Film Sound Techniques

 

Rhythm:

Involved a beat or a pulse, a pace or a tempo (a pattern within the sound) it's most recognisable in music and it's important to match the pace of the music to the scene for the right effect. Music is one aspect of rhythm but speech also has a rhythm as well. Sound effects also have rhythmic distinct qualities. Many films varie their rhythm from one point to another, a change of rhythm may function to change expectations.

 

Fidelity:

The extent of which sound is faithful to the source as we see it. So if a film shows a gun firing we expect to hear the sound of a gun firing. Fidelity is a matter of expectation. A lack of fidelity can mean that the viewer is taken out of the scene or disorientated.

 

Parallel sound:

The sound we hear should usually go hand in hand with the visuals on the screen, so in a horror film we have suspense music with fast tempos.

 

Contrapuntal sound:

When we hear sounds that we wouldn't associate with the events on screen. The use of contrapuntal sound can add impact to a scene and make the viewer look more uncomfortable.

 

Synchronous:

The matching of a sound with the visuals. We hear a sound at the same time as we see the source produce the sound. Dialogue between the characters are normally synchronized so that the lips of the characters move at the same time as we hear the appropriate words.

 

Asynchronus: 

Is when images and sounds are out of sync.

 

Diegetic:

If the sound is a character or object in the story space of the film then it is diegetic. Sounds within the scene itself, for example, characters talking or the wind wooshing. We expect to hear them coming from the scene.

 

Non-diegetic:

Comes from a source that is outside of the narrative space (outside of the scene itself) we can get non-diegetic sounds in the form of a music score or a voice over narration. We can get a combination between the 2 from diegetic sound to non-diegetic sound.

 

Volume:

Alternations of volume can have an impact on the scene. It's not the volume itself but the change in volume that's important. It's often good to have a period of quiet to give more impact to louder elements within the scene.

 

 

 

Basic Sound

 

Sound effects: a sound other than speech or music made artificially for use in a play, film, or other broadcast production.

 

Foley: relating to or concerned with the addition of recorded sound effects after the shooting of a film.

 

Music: vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.

 

 

Sound In Genre

 

Science fiction: drones - machinery - futuristic

 

Horror: scary ambient sounds - monsters screams voices - ghosts

 

Fantasy: creatures angels other worldly sounds

 

 

Sound Effects Create Meaning

 

Realistic - sound effects you naturally expect situated in the film.

 

Expressive - sound effects which are realistic but altered to create meaning. (E.g. A phone rings but gets louder)

 

Surreal - Sound effects visually enlisted (used to) externalise a characters inner thoughts, nightmares, hallucinations, dreams or wishes. (E.g. laughter of a child when pick up a phone) - meta diegetic

 

External - clearly sounds not from the scene. (E.g. church bell ringing for death March - no bell insight) non dietetic