Sound and Picture are two components that go together in film and television. Sound is projected through different forms of media. Through radio, television, film or video; you can hear the different ranges of sound. The usage of sound/music in television is generally a smaller amount of sound. Some TV shows like The Cleveland Show and True Blood use a vast amount of sound. Voice overs and Foley are the two elements of sound that is mostly used in TV shows. The relationship between sound and picture is unbreakable. In order to understand the events that take place in a film or TV programme, you need both components. When you combine the two; sound and picture, you are left with a realistic view on the film or TV programme. When studying silent movies to matinée movies, you feel attached to the film but that hint of realism is no where because the sound of the film doesn’t have all the sound elements. Sound is a collaboration of noises that we hear all during films/programmes/radio etc. There are different elements of sound. A vast majority of films featured many of these elements in there films. The Elements of Sound Are:
- Diegetic/Non Diegetic – Diegetic sound is actual sound. This includes sound of objects falling and people talking etc. Non-Diegetic sound is commentary sound. Sounds that is not visible to the eye or ears such as FX (special effects).
- Theme – Helps create the mood. Key passage of music connected to the subject matter of the film/Programme.
- Soundtrack – Combined sounds which are used throughout the film. Usually several sound recordings are dubbed onto one final soundtrack.
- Atmos/Wildtrack – Recorded background sound
- Dialogue – Speech which is spoken by actors/actresses or presenters.
- Voice Over – A voice which has been previously recorded
- Incidental Music – A specific event or action that provides background music.
- Ambient Sound – Naturally occurring sound
- Foley – Mimicked sounds that have been recorded in a studio
Music in films creates a certain mood for a particular scene. The music may be a composed instrumental song that has been made by a 24-piece orchestra or a commercial song recorded by an artist. The music sets the mood for a scene; you have to account for the acting looking in depth into the characters emotions, if the characters are upset and trying to protect this through both the dialogue itself and the setting of the scene. Music is an effective indicator of genre. Music can be a clue to imminent action.
Majority of the sound that you hear in movies are not the actual sounds that is being portrayed. The sounds you hear are made by Foley artists that use different props, instruments and equipment to mimick the exact sounds that we would hear on screen. In film, sound is crucial as fragmented sounds are put together creating one overall sound. Sound can influence not only a scene but also the viewer’s intake towards the scene.
Picture is a different variety of clips that have either been pre-recorded or is live footage. In films the footage we see are shots after shots of people being recorded via cameras. When you combine all these shots, you form a picture i.e. movie or music video or interviews. A Genre of a film can define the sound that is being portrayed in a film. For example; in a magical fantasy film you expect to hear explosions of magic, flying objects etc. In a drama film, you expect the sound to be melodramatic, sad and sometimes depending on the plot and the reaction of the characters, rather dark and deep.
I have chosen to analyze a scene from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; looking at the sound effects, the music and the mood that the sound has created. The scene starts with a fire burning sound that creates suspense for the audience. The use of language in the films is formal. Dumbledore, who is the headmaster at Hogwarts, speaks in a higher class. This shows his importance in the film. The sound of fire burning hints danger/destruction. In relation to having heard Voldermort’s voice, you are aware that something is going to happen. The rest of the scene is dialogue. Up until the point where the battle begins. This scene is a mixture of sound. In this scene, you hear diegetic and non-diegetic sound.
You are the introduced to loud and tense music, which is preparing the audience for the battle. These sounds are a composed instrumental which has gotten high pitch wise. The sound of the wand whipping changes the mood in the film from tense excitement to just excitement. These sounds were created by continuously whipping a broom stick back and forth.
