Analysis Of Sound

Title:Stealth
Director: Rob Cohen
Production Details: 2005 - USA
Genre: Thriller/Action/Sci-Fi/Adventure

Even before the film starts you hear music, (non-diegetic sounds) then you can guess its going to be about flying aeroplanes as you hear the diegetic sound of an aeroplane whizzing past. Action packed film, some betrayal & death but ends with a happy ending. All of this is brought through by the music and the way spectators can feel through music what is going to happen.
For example, in 'Scream' you can feel tension in the music and then someone screams suggesting their is going to be lots of deaths and its not going to nice.

The tempo starts to change as the action starts to kick in, where you see the people in the aeroplanes flying them talking to there base. Then cuts to their bases to hear the orders from the general.
Tempo rises as they are assigned a mission, the action builds. Tempo rises even more as the action gets more exciting for the spectator.

For the first character, you can tell its a woman flyer as it plays a quite a steady pace, adding a femine touch to it. She seems to be quite organised and is calm in situations as she knows how to do the job well. Tempo changes when something goes wrong, as she turns for back up, this builds alot of tension as you thought she would not panic. The use of silence to build tension before an explosion is used so the explosion will seem really loud.

A steady pace but faster for the second character showing that he likes the adrenaline rush of the plane, and the spectator feels that.

The last character has completely different music, suggesting he likes to be rebellious in what he does, maybe a leader of the team. He seems to be able to make his own rules, and get away with it.

You hear a missle fired and then you follow the path, it cuts to an inside shot of the target ( a cave ) where there is silence for a bit, then you hear the missle coming closer and closer then the cave explodes this creates a great effect for the spectator and builds lots of tension.

Sound

Taxi Driver

USA 1976 Martin Scorsese

Sound - dramatic sounds to thrill the spectator, to excite them. Then turns into Jazz music, peaceful & relaxing. The way the film is made suggests that the men may be drunk or confused, tired maybe? Suggesting a long journey or maybe just a long journey through his life. Dark lighting suggests tension, where as everywhere else natural day light is used.
Sound is also used before you see the person in the next shot, this is called nonsimultaneous sound. Where you hear something before it happens in the next scene. For example, when you hear someone talking, you dont see them it doesn't match the scene then it cuts into the next shot.
Narrative speaking over the shot is used quite alot in this film.

Sound in the background is always music sounds, as i find that different music syncs in to be different emotions of the different characters in the film. I think that there is a dominant feel to the music. He seems to be wanting to work long hours, maybe suggesting that he wants to forget his past. Split- personality. He notices people of the street, mutters under his breath things about them. Calling them names. Direct sound dialogue over the scene. When he was trying to get the job- there was off scene sound, might suggest he is paranoid. As he can still hear everything going on around him.

Insomnia - 2002 - USA - Christopher Nolan

Use of sound - tension in the music, dramatic feel to it. Even before anything appears on the screen. The sound of the music feels like someone has died, or is going to die later on in the film. That maybe an upsetting is about to occur. Builds up tension. Then the scene comes in and i already assumme that someone has either died or going to died. It is a investigation of a crime scene of a murder of a young woman.Trying to find out what really happened. Sadness in the tone of the voice. Not much use of voices to suggest that this case is very important or alot is going to happen in the film to investigate the murder.



Scream - 1996 - Craven - USA
Dramatic - Horror - Music - Screaming - Phone Rings.
Then she answers the phone then a guy with a voice to scare the audience is heard on the other end of the phone. The music is really high pitched to suggest death, maybe a scream? Heartbeat of the girl is placed into the music, to make the spectator jump. Every moment of her moving around seemed over-exaggerated, really loud. Louder than normal.
Dog barking in the background, louder than usual so maybe this is a different character hearing the dog not the main character, as it wouldn't be so loud. Suggests someone is outside but then the dog stops barking so maybe the other character killed the dog, to stop alerting other neighbours. False plato is also used to create suspence, these effect was used in North by Northwest by alfred hitchcock to create suspension and then when you didn't expect it something would happen to scare the spectator.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind - USA - 2004 - Gondry

Music - Violins - Then stop. Little movement sounds - then car door shuts really loud. Suggesting he is just waking up as it seems muffled. Music hits in - piano to suggest lots of stress, maybe he can't deal with it anymore and wants to give up. Narrative dialogue - music still playing in the background for extra effect. His voice tells the story of his life. Faded voices, faded noises. Diegetic sounds.

