Sound Techniques

Sound Techniques

Sound techniques are used in movies to set the mood for whatever is related to the visuals, without sounds movies would be nothing but pictures, no music, no foley, no sound effects. Without these elements movie making would not be the same.

Diegetic Sound

Any sound in which the characters in the scene can hear for themselves

For example in this gunfight from Matrix all of the characters can hear gunfire, the huddle of several moving men, the sound of guns being raised for example. In this scene all of these sound elements conspire to making this fight scene. Because of the diegetic sound we, the audience can feel the excitement and adrenaline rush emanating from the fighting all adding to the realism of the visuals. Another use from these sounds being used specifacally is the satisfaction coming from Catharsis, hearing the ammo fall or guts falling out can be extremely satisfying to some members of the audience.

Non Diegetic Sound

Any sound in which the characters in the scene can hear themselves

In this text orchestral background music helps set the scene by playing instruments usually associated with epic battles such as violins, drums and piano. By doing this the audience can feel the emotion of the characters unfold onto themselves as they get more and more excited and stimulated by the fanfare. Without the background noise there would be almost no emotions following this scene, just dull masses charging, but by adding the epic saga style of music the producers follow the main conventions of medieval warfare music, rather than choosing music that would not fit the scene in anyway, e.g. dub-step.

Dialogue

Words that are spoken between characters or more

Dialogue is the arguably the best way in which to get to know a character, because you can see their mode of address, what they have to say. Dialogue is very important as it decides who the character will be, the general conventions of a fool, or intellect or comedian. In this example i can understand that the subject is a very peculiar one who nobody quite seems to understand, and is "backwards" to everybody else in The Office

Mode of Address

The way in which the subject communicates with others e.g. informal, formal, cockney, geordie

Mode of address is very important in texts in which the location, stereotypes and documentaries are key in the film. A lot is revealed through Mode of Address for example their accents, whether or not they're formal or informal and standing within society (e.g. working class, upper class etc). For example in this text i can tell that the main character is from England with a very thick urban accent which is associated with working class. So with just her accent i've been able to discover where she is from and where she stands in society.

Synchronous Sound

This is where the sound matches the visuals and was filmed at the same time.

Most of the sounds we hear in films are counted as Synchronous Sound, as most of our movies have the right lip syncing and not as much Asynchronous Sounds. Synchronous Sound is important for the orientation of the audience and the overall quality of the film. If there is too much Asynchronous sound then the audience members will become disorientated by the text.

Asynchronous Sound

This is where the sound is either out of sync or completely unrelated to the visuals

Asynchronous sound is usually used to emphasise something that is important to the plot of the movie waiting to be discovered by the audience. In this example the man is down on the floor dazed as he slowly begins to hear ambulance sirens, voices, voices of doctors and children whispering which can signify how the subject is slowly losing his peace of mind. The audience gains the benefit of gaining insight into the subjects mind equipped with a better understanding.

Sound Motif

A piece of music or catchphrase that is commonly linked to a character or a film

Sound motif is very important as it symbolises a piece of music or catchphrase to a specific individual which can greatly boost the popularity of the text as remembering certain sound motifs have become a part of pop culture. For example whenever a fan of Dexter would hear the main theme music then they would instantly associate the music to Dexter or just like how somebody like Arnold Schwarzenegger has the iconic catchphrase "I'll be back" that instantly reminds you of his character The Terminator  

Sound Bridge

A sound that links two scenes together, usually to hide a cut in the editing

Sound bridges are important to hide cuts in the editing, they fill the "awkward silences" in the trailers and movies, so that we focus on the music rather than the silence which would make cuts much more obvious, without this the audience can become disorientated, lowering the quality of the text which is bad for the directors.

Sound Perspective

This refers tot he volume and quality of sound depending on who/what is emitting the sound

Sound perspective can be very detailed, for example at 1:10 you can hear the villain's weapon rattle as he swings it in attack, a sound you wouldn't normally would pick up on if you were watching the movie as a pleasure rather than an objective. Sound perspective is great for audience members who love going into detail with the text, they gain personal gratification by discovering small things that other audience members would not always pick up on

Soundtrack

Usually songs already realised by wrists and used in films depending on the genre

Soundtracks much like Mode of Address is a very important factor when the text is largely factored by things such as location, accents and social standing. In this extract the soundtrack is a rap song which has connotations of gangs, fighting, rebellion and riots which is just what is shown in the trailer, if it was classical music for example the music would be too melancholic and be unpleasant. 

Score

Often music composed specifically for the film

Ennio Morricone composed most of the music for spaghetti westerns in the 70's, a famous score soundtrack/ sound motif he created was for Clint Eastwood's the good the bad and the ugly. By having music specifically made for a certain text the composers can spend less time having to find the right music that suits the text and focus on other stuff. Also this music became very iconic for Clint Eastwood

Incidental Music

Often background music used to create atmosphere (ambience) 

Incidental music is important for creating ambience within the scene and hiding cuts within the editing sequence, for example when the music starts playing at 1:10 starts creating  a stimulus for the audience to get excited and active as they can guess a fight sequence will be following the music

Sound effects

Sounds often created by a computer as they do not exist in the real world e.g. a laser sword

Sound effects are some of the best parts of a sci-fi movie, as they arouse the imagination in a playful way, obviously because the device of a lightsaber does not exist the director must make a sound of his own to go with the sound of a lightsaber. Also the constant high beam sound created from sound effects made on a computer

Foley Sounds

Foley sounds are created in studios by Foley artists to mimic "real-life" sounds

Foley sounds are useful in movie sound techniques because, for example actors in a movie don't want to actually stab, punch and shoot at each other, they act it out whilst trying to make it look as realistic as they can. In this fight scene at 1:00 during the fight, the punches, lunges and breaking seems very realistic and a lot of the audience would believe they are genuine fighting, but because injuries are a serious problem they hire Foley sound artists to imitate "real-life" sounds without having to go through the risks during the acting part