Another film I have chosen to analyze is from the film Wanted. In this scene (the showdown) Wesley goes to confront Sloane and reveal to everyone that Sloane is a fraud and has been manufacturing codes in the cloth. A composition of drums beatings and horns blowing at a steady pace opens the scene. The banging of the drums heightens the audiences experience by both building anticipation and creating a tense atmosphere. The dialogue is a mild form of colloquial language over a new composition of violins and drums creating a sad atmosphere. Allowing the audience to relate and feel an emotional connection to what is being said. This allows the audience to engage and familiarize themselves with what Wesley Gibson is experiencing. Dialogue is then used at this time. Throughout the scene you hear paper noises, which imply that something involving papers is going to happen. There is an echo of dialogue from Sloane (Morgan Freeman). This hints that voice over is used in this scene. Because of the power/status of Sloane, the echoing of his voice over powers the room. This let’s the audience know that he is important and his speech is important. One sound effect that is frequently used throughout the film is the heartbeat sound. At certain points in the film, where anticipation is being built for something spectacular. The sound effect could have been made in 2 different ways.
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When comparing two different TV shows which both feature music, dialogue, foley etc. you can see the amount of sound that is included in TV shows.
When comparing the sound between this two shows you can see the difference in how the sounds are presented, portrayed and used in a TV show. Unlike films, sound in television is less focused on.
The Cleveland Show:
- Language: Informal
- SFX: Mainly Foley
- Music: Always fast pace music. Instruments used are drums and saxophone.
Downton Abbey:
- Language – Formal
- SFX: Small amount of Foley used on the show
- Music: Rarely uses commercial songs however in the trailer you can hear Sting – Every Breathe You Take at a really slow pace.
- Instruments used in music: Violins, Piano
- Voice over: Rarely used. However watching the show, the speech is very clear and easy to understand. Possibly recorded with a lavalier mic
Planning – Kung Fu Film
Professional Practice
- Research on Kung Fu movies
- Gather equipment to record
- Work with Steph and Danish
- Find Place to record sound – Radio record room and room 141a
Dialogue
- Recorded paragraphed script
- Record via Logic and sync into film.
Music
- Make music myself
- Include loops from Logic
SFX Names
- Sword Sounds – Bang tins and wood together
- Fighting Noises – Record vocals in record room and room 141a
- Kung Fu Noises – Record vocals in record room and room 141a
- Crushed Bones – Scrunching paper in my hand
- Sword Cutting Through Skin Sounds
- Foley – SFX
Equipment
- Microphone – Vocal Microphone
- Headphones – Sennheiser Headphones and Apple Headphones
- Mac Computer – Apple Mac
- Logic Software
Legal:
- No copyright intended
- Avoid copyright by composing own music
Planning – 10 Minute Documentary Adobe Youth Voices
Professional Practice
- Gather equipment that will help me record the music
- Find places to record the sound
- Research music that is usually featured in documentaries
Dialogue
- Record vocals, reading a pre-written voice over script
- No dialogue will be featured in the actual soundtrack
Music
- Apple Mac Computer
- Garage Band Software
SFX Names
- Voice over 1 – My Vocals
- Voice over 2 – Haruka’s Vocals
- Voice over 3 – Dan’s Vocals
- Voice over 4 – Alfie’s Vocals
- Backing Track
- Intro Music
- Outro Music
- Microphone – Condenser Microphone
- Headphones – Sennheiser Headphones and Apple Headphones
- Computer – Apple Mac
- Logic Software
- Garage Band Software
Legal:
- No copyright intended
- Avoid copyright by composing own music
shayjohnson 
Shay, you have clearly done a lot of work on this with good examples and lots of research. You have defined each technical term and then gone on to talk in more detail about each one. It is at this point that you start to talk in too general a way and that you get a little lost. You have written very little about the use of music within films or TV and the examples you give again are very general.
To get a merit you will need to give specific examples of the way that sound effects are being used -you could still use the examples that you gave but talk about what is happening at specific times such as You also need to talk more about music with examples of how the music affects the place, mood, drama etc of the example. For example you could talk about how at .15” in the Harry Potter clip there is a sound effect of a wand doing a spell and you could talk about how it is a foley effect but is diegetic because it it part of the action etc
If you would like a little help with structuring an essay lets set a time to sit down and do this as I feel this could help you work more effectively (as you are clearly working hard)
Your planning is more of an evaluation than a plan- it will be a pass but to get a merit it needs to be more specific such as what microphone you might use, you will need to record sound effects and they will need to be named appropriately so that if necessary they could be used or edited by someone else. Have another go at this and make sure that you are showing thorough planning or this will drag your overall grade for the unit down.