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Film Sound

A brief introduction into the elements of sound for film.

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Film sound is the art and technique of motion picture sound design including dialogue, sound effects and music. A Small Slice of the History of Film Sound 1901 - Leon Gaumont began to experiment with combining the phonograph and motion picture; 1927 - ‘The Jazz Singer’ - First movie with dialogue; 1928 - Disney’s ‘Steamboat Willie’ first film to completely create a soundtrack in post production including sound effects, music, and dialogue; 1933 - ‘King Kong’ became first film to use sound effects creatively; 1935 - Alan Blumlein invented the first stereo variable area soundtrack; 1965 - Dolby pioneered it’s noise reduction system, refining motion picture sound. 1970s - present - Different sound recording formats emerged, improving on Dolby’s noise reduction system, these include Dolby SR and Dolby Digital (‘Batman Returns’), 1992. Film sound is made up of diegetic and non-diegetic sound. What is DIEGETIC SOUND? Sound which appears to come from a recognizable source within the narrative world of a film. What is NON-DIEGETIC SOUND? Sound that appears to come from a source unconnected to the narrative world of a film. TYPES OF FILM SOUND 1. Dialogue Authenticates the speaker as an individual or a real person; Helps to tell the story; Expresses feelings and motivations of characters; Voice texture needs to fit the character How to record dialogue? OUTDOORS: The closer your mouth is to the microphone, the clearer your recording will be. INDOORS: Allow around 3-4 inches between mouth and mic. Warm up your voice before you begin speaking. EQUIPMENT: Lapel mics, boom mics, video recorder. 2. What is ADR? Automated Dialogue Replacement This is when dialogue is re-recorded in post-production to replace dialogue recorded during production. Requires lip-synching. Labour intensive and difficult to do well. 3. Sound Effects DIEGETIC SOUND - Contribute to realism of the film - Highlight or enhance the importance of an action. NON-DIEGETIC SOUND - Underscores theme or psychological state. How to record sound effects? After you have shot your scene, take a few minutes to ‘shoot’ the sound. EQUIPMENT - Boom mic, video recorder, headphones. What is Foley? The creation of sound effects that production mics often miss. Creating sounds that may not yet exist and general sound effects Examples of Foley techniques Body stabs can be inflicted by driving a knife into a soft fruit, such as a grapefruit or small cantaloupe melon; Boiling oatmeal sounds like bubbling volcanic lava. A pair of gloves sounds like bird wing flaps Cellophane scrunched up sounds like crackling flames. Music Adds emotion and rhythm to a film; Foreshadows a change in mood; Links themes within the film; A character’s theme reinforces his personality / journey; Plays up to genre conventions and helps to set audience expectations. Now you have an overview of what sound elements make up a film why not record your own. Remember to: Use headphones Practice moving mic around until you find the best angle for your sound Let camera roll for 5 seconds before and after takes. Concentrate on the audio, not video images. Be creative and come up with sounds that would reflect each of the items in the list, for instance 'joy' could be the sound of children in a playground. What is the sound of: Work Joy Water Youth An Emergency Time Love Destruction Danger Silence