Week12: Music and Sound

Lecture/Demo

• The importance of sound.

Activity

• Show storyboards in class for final film. View final film examples from previous semesters.

Assignment

Finish planning for final film. Assemble Animatic. Think about the use of sound for your final film.

NEXT WEEK NOVEMBER 26TH YOU WILL BE FILMING.

Why Is Sound Important in a Movie?

Many films that we grew up with are memorable not just because of the story and characters, but because of their musical scores. What would the film Jaws be without the famous shark theme?

This is a great example of the technique known as leitmotif. This is when a film's composer creates musical themes that are attached to characters in the story. When the character appears and is a key player in a dramatic scene, a leitmotif makes the scene that much more memorable. Another iconic example of this is the Imperial March from The Empire Strikes Back:

Just imagine watching this film without the audio. A pretty dismal scenario!

There are three types of sounds involved in the creation of a film: a character's voice, sound effects (including Foley), and music. For a film to feel truly authentic to an audience, these three kinds of sounds need to play a critical role.

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Diegetic and Non Diegetic, Synchronous and non Synchronous Sound

All the sounds we hear in this scene are the same sounds the characters hear: the splashes that the children are causing, the various discussions between characters, the radio playing in the background, and the man calling for his (shark meal) dog.

Any sound that is happening within this world—in other words, real sounds: in-world music, in-world sound effects, or in-world dialogue—is diegetic. You and the characters are both experiencing the same thing. This is somewhat similar to the POV angle we learned about in Module 6. Remember, when you are looking at something from the POV angle, you are, in effect, standing next to the character whose view you are sharing.

The term "diegetic" can even go beyond sound and be used to explain mise-en-scène for a sequence. Here is a great example of a world created using diegetic sound and mise-en-scène, the assassination attempt from The Godfather:

Diegetic sound can be very effective when it matches things you see on screen, such as the footsteps heard while the girl is walking in the scene below. This is called synchronous sound.

But what if, with the camera still focused on the character in the scene, we hear a noise? A branch snaps. Now, suddenly we feel tension and a sense of mystery. This type of sound comes from somewhere, but it's not visible to the audience. This is known as asynchronous sound. Asynchronous sounds do not directly link to what's happening in a scene, but they can bring energy and life to a film.

Perhaps when you first learn about how sound is used in film, you might assume that every sound involved in your storytelling is diegetic. But think about it: what about some really memorable instances of sound in films that don't fall under this category? Things like voice-overs or background music, both of which played important roles in Forrest Gump? This is what is known as nondiegetic sound.





You can use music to set a mood for a spooky scene, for example.

Or, you can play a period piece on a harpsichord or violin to establish a sense of time and place. The film Barry Lyndon, which takes place in the 18th century, used this type of music to great dramatic effect.

Nondiegetic sound, in the form of musical performance, is used often in filmmaking with variations of tempo and timing, depending on what is happening in the story. High violin tones typically are used to create tension, and discordant sounds are used to make an audience feel uneasy.

Activity:

Think of memorable scenes from films watched in class (or outside of class!)
or see if you can find examples in the movie clips below:


1. Diegetic sound becoming Non-Diegetic
2. Non Diegetic sound becoming Diegetic 
3. Synchronous and Asynchronous sound

Next, let's look at sound effects a little more closely.

Sound effects have three functions in a film. First, they are designed to simulate some type of reality.
Sound effects were one of the real game-changing innovations in the early history of filmmaking. Think of Star Wars without sound effects . . . hard to imagine!

The second function of a sound effect is the creation of an illusion. If you are filming a scene for an action movie that takes place deep in an African grassland, your safari will feel a little more in danger if you introduce the sound of a roaring lion close by. Sound effects designed to create an illusion are a very effective way of convincing an audience that they really are present in a specific location.

The third function of a sound effect is to create or influence a specific mood. By introducing a unique sound effect, you can change the mood of a scene. For example, a character wakes up in the morning. While lying in bed, they hear the sound of a train whistling in the far distance.

This is designed to create a feeling of loneliness. If you don't use the train whistle, and replace it with the sound of children playing outside in the yard, the audience feels an entirely different emotion.

As you can see, a well-designed sound effect is a major part of cinematic storytelling and is a powerful tool in the hands of a talented auteur.

Continuing with our focus on sound effects, it's time to look closer at the creation of sounds that surround us in everyday life. The process of reproducing these familiar sound effects is called Foley. These types of sound effects are very popular because they are easy to produce and can be created in a very efficient manner.

They don't require an entire sound crew; usually only one or two people are needed. A film is projected in a studio and sounds are created for any sequence that needs them. They are recorded live and will find their way into the final film. Some sounds are actually much easier to do in Foley than with a sound crew and sound-editing suite. For instance, if you have characters playing in a high school basketball game, it's much easier to have Foley artists do the basketball dribbling for the film sequence and capture that, then to sync each basketball bounce by itself in sound-editing software.

Some of the most common Foley sound effects in film are footsteps and the rustling of a character's clothing.

The main goal of a good Foley artist is to convince you that what you are hearing in a film sequence was actually captured on location. You need to be convinced that what you are seeing and hearing is happening in that space where the story is being told. The next time you watch a film, try to see where Foley effects are being used and if they are working well.

Finally, having understood all of these different elements—music, sound, and Foley—and how they work in a cinematic film, consider also the potential for not using any of these. Sometimes complete silence can be very effective in a scene and can convey a range of mood and emotions.

It is time to see how sound and music can work for your film. You have, via the internet and our own Academy library, access to a large array of these tools. One suggestion is to embrace a genre when planning and refining a story. If you do this, choosing music that works well within that genre will make the music scoring process more intuitive and productive. Good luck!

Description

Use any royalty-free or Academy of Art music and sound resources available to you on the internet and integrate them into your final film project. This includes diegetic as well as nondiegetic sound.

Then, using the techniques that we will explore in Module 13, using sound for storytelling,  polish the rough cut of your film. Keep an eye on the flow of your clips, including tempo and timing. Also, try to use as many of the editing techniques that were covered during the semester as possible.

The last thing you need to do is incorporate an official slate for your film. You can have a title slate of your own choosing, but the first thing that will be visible needs to be the slate provided below, filled out entirely with the correct information.

Purpose

To learn how music and sound can enhance your film project and to polish your rough cut.

Tools

• Adobe Premiere Pro

 Slate (.psd, 1.2 mb)