Sound and Editing

Sound and editing are another two incredibly vital aspects within cinema. In this online lesson, we learned about a lot of technical elements and identified a few in examples from movies.

 

Sound

 

Ambient sound is general background noise and can be used to fill silences in order to make a setting feel more real. Dialogue establishes character and relationship and is an important way to provide content for the plot/story. Music is also used a lot, to heighten emotion and/or drama of a scene or help interpret the mood or genre. It can also build up or release tension, change the emotional or physical state of a character, smooth out transitions in edit and allow the scenes to flow and highlight the theme or message that is trying to be explained. A great example is the classic theme tune of Jaws, which not only makes the audience tense and fearful but also indicates that something bad is going to happen.

 

 

 

We also learned a few important definitions, like the technical term for the different types of sound in films. Diegetic sound is the sound of the story world, which is what the characters can hear. Some examples would be somebody talking, or when crossing the street, hearing the traffic and sounds of cars. Non-diegetic is the opposite, which is the sound that doesn’t originate from within the film’s world and so characters cannot hear it. All non-diegetic sound is added by sound editors in post-production, like music, sound effects and narrations or voiceovers, all of which do a variety of things, such as manipulating the audience’s emotions, providing surprise or comic relief and relaying information relevant to the story. There is also something called internal diegetic which is the sounds within a character’s mind, that none of the other character’s can hear, but the audience obviously can. Often, this is used when a character is listening to music or having some particular thoughts. An example that I can think of is the animated film Spiderman: Into the spider-verse, which has a few instances of internal diegetic sound. Morales at one point is listening to music through his headphones which we can hear, but an even more memorable example would be when he is walking through his school and we hear his thoughts very clearly, getting louder to emphasise his internal panic.

 

 

 

In this scene of the film, Morales is narrating is thoughts in a voice-over, so that we receive audio along with the visual realisation. A voice-over is a sound device where one hears the character or narrator speaking, even though they aren’t saying the words on the screen. Sound effects, on the other hand, are sound effects other than music and speech which are recorded and added to the soundtrack to enhance the narrative or add a creative element. They are often used to make the film more realistic (punching sounds, rain, footsteps etc.) but can also add mystery, suspense or surprise, and so work great in fiction or horror films. Another effect that can be heard is a sound bridge, which is when sound carries over a visual transition in a film. This type of transition is commonly used because it is great for continuity and the flow of scenes. A sound bridge can be when the music continues through a scene change or throughout a montage sequence, or dialogue or music that occurs before or after a character is seen.

 

 

Asynchronous sound is sound that has not been synchronised with what is happening on screen. It can be used well for comedic and satiric effects, such as making fun of a person speaking by putting a different sound over their voice. Exaggerated or pleonastic sound, on the other hand, is used to heighten the emotion/mood of a scene. It can reinforce the danger being presented, or reveal something about a character. These two work well as non-diegetic sound because when the audience knows something that the characters’ don’t, tension is built up.

 

Editing

 

We looked at several different types of editing in a video, but here are six that we focused and learned about:

Order of shots: The conventional way of storytelling can be changed via the order of the shots, thus manipulating the audience.

Cross-cutting: Cutting back and forth from one scene to another, which shows both are happening at the same time and can build tension.

Pace: The pace of a scene or several scenes can completely change the effect (a long take – unease, fast-paced montage effect – tension.)

Cut: dissolve: fade: Transitions from one scene to the next, can be snappy to create surprise or slower, like fades, to show time passing.

Continuity: Where a cause and effect rule is established that creates a sense of realism for the audience.

Shot Reverse Shot: Helps the audience experience something with the characters, for example, a series of OSS that go back and forth.

 

Now, to apply all of the new things I learned, I am going to analyse the same clip I used last time (the tree growing scene from My Neighbour Totoro) for mise en scene and sound and editing.

 

 

 

Mise en Scene

 

Let’s talk about setting first. The scene is set in and near the house of the characters, in the countryside and it is nighttime. I think the fact that is is set during the night makes the scene more fantastical and magical. The moon is generally associated with mystical connotations, and at night when most of the world is asleep, magic is said to occur. Furthermore, the moon is full, which is believed to be a heightened period of spiritual and magical awareness. All of these things give the audience hints that something mysterious and potentially wondrous is about to happen.

The first character is seen after the moon brightens, so the lighting is much stronger and increases the mystical tone. We see the girl in the middle of the frame waking up from her sleep. She proceeds to wake up her sister and they both notice Totoro and the other spirits outside. Their expressions are bewildered, showing that this isn’t a normal occurrence, and feels like a dream. As we cross-cut back and forth between the spirits and the girls, we get an overall feel through the colour scheme, which includes lots of blues, greys and greens. This cool palette creates a relaxed, yet mystical atmosphere, continually reminding the viewer that it is night and nature is all around, so foreshadowing that Totoro will make something magical happen with life/nature.  We see Totoro jumping over a patch of land, and after the girls run out to join him, we find out that he is trying to make the plants grow. The begins to do a specific pull/stretch motion which we understand is supposed to make the seeds sprout because it reflects how plants grow like life is literally pulled out of the Earth. Everyone’s facial expressions, especially Totoro, enhance this, the excitement and effort are shown to tell the audience that it is hard work. The close up of Totoro is when we really get to see the concentration required and as the seedlings sprout, we really believe that magic is happening.

 

Sound 

 

At the start, we hear just the ambient sounds outside, such as the crickets. It is quite peaceful and as we move to the interior, the ambient sounds fade out. Throughout, there is a little dialogue to relay information to the audience, and a few sounds of amazement to add to the visuals (the character’s expressions and body language which reflect their joy and excitement.) Once the two characters notice the spirits outside, music begins, which is an exotic type beat that speeds up and becomes more prominent when the acorns start to grow. The increasing tempo and volume reflect what is happening on screen and evokes anticipation from the audience. Finally, when the trees grow taller and become bigger, the music erupts, and we hear a melody that perfectly encapsulates the wonder and magic of the scene. It highlights the fact that this is not normality and what we see is a miracle. Although the music is non-diegetic, we can clearly see that it reflects the character’s feelings of accomplishment and happiness.

 

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