Learning sound as
- 1. In order to learn about sound techniques, you need to understand what each one means and how to identify them.
- 2. Dialogue Conversation between 2 or more characters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zqOYBabXmA
- 3. Diegetic Sound Any noise that is made in the scene. Important note: • The character in the scene can hear the sound. • Question: Watch the clip. Max keeps scuffing his shoes on the floor when he moves. Is this diegetic or non-diegetic sound? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubmkkx0NUgI
- 4. Non-Diegetic Sound Sounds that the character cannot hear. Example: • Sound track Watch the clip. What sounds can the characters not hear in the clip? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpbmMhNe6aA
- 5. Sound motif A sound that becomes associated with a person, thing or programme. Every time you hear the sound you think of that association. Example: Eastenders theme tune – when you hear it, you know what programme you are watching. Question: Watch the clip from Jaws (from 3 mins). When you hear the music what do you think of? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2Ecwm7Alrc
- 6. Synchronous Sound The visual seems to move at the same time as the sound, they match. • Eg In music videos, the characters often move at the same time as the music. Watch the clip, notice that the people start to ‘synchronise’ with the music? Extension question: Is this diegetic or non-diegetic sound? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tJoIaXZ0rw
- 7. What sound techniques are employed here? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KUZVwsjTvw
- 8. Contrapuntal Sound Sound that does not match what you can see, it sounds inappropriate and does not fit the feel of the visual. Important note: It changes the feel of the scene. • Example: You can see – A sad scene at a funeral. You can hear – Happy, pop music Question: Watch the clip from the film ‘Dr Strangelove’. Do you think that the music is what you would expect to hear. Does it fit the visual? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gb0mxcpPOU
- 9. Voice Over A narrator or character who talks over the top of the scene. You cannot see them, only hear them. • Watch the scene from Scrubs, notice that you can hear the character talking over the top but he is not talking in the scene. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLsyUZ2nGbo
- 10. Soundtrack Music that plays over the top of the scene. The characters cannot hear it. • Notice the music that plays over the film trailer. This is a soundtrack. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vak9ZLfhGn Q
- 11. Ambient Sound Everyday noises that you hear in the background of a scene. They are used to make the scene more realistic. Example: In a scene in a forest, the ambient sound may include – the sound of birds tweeting, the wind rustling in the trees or the sound of a plane flying overhead. Task : Look at the clip. All of the sounds are sounds that you would naturally hear in a library, it can help make the scene more realistic. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsB0euf1d5U
- 12. Sound perspective • Sound perspective refers to the apparent distance of a sound. • Clues to the distance of the source include the volume of the sound and the balance with other sounds, the frequency range (high frequencies may be lost at a distance), and the amount of echo and reverberation. • A closer sound perspective may sometimes be simulated by recording with a directional microphone which rejects sound from other directions. A more distant perspective may sometimes be simulated in post-production by processing the sound and mixing in other sounds. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oEKgfawEJQ
- 13. Mode of address • The narrator addresses the audience directly, often confiding information or insights not available to other characters in the piece. This information is often taken as authoritative by the audience, and can effect the way they relate to the characters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpIYz8tfGjY#t=134
- 14. Sound bridge • Sound bridges can lead in or out of a scene. • They can occur at the beginning of one scene when the sound from the previous scene carries over briefly before the sound from the new scene begins. • Alternatively, they can occur at the end of a scene, when the sound from the next scene is heard before the image appears on the screen. • Sound bridges are one of the most common transitions in the style, one that stresses the connection between both scenes since their mood (suggested by the music) is still the same. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIkpD2Nr5yI