The Graduate - 1967 - USA - Nichols

Music - Funky, kinda jazzy. Slows down, maybe suggesting that the car is breaking down. Diegetic sounds suggest that he has reached his destination, music starts slowly, beat after beat. Wedding music starts, silence. Some of the characters voices were muffled to suggest that the bride didn't want to listen to half the people that were shouting at her. Like she was old enough to make her own mistakes. Also this is used to suggest that they are in their own little world and they want to be there so they can't hear anything else apart from what they want to hear.

Cinematography

Editing: e.g. a person is about to walk through a door to enter a building *- Cut -* then the next shot is the same person walking down the corridor.

Time: clock turning, calender flicking over, seasons changing. e.g. seeing the trees grow leaves and blossom and then wither away. Aspects of mise-en-scene (clothing). Flashbacks so being able to take you back into a moment in time.

Transitions:

Cheat Cut:a cut which purports to show continuous time and space from shot to shot.
Cross cutting (parallel editing):
Editing that alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring in different places, usually simultaneously. The two actions are therefore linked, associating the characters from both lines of action.
Cut in - cut away:
An instantaneous shift from a distant framing to a closer view of some portion fo the same space, and vice versa.
Dissolve:
A transition between two shots during which the first image gradually disappears while the second image gradually appears; for a moment the two images blend in superimposition.
Iris Cut:
A round, moving mask that can close down to end a scene (iris-out) or emphasize a detail, or it can open to begin a scene (iris-in) or to reveal more space around a detail.
Jump Cut:
missing a shot maybe walking along 'jumps' then walking along the same parth but just a little bit further ahead.
Establishing Shot:
A shot, usually involving a distant framing, that shows the spatial relations among the important figures, objects, and setting in a scene. Usually, the first few shots in a scene are establishing shots, as they introduces us to a location and the space relationships inside it.
Shot/Reverse Shot:
Generally this shot is used to show a characters reaction. Where they look at an object and then you see the character like the object is looking at them. Then reverse it.
Wipe:
A transition betwen shots in which a line passes across the screen, eliminating the first shot as it goes and replacing it with the next one.
Superimposition:
The exposure of more than one image on the same film strip. Unlike a dissolve, a superimposition does not signify a transition from one scene to another. The technique was often used to allow the same performer to appear simultaneously as two characters on the screen to express subjective or intoxicated vision (The Last Laugh), or simply to introduce a narrative element from another part of the diegetic world into the scene.
Eyeline match:
This shot is where you see the character looking at something, then you see the same thing through their eyes. The same eye level.
Match on action:
A cut which splices two different views of the same action together at the same moment in the movement, making it seem to continue uninterrupted.
Rhythm:
The perceived rate and regularity of sounds, series of shots, and movements within the shots. Rhythmic factors include beat (or pulse), accent (or stress), and tempo (or pace).
Montage:
A mixture of different images but of the same meaning. For example. if you wanted to express religion you would show close up of crosses, crosses on necklaces, churches, jesus, allah...etc.

Elephant

Director: Gus Van Sant
Genre: Crime/Drama
Production Details: USA ( John Adams High School )
2003

The film is about teenagers living their normal lives at high school, everything seems to be normal, But two teenagers seem to have different views of everyone else. This triggers their minds to explode leading to a massive execution of the high school kids.

Aerial shot from the beginning of the film seeing a car swerving, you think it may be a teenager stolen the car, but it ends up being a drunk father. His son who is sat in the car with him, is forced to take over driving. The camera is placed upon the bonnet of the car, seeing the car start up as we see the camera shake when the engine is turned on.

Mid-close up shots are used to focus on the characters you get to know the characters lives in this angle. As they are followed round using a steady camera effect. So it feels like your just someone who is in the situation with them living their day to day lives.

Shallow focus depth of field is used to empathse the way they are just having a normal day and you really get to see how they view their lives. For example, when some of the characters are walking down the hallway, some of the images were blurred as they just wanted to get to where they were going and not really think about anything else around them.

I didn't really see the point of benny being in the film as he wasn't really a character he came into the scene walked around a bit, helped a girl out of the window and then was shot. But the interesting thing was if you looked through the film closely he was the only black guy in the film.

Then again, he could of been a hero in the film, he helps the girl out of the window. Faces the other way to face the drama, he could save the day but he doesnt't. It gives the impression that no one can stop these guys causing havoc. No one really expects it.

Fargo

Title:Fargo

Director: Joel Coen

Production Details: North Dakota, USA

Flat panes of landscape as it is winter. This makes it looks very cold, sad and vulnerable.

All of the movie was used in dull colours to suggest a mystery or a twist in the tale. Suggesting murders?

Many tracking shots are used throughout the film.

There is a contrast between the bad guys in this film.

