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Making Stereo Fit

The History of a Disquieting Film Technology
By Eric Dienstfrey
Series: California Studies in Music, Sound, and Media
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Brief Description
Surround sound is often mistaken as a relatively new phenomenon in cinemas, one that emerged in the 1970s with the arrival of Dolby. Making Stereo Fit shows how Hollywood studios have instead been implementing surround-sound techniques for the past century and argues that their endurance owes... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$5699
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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Surround sound is often mistaken as a relatively new phenomenon in cinemas, one that emerged in the 1970s with the arrival of Dolby. Making Stereo Fit shows how Hollywood studios have instead been implementing surround-sound techniques for the past century and argues that their endurance owes primarily to the long-standing economic tension between stereophonic and monophonic sound.

Throughout the book, Eric Dienstfrey analyzes newly discovered archival materials, as well as a myriad of stereo releases from Hell's Angels (1930) to Get Out (2017), to examine how Hollywood’s dependence on single-channel sound left filmmakers unable to fully realise the aesthetic potential of surround sound.

Though studios initially experimented with stereo's unique affordances, Dienstfrey details how film sound designers eventually codified a conservative set of surround-sound conventions that prevail today, despite the arrival of more immersive technologies.

Series: California Studies in Music, Sound, and Media

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780520379558

Publisher: University of California Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 16 January 2024

Country: United States

Imprint: University of California Press

Illustration: 30 b-w images

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 36.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 454g

Pages: 312

Collections

Arts & Culture Education & Reference Engineering, Technology & Agriculture Eric Dienstfrey Non-Fiction Science & Nature Series: California Studies in Music, Sound, and Media

About the Author

Eric Dienstfrey is Visiting Assistant Professor of Media and Communication Studies at Ursinus College.

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