The document analyzes the opening sequences of the films Submarine and The Graduate. In Submarine, ambient sounds of the sea and seagulls are used to establish the seaside setting. Voiceover from the main character Oliver Tate is used to introduce him as an introspective narrator. In The Graduate, dramatic sound effects play during the opening credits to draw attention, and plane ambient sounds set the scene of the main character arriving in Los Angeles. Both films establish setting and character through simple, slow-paced ambient sounds and music in line with the comedy-drama genre.

1. Soundtrack
Analysis

2. Submarine

3. At the very beginning of the opening sequence
when showing the institutional information you
have sound effects that go along with it, for
example Film 4 has a sound effect that is next
to it. This makes it more interesting and with
sound people may be more likely to pay
attention to it which means that people will be
aware of the company.

4. Then when the picture is first shown you get some
ambient sound of the sea very quietly, then after the
second credit you hear the sound of seagulls as the
camera slowly pans around the room. This suggests and
makes the audience aware that the setting is by the
seaside. So the sound helps to establish the environment
in which the film takes place.
This ambient sound creates a peaceful atmosphere
however the quietness of it shows that there aren’t people
about and creates a slightly lonely setting. Then the
protagonist character (Oliver Tate) is shown, the sound
connotes that he is an isolated, maybe introverted
character.

5. Then alongside the ambient sound of the sea and the birds you
have a voice over, which is the voice of the main character, this is
diegetic sound because you can see him on the floor. However, he
is not speaking which shows that these are his thought, this shows
that he is going to be narrating the film. The fact that the audience
can hear his voice will cause a more personal relationship between
us and the character because you aren’t just seeing what he is
showing on the outside but we know what he is thinking and the
audience can really understand his thoughts and emotions.
The fact that the ambient sound of his surroundings can still be
heard, again creates a closeness between the character and the
audience because it creates the idea that we are listening to the
exact sounds he is hearing which are the thoughts in his head and
then what he can hear in his surrounding. It gives the idea that the
sound illustrates everything he hears.

6. The first line is “Most people see themselves as individuals” The
fact he says ‘most people’ suggests that he does not see himself
as an individual, and it also suggests that he sees himself as
different from the rest of society because he sees himself
differently to the way most people see themselves.
The first line is very important because it can engage the audience
and gives the first impression of their personality. Oliver Tates first
line suggests that he is secluded from society and it also shows
that he is a self-questioning individual. He also talks in a relaxed
and calm tone which shows he isn’t a rushed individual and the
slowness in which he speaks could suggest sadness.
At the end of his first few lines of dialogue he says “my name is
Oliver Tate”. This makes it clear who he is and that he is narrating.

7. After he has spoken you get ambient sound of a clock ticking.
This is hyper-real sound because the sound is much louder
and more emphasised in real life, this connotes that time is
an important aspect of the film and suggests that the
character could be wasting time or waiting for something to
happen.
The sound of the clock ticking is also synchronised with the
cuts of the editing and also the movement of his eyes. This
causes Mickey-mousing. This is a most commonly seen in
comedies. Submarine is a comedy drama which means it
follows these conventions.

8. The Micky-mousing continues also in the next
clips when there are clips of the setting. This is
because the view changes in time with the music.

9. Then along with the long shots of the setting there is non-
diegetic background music (stuck on the puzzle by Alex
Turner). This is a slow paced and simple piece of music, this
could represent the character or the tone of the film, so it
gives more insight of the genre of the film and the feelings
being conveyed by the character.

10. The Graduate

11. At the beginning of the opening sequence of The
Graduate you get the production company Studio Canal,
alongside the picture of this you get dramatic non-diegetic
sound effects. These sound effects are a mixture of
different sounds like birds and a camera shutter. This mix
of sounds then builds to an ending with a long note which
sounds like it is played by string instruments.
This brings the audiences attention towards the
information because it makes it more interesting. The
build towards the end adds to the reveal of the company
name Studio Canal and also heightens the excitement for
the film about to begin.

12. Then when the picture is first shown there’s ambient
sound of the plane which is like a low and quiet sound but
still noticeable. This will set the scene and the audience
will realise that the character is on a plane and is going
somewhere. Then there’s diegetic ambient sound of a
man saying “Ladies and Gentlemen we are about to begin
our decent into Los Angeles” on the over head speaker in
the plane. This is parallel sound because it’s what you
would expect to hear on a plane. This lets the audience
know where the plane the character is on is going (Los
Angeles). This will lead the audience to wonder why it is
going there? Which is effective in a film opening because
it makes the audience want to find out more and continue
watching.

13. The overhead voice on the plane also
says what the weather is like and the
temperature. This is also setting the
scene of what the weather is like outside
of the plane which the audience can’t
see. This is good useful because it
means that the audience won’t be
challenged to try understand the whole
setting because the setting is given to
them through the sound.

14. Then when you see the next cut and the character is off the
plane you hear the soundtrack which is sung by Simon and
Garfunkel. This music is folk and is conventional to comedy
dramas. This is empathetic sound because the music isn’t
fast paced which links to the slow pace of which the
character is moving the airport and matches the simple visual
start of the film.
The first line of the song is ‘Hello darkness my old friend’.
This sets the tone of the song and also the movie and reflects
what the characters might be feeling at this point in time. If
this is the fact then he might be feeling lonely and isn’t
necessarily a happy character. This song carries on
throughout the rest of the opening sequence.

15. Both Submarine and The Graduate have
similar opening sequences when it comes to
sound. This is because they fit the
conventions of the comedy-drama genre.
They are both simple and slow paced all the
way through. They also both start with some
sort of ambient sound to set the scene-
Submarine with seagulls and The Graduate
with the noise of the aeroplane. They are
both then followed with a few lines of
dialogue and then the music (both folk).

16. The sound in these opening sequences are effective because
they set the scene using the sound. In the Graduate you can
clearly see that he is on a plane, however adding the noise of
the plane’s engine increases audiences belief that he is,
making it realistic. In Submarine you would not know it was a
seaside town at the beginning because you can only see
inside his room. So this gives the audience the information as
soon as it starts giving the audience more to think about.
They are also effective because they help to introduce the
character. Submarine does this by having the main character
actually speaking to you through narration and the Graduate
introduces the character through the song letting the
audience know he it a lonely character.