Carl is a small guy who talks alot seems to get himself into trouble alot. He seemed to get what he wanted by demanding it.

Gaear is a very tall big guy who throughout the film was very quiet. It was suspected that he would play a bigger part in the film later on. It seemed he was very stressed out with carl and sooner or later he would have enough of him.

The character of Jerry - he seemed to wear bland colours which suggested he was a bit of a push over, no respect from anyone and was very defensive. Golf Trophies were displayed behind him in his office. This tells the spectator that he might be a push over, but he has achieved things in his life. He wore a professional suit the whole way through the film but at the end of the film he was caught wearing his pjs. This suggested that he had lost everything & he was just very vulnerable, as he had nowhere to turn.

The colour red seemed to be used alot in the film it was used just before someone was killed. Close up of the driver, where he is looking at red lights from the back of the car he seems to be chasing. The red jumper the guy who was running away on the snow, then was shot. Then in the end of the film, the red snow ( blood ) was used to symbolise that someone has been killed again.

Non- diegetic sounds were used throughout the film to build tension towards the characters. Diegetic sounds were used also.

A Knight's Tale - (Mise-On-Scene)

This was a french phrase orginally it means ‘what is put into the scene’.

- Landscape
- Settings
- Costumes
- Body Language
- How objects are used to represent characters.
- How lighting is used to represent character development and changes.


Director: Brian Helgeland
Production Details: 2001 USA
Genre: Action/Adventure/Comedy/Romance

" The letter scene"

The red rose - symbolies new love and romance. The clothes they were wearing were shabby and torn, not very much money. This was showing that it was a long time ago. Set in the oldern times.
A sword in the background symbolising fighting but the way it is just placed there by people sitting around talking to each other. Suggests they do not wish to actually hurt any one with it.
He wants to write a letter, he asks his friend. The sound of the pen writing on the paper ( diegetic sounds ).
Paning & Close up shots are used through the scene.
The editing was clever in the way that the scenes between him writing the letter to her reading it.

Armour in the background just layed like that, suggests that it was handcrafted.

Flowers in bloom behind Lady Jocelyn are empathsis of new love and faith.
Statue of religious faith believed to symbolise hope & faith.

Short Clips (continued)

Dirty Dancing 2:
Director:
Production Details: 2004 US

Non-diegetic sounds (her voice as commentary of what is going on).
Aerial views & over the shoulder views.




Gladiator:
Director: Ridley Scott
2002

Memories, long view down the path. Looking into the past? Has come a long way to get here?
Maximus is dying, music in the background suggests he is free and wants to be with his wife & son. Petals on the floor symbolise the amount of blood poured, from fights and wars. Passing into the after life. Colouring is different from the real world. The colour blue is shown maybe for the empathsis of feeling sad for maximus and the path to freedom.



The Green Mile:
Frank Darabont
2002

Eary music from the start. Cutting to another characters reactions. Close up shots. Camera follows eye motion. Lighting in the background reflects to the electricity running through the man. Another character sitting in his cell, reacts the same way, like the emotions are going through him as well. Like it is his turn next? To be in the execution chair. Or they may have been close as friends.


Jaws
Steven Speilberg
1975 USA

Diegetic sounds & non diegetic sounds. Underwater shot representing the shark in the water. Points of view shots.
False plato. Building up tension then nothing happens.
Tracking shot of running down to the water, the fence becomes more broken and looks like the waves of the ocean or maybe even the fin of the shark going up and down in the water.
Music in the background building up tension, with the woman in the water alone - knowing of danger is present.
Looking up shots as the shark is lurking beneath her waiting to attack.
You can sense that no- one will be able to hear her as no one is really around. Isolated. As the guy she was with, was too drunk and too stoned. Then just passed out. So its ironic as he could of been in the danger as well.

Munich
Steven Speilberg
2006 US

Lots of editing was used in the film, where they would cut to many different characters. There was also a strong danger for the child, where she nearly got blown up by picking up the phone. So a false plato was used. As the viewers were drawn in. The men realised it was only a child, so it hinted to be the wrong person. So they ran, very clever camera shots were used to trace there movement running towards the car. Sense of relief was brought to attention, then suddenly the room blew up. Glass fell from the shattered windows. Slow motion was used to empathsis this.

Short Clips

Fight Club:
Director: David Fincher
1999 US
Thriller/Action/Fighting

Shows contrast in the characters. Tension just used by lighting & the music. Lighting was really dim and made the film feel lots of tension. The camera angles signifies the main character may be mentoring and teaching the other character. To become a better fighter or person?

