Sound

Music is used in films and tv because it creates an atmosphere around each scene and helps with the story telling. For example, fast paced music would be used in action scenes and slow melodic music is used in emotional scenes.

Dialogue is used in films and tv because it tells the story, it also supports how the characters talk and sound. There are two types of dialogue, inner dialogue is when a character talks to themselves and outer dialogue is when characters talk to each other.

Diegetic / non diegetic is used in films and tv as diegetic sound is what the characters hear and speak within the story. And non-diegetic sound is sound the characters can’t hear, this is can be the soundtrack of the movie.

Sound effects are used to bring imaginative things to life. For example, lightsabers and star wars have a distinctive sound. If it was a black screen and you heard a lightsaber sound, you would know what it is, it also helps to create atmosphere and enhance the scene

Voice over/narration is used to allow a character to tell a past event or allow you to know what they are thinking. For example, in bladerunner, the main character Deckard uses narration to allow you to understand his thoughts and feelings.

Sound bridge is used to connect one scene to another through sound. It is widely used in film making. It can be seen in The Usual Suspects and The Matrix for example.

Asynchronous sound is sound that is not been edited in. Examples of this are when the director wants to create tension as the viewer can hear a sound but can not see its source. It can also be used to replace another sound in the film. For example in The 39 Steps: An old lady’s scream is replaced by a whistle of a steam train.

Exaggerated sounds are used to change the focus of the scene, the focus shifts with the sound. For example, in a fight scene the sounds for the punches are exaggerated the focus is more on the fight itself than on the scene, hollywood movies such as Indiana Jones use this effect.

Editing

Order of shots can be used to rearrange the story so it has future or past events. An example of this is Pulp Fiction where the film jumps from story to story and past to present.

Cross cutting is used to make the audience think that 2 seperate scenes are happening at the same time to support the story telling

Pacing is used to speed up or slow down a scene The quicker the pace usually the more exciting the movie has the potential to be, the slower the speed the more emotional it is.

Cutting is used to go from one scene to the next. It can use transitions for effects such as fading and dissolving, light to dark etc.

Continuity is used because it creates character relationships and realism it ensures that details in a shot are consistent from shot to shot within a film scene. Continuity means that things are consistent from shot to shot when we expect them to be for example characters clothes and scenery are from the same time.

Montage is used as a series of sequenced shots it is used to tell a long story in a very short space of time. For example in Up, the main characters married life.

Reverse shot is used to help create a conversation scene with 2 characters. it allows you to see the conversation from the point of view of one of the characters. For example in Spiderman when Normon Osbourne hears the green goblin talking to him.

Film Clip: Lord of the Rings – Battle of Helms Deep 

Sound:

Music: At the start of the clip when the enemies are marching towards the castle, there is sad music playing as there are too many of them which creates the feeling of hopelessness for the heroes. When the enemies stop marching, the music quitens down and when the enemies start charging at the castle, the music becomes dramatic as the battle just started.

Dialogue: All the dialogue is outer dialogue, the main dialogue is the 3 leaders commanding their soldiers with aggressive orders. The main hero also speaks in elvish which helps with the movies continuity.

Diegetic / Non Diegetic: The diegetic sound is when the enemies are marching and the heroes talking. The non diegetic sound is the music in the background.

Sound effects: The sound effects can be heard when the heroes sword is drawn, the enemy soldiers banging their spears on the ground and their talking.

Sound bridge: An example of sound bridge is heard when the enemies are marching to the castle and the scene cuts between the defenders on the walls, the enemies marching and the women and children hiding in the cave. The same music is played in all the scenes.

Exaggerated sounds: Some examples of exaggerated sounds can be heard when the enemies roar and the swords are pulled from the holsters.

Editing:

Cross cutting: An example of this effect is shown just before and during the fight scene and with the people inside the cave. Which show two scenes happening at the same time.

Pacing: There is a feeling of pacing within the scene, when the characters are fighting, it feels fast while when it cuts to the people in the cave, it feels slower.

Cutting: There is a lot of cutting throughout the scene, whenever it cuts towards the heroes, the enemies, the people in the cave

Continuity: Everything is how its supposed to shown, The enemies look strong and evil with dark colours in contrast to the heroes who are more colourful with lighter colours and look more friendly. The castle looks like how it should be, made with stone, the walls are thick and tall. It is a dark night and raining which exaggerates the mood which is dark and desperate.

Reverse shot: An example of reverse shot is seen when the elf and the dwarf are talking on the castle walls before the fight starts. When the dwarf is talking, the camera is low down which shows how short he is compared to the elf.