sound and music in film

1. SOUND AND MUSIC IN
FILM
Aisha Touray

2. AMBIENT SOUND
• The normal sound which exists in a particular scene or location e.g.
• An example of when Ambient sound is used, is in Harry Potter in the Great Hall at
Hogwarts.
• In the scene, the sound of children chatting and knives and forks hitting the plates.
• Providing audio continuity between shots.
• Preventing an unnatural silence when no other sound is present.
• Establishing or reinforcing the mood.

3. ASYNCHRONOUS SOUND
• An effect which only occurs when the sound is either intentionally or
unintentionally out of sync with the image
• An example of this is in the Pyscho driving scene
• This creates tension as the viewer can hear the sound but not see where it is coming
from

4. CHARACTER THEME
• The part of a soundtrack which is associated with a particular character
• An example of this is the James Bond theme tune
• The character theme might be used to introduce the character into a scene or to
indicate their status within a scene.

5. CONTRAPUNTAL SOUND
• A term which refers to sound which refers to sound which dos not seem to ‘fit’ with
the scene or image you are watching
• An example of this is the song ‘Over the Rainbow’ is used in John Wo’s film Face/Off
, in a shot out scene.
• The sound contradicts the violence that is being shown , but is also used to calm a
frightened boy

6. FOLEY
• A foley artist supplies the live action sounds that production microphone may have
missed
• An example of this is the sounds of swords locking together for a fight scene. This
can be seen in Parent trap, when the two girls were fencing

7. HYPER-REAL SOUND
• The exaggeration of sounds compared to experience of those sound in real life
• An example of this is the water running in Pyscho
• The sound of the water is amplified to make the sound more prominent and to show
its significance within the scene

8. PITCH
• The pitch of a sound is determined by its frequency, whether it belongs in low,
midrange or high frequency grouping.
• An example of this is creaming in horror films
• Low frequencies re often used to invoke a powerful or warm feeling
• Midrange frequencies give sound its energy
• High frequencies give a sound its overall presence

9. SOUND EFFECTS
• Sounds which are added to a film in the post-production stage in order to increase
the impact and potential meaning of a particular moment within a film
• An example of this is in Fast and Furious 8, when a loud explosion can be heard

10. SOUND BRIDGE
• Sound which is sustained from one scene into the next
• An example of this can be seen in Downton Abbey. Calm music can be herd over a
series of different shots
• A director may decide to continue a piece of music associated with one of the
characters into the next scene where the character is not present.
• This indicates that he presence of the character is even felt in there absence

11. VOICE OVER
• A commentary or narrative guide, only heard by audience of film and not the other
characters, which describes and comments on events portrayed in a film
• An example of this can be seen in Beauty and the beast
• The voice over acts as a means of explaining and discussing the image presented