V For Vendetta:
Director Wachowski Brothers
US 2005
Thriller/Action

Inter-textuality when one film can reference to another film. For example in the matrix directed by Wachowski Brothers. The slow motion when the gun shots, he uses the same technique with the swiping of the swords killing the men in v for vendetta in the last fight scene. Where V dies.

Saving Private Ryan:
Director: Steven Spielberg
Genre: Drama/War/Thriller
UK 1998

Music: set emotional status straight away, feeling sad, mix of emotions. A sense of feeling the characters emotions. Director is drawing you in straight away. Defending his country? Lost close friends? Conrads?

War between countrys. Burial ground showing lots of deaths.
A while ago maybe, as family surround him. " dad? " suggesting his son might not be living today if he didnt survive the war.

Trainspotting:

Director: Danny Boyle

1996 Scotland

You think he's dying as he sinks into the ground representing his funeral? Or drifting between life and death.

Music: strange, ironic. " perfect day" not really a perfect day, but it symbolises that he is a druggy and this is the life he is used to. Point of view shots when he is sinking and then when he is at the hospital and is revived. Suddenly comes back to normal level. Saved his life?

Atonement:

Director: Joe Wright

Production Details: UK 2007.

Lots of editing, cutting back between characters. Non-diegetic sounds & diegetic sounds. As the man is listening to an opera song where two lovers die before meeting. Shows that the characters may be in love, the way the man is writing to her.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Director: Gore Verbinski

Production Details: 2003 USA

Genre: Action/Adventure/Comedy/Fantasy.

Singing pirates song, english. Makes it feel really suspicious. Sense of the camera viewing her from behind makes it feel like someone is going to jump up on her. Looking up at the other men, as she is only a child/minor. Shipwrecked? As parts of a boat float by then a child is found in the water. Tradition. "Man over board". Bad luck maybe?

Thelma & Louise

Director: Ridley Scott

Genre: Girly, Drama, Thriller.

Filiming Location: Bakersfield, California, USA.

Busy place, country town. Friendly, Non -diegetic sounds. (phone rings).

Best friends going away on a trip. Road trip.

Maybe a violent husband? Empathsis of thelma's husband being a cheater when she mentions buying carpet on a friday. Who want buy a carpet on a friday? Thelma trys to tell him about the trip, but in a way she is teasing him.

Thelma - No confidence what so ever in herself, not very much dignity. She seems very disorganised in the way she packs for her holiday/get away. This seems to be the perfect chance to get away from her husband. Maybe suggesting she wants to leave him. She gave him chances to treat her as his wife.

Louise - Controlling, organised. Seems to be really protective of thelma, trying to take her away from her husband. So maybe she realises how bad it is at home for her. The way she packed seem to hint that she was really hygenic and knew she was coming back. Very neat & tidy suggests that she has a very organised life. Likes things to go to plan.

There is such a contrast between home kitchen, the family life in thelmas house & the hectic busy life of louise's job. Thelma's house life suggests she might feel trapped within her own house. Isolated? Lonely? Where as louise's busy lifestyle (being round lots of people, serving customers, friendly interaction).

Lots of background music. In the first scene where louise is in the resturant in her busy lifestyle. The lyrics to part of the song were " i don't need a man " suggesting she can cope without a man. Maybe past relationships havent worked in the past.

Taking a photograph creates a memory for them. Getting away for a break, or maybe in thelma's case forever.

When you first see the classic car, you see mountains in the background suggesting thats where they are intending to go. Escape? Freedom? Sense of direction.

North By Northwest

Director: Alfred Hitchcock.
Genre: Thriller/Horror/Action
United States - 1959

Route 41. Middle of no-where, long road & aerial views suggest he's feeling out of place & he has a long journey ahead of him. Shows his Vulnerability, massive landscape. Feeling of isolation.
Tension - when there is a possibility of interaction.

Sound - Silence, Real sounds you would expect to find in the middle of no where. e.g. character voices. (diegetic sounds).
Non - diegetic sounds - background music, narrator, orchestra if your the middle of no where)
Building up tension just by the use of sound.
Editing - reaction shot of the character - cary grant.
(Spectator - The viewer - thrillers work on a viewers reaction.)

Wide Angle Lens - focus point on the shuttle bus. Making you think someone is going to come meet him from the bus. But nothing happens. Alfred hitchcock is known for building up so much tension in the film, then nothing happens. When you least expect it, something jumps out.

Cary grants character seems of importance as soon as you see him in the film, just by the way he dresses. Important suit, suggests he's buisness man. Or meeting someone of important.

The 2nd character of the clip joins in, he appears from no where, possibilty of interaction. He notices a plane spraying over crops, but there was no crops. Maybe this was a sign of danger?