A2 media research into the types of sound that can be used in films

1. Initial research into the types of sound that can be used in trailers

2.  From the birth of cinema – around 1885 – film makers were desperately trying to
find a way to add sound to film. Large feature films would typically have an in-
house orchestra to compliment the visual elements of a silent film
 As well as this, ‘intertitles’ were also used to explain important aspects of the film,
moments of dialogue or even display pieces of poetry to the audience
 In 1923 the first phonofilm (music was recorded onto a narrow strip on the edge of
the physical film) was invented by Le De Forest. 3 years after this the first full
length film that used a musical score was released – this film was produced by
Warner Bros and was titles Don Juan

3.  The audio element within a film is more if not equally as important as the visual
element in terms of creating an atmosphere for the audience
 There are many uses of sound within a film in terms of creating different effects
on the audience. For example, incidental scores can model an audiences emotion
on how they feel towards a certain aspect on screen
 Within this clip below you can see that sound alone is more effective than picture
alone when it comes to creating emotion and suspense within the audience
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em9QfKQUPlY
 I am going to research into the different types of sound that can be used within
films and examples of how these types of sound are effective within film.

4.  Firstly, the main two categories of sound used within film is diegetic and non
diegetic sound
 Diegetic sound is sound whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is
implied to be present by the action of the film, for example, this can include voices
of the characters, sounds made by objects in the story and music represented as
coming from a source on screen
 Non diegetic sound is sound whose source is neither visible on the screen nor has
been implied to be present within the action, for example, a narrators
commentary, sound effects, or a soundtrack added in to create emotion
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_4hOY-9nKA
 The clip above is a good example of the difference between these two styles of
sound

5.  Another example of a common sound element in film is dialogue. Typically this
dialogue will be shown on screen and therefore will be diegetic sound
 Dialogue is essential within most films as conversations between characters give
an audience context of the plot enabling them to piece together a narrative
 For example, this opening scene of ‘The Newsroom’ below shows just dialogue
within the first couple of minutes – this is effective in both trailers and opening
scenes in that the audience are shown straight into the film and instantly
introduced to the characters
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zqOYBabXmA

6.  A voiceover or commentary within film is a production technique where a human
voice is placed over the top of a scene/scenes
 The non-diegetic element of sound is very common for trailers as it immediately
gives the audience some background information and context of the narrative
whilst introducing the film visually to them
 A voiceover can be given by either a separate narrator to the film such as in this
example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fbo_pQvU7M
 Or it can be given by a character within the film – this is a good way to build a
rapport with the audience and give added information on a character:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5rh7O4IDc0

7.  A score is another element of sound within a film that is sometimes called
background music, film music or incidental sound. The purpose of this score is to
accompany a film and it is specifically written to compliment the atmosphere that
the visual element of the film is trying to create
 High end feature films typically spend large budgets to create a score that will
best fit their film and heighten the emotions of their audience
 An example of an incidental score within film is this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2bk_9T482g

8.  A film soundtrack is a recorded piece of music played over a clip or scene to create
an effect of emotion within the audience
 Typically this soundtrack will not be originally composed for the film however will
fit with the mood that the producers want to be created

9.  A sound bridge is a common way of using sound in terms of editing. This is when
the sound from a previous scene is carried on to another shot or alternatively
there can be non diegetic sound in one shot that cuts into the shot where the
sound is coming from
 A sound bridge can have many uses including linking two or more scenes together
in terms of narrative through dialogue
 When it comes to editing, a sound bridge is very useful in keeping to continuity
editing and going from one shot to another
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFinNxS5KN4
 Within this trailer there is a sound bridge at 1:18 that carries on through
numerous shots linking them all together

10.  Another example of an effective non-diegetic sound within film is a sound effect. A
sound effect is an added piece of sound that is used to help the director create a
mood within a scene. This sound effect typically stimulates reality by creating an
audio element off screen that is not really there
 Sound effects are added during the post-production stages of the film to heighten
the emotions of the audience. An example of a sound effects within films would be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TjxvA4kjwM

11.  Ambient sound is an example of diegetic sound that is used within film to create
an atmosphere in terms of location. Ambient sound is background sound within a
scene that compliments a setting
 It is a very common way for producers to make their films feel realistic and
therefore more effective:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QWjgsw-Soo
 From 0:40 onwards we can see how ambient sound of offices noises is used to
create a realistic effect within this scene