Originally posted by: caligulathegod
Everything I've ever read about silent films indicates that they were never projected at the same rate as they were filmed and that it's a modern convention that they be projected at a natural rate. There was never a standard speed, that much we do know. How it was presented was pretty much up to the projectionist. It seems that they were more interested in the picture ending on time than any sort of natural look. Also, the cue sheets tend to recommend the faster rates. None of them recommend the slowest 16 speed, since the film was too flamable for that. Audiences at the time were accustomed to the slightly stylized look of the projection, which looks silly to us, just as the acting does.
Oh well, this is an ongoing debate among the professionals and aficionados. We won't solve it here.
Everything I've ever read about silent films indicates that they were never projected at the same rate as they were filmed and that it's a modern convention that they be projected at a natural rate. There was never a standard speed, that much we do know. How it was presented was pretty much up to the projectionist. It seems that they were more interested in the picture ending on time than any sort of natural look. Also, the cue sheets tend to recommend the faster rates. None of them recommend the slowest 16 speed, since the film was too flamable for that. Audiences at the time were accustomed to the slightly stylized look of the projection, which looks silly to us, just as the acting does.
Oh well, this is an ongoing debate among the professionals and aficionados. We won't solve it here.
Well, just look over this article by Kevin Brownlow: http://www.cinemaweb.com/silentfilm/bookshelf/18_kb_2.htm
The basic word of wisdom is to not project too slow or too fast. 16fps is too slow for most, but it does mention that slower speeds are necessary in many cases. At the same time, some films need faster than 24fps. It really does have to be looked at closely since wrong speeds will ruin a great performance.... stylized silent acting may be, it's rarely intended for anyone other than Keaton or Chaplin to appear to sprint every time they take a short walk.