<P> The primary steps in the commercialization of sound cinema were taken in the mid - to late 1920s . At first , the sound films which included synchronized dialogue , known as `` talking pictures '' , or `` talkies '' , were exclusively shorts . The earliest feature - length movies with recorded sound included only music and effects . The first feature film originally presented as a talkie was The Jazz Singer , released in October 1927 . A major hit , it was made with Vitaphone , which was at the time the leading brand of sound - on - disc technology . Sound - on - film , however , would soon become the standard for talking pictures . </P>
when did audio video and the film industry begin
in the mid - to late 1920s