date:
    2016-5-30
    Journal:
    Film History
    Volume:
    28
    Issue:
    1
    Page Range:
    167 - 193
    ISSN:
    0892-2160
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    8 months ago
    License:
    Attribution

    Downloads

    Item Name: pdf dienstfrey-2016-the-myth-of-the-speakers-fh.pdf
      Download View in browser
    Activity: Downloads: 316

    Back to Deposits