Sound Notes

1. Sound
What noises can you hear in the clip?
● Lots of violin/cello
● Industrial Factory noises
● Fast talking
● Fight sounds.
● Punching sound effects
● Foreign Talk
● Strangling fight.
● Fast conversation
● Action matched to tempo.
● Underwater/tinnitus reverb
● Big brass section at end of fight.
● Dark bass line over villain speech
● Glass shattering.
● Crow
● Gunshot
Film sound is as important and as carefully controlled as the visual elements of a text.
Although sound is often recorded on set, most film sound is added in ​post-production
Film sound will be mixed very carefully to ensure that important sounds are emphasised and
that the correct atmosphere for a sequence is maintained
Selective sound​ is: Emphasising a selective action in the sequence, for example matching
the tempo of the drum beat to punches.
Ambient sound​ is: Background noise, to add atmosphere and reinforce location. Unusual
ambient sounds for a location convey a complication or mystery.
Other elements of sound design to look out for:
● Sound bridges​ – A cut focused on a noise, like a cut on action but for audio.
● Sound effects​ – Sounds that have been added in to create effect in post production.
Usually created by foley artists these can vary from footsteps and rain to gunshots.
Sound can be either:
● Diegetic​ – that is, it exists within the world of the film or
● Non-diegetic​ – that is, it emerges from outside the world of the film, eg film
soundtracks

2. Diegetic Sound Non-Diegetic Sound
Horse and Carriage
Guns loading
Footsteps
Birds
Footsteps and Jumping
Whispering dialogue
Introduction of main characters with piano
theme
Ears ringing after gunshot
Cut on camera flash
Starts with Sherlock theme
Violin score building tension
Inner Thoughts
Synchronous punching
Silence after punch
Loud bass line conveys evil
Silence to hear dialouge
Percussion matches fight
Solo bass line for evil
Film sound can be either:
● Synchronous​ – Sound that is matched to action e.g. footsteps are matched to feet
walking.
● Asynchronous​ – When either one of the participating parties (characters or
audience) can hear a sound that the other can’t. For example seeing the reaction to a
sound from a character, but not hearing it. Then the camera would pan to the source
of the sound.
● Contrapuntal​ – Ironic sound, sound that is juxtaposed to what is happening on
screen, for example chirpy piano music over a murderous killing spree. A good
example is the title sequence of Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
Other elements of sound design to look out for:
● Voiceovers​ – Non-diegetic sound used for narrative purposes. Usually either a
character narrating an event from the future, an omniscient narrator, or the internal
thoughts of a character.
● Theme music​ – Recognisable music that is used repeatedly ever the length of a TV
show or film franchise. In TV this is played at the start of an episode, but in film
franchises this is normally a repeated chord sequence in the music.
● Musical Score​ – The written transcription for a piece of music, written in musical
notation.

3. ● Silence – ​When no sound is being played. This is used to great effect in horror films
such as `A quiet place`. Sometimes silence works just as well or better than a
dramatic soundtrack.