This week, we continued to study the Evolution of Cinema unit when we started to look at Sound in films. We started by identifying the five most common production sounds – Music, Voice, Foley, Sound Effects and Ambience. These five sounds are used the most often when creating films and overlaying sounds. After identifying these sounds, we then watched a short film which explained how Sound has evolved and developed over time throughout history. The film started by explaining how sound was first incorporated in film due to Thomas Edison’s phonograph, which allowed for sound to be recorded and synchronised with film. The video also explained how sound continued to improve over the years, and the differences between the use of different sound elements and Mono and Stereo sounds. After gaining an understanding on the history of film, we then began to look at how each sound element is used, the effect it can have on the film and the viewer, and how it is created. We understood that Music most commonly had an emotional effect on the viewer. For example, delicate and peaceful music might be used in a scene that portrays love, whereas hard and heavy music might be used in a fight scene. Music is a powerful tool when making films that you wish to have an emotional resonance with the viewer. Furthermore, Sound Effects and Foley are often used to create seemingly natural sounds to add to the quality of the film. These sounds are useful when wanting to enhance the narrative. Ambient Sounds also allow the viewer to have more of an understanding of the surroundings of a scene. For example, if a scene was set in a busy city, the sound of people talking and car engines would prove an appropriate ambience, making the scene appear more natural. This led us onto evaluating the functions of each sound and whether they were Impressionist or Expressionist Sounds. Impressionist Sounds are often natural, human, and mechanical sound effects and are most commonly diegetic, meaning they can be heard by both the characters and the viewer. Contrastingly, Expressionist Sounds are often Music and Ambience and therefore, Non-Diegetic, meaning that they are often only heard by the viewer. I found this new information intriguing as I felt it gave me a greater understanding on the history and uses of sound. We then chose a few examples of clips from films to analyse and identify whether each scene used Impression or Expression Sounds. After doing this, we then began to start working on our main task which was to record our own sound effects using one sheet of paper, and dubbing it to a scene from Steamboat Willie. I found this task very interesting as I was able to experiment for myself how to be creative when recording sounds with a limited number of resources.
Also, this week, we continued to study our Writing for Television unit when writing and formatting our own scripts. We were challenged to create our own plots for our script and write them, incorporating a steady balance of dialogue and action. After writing our scripts, we then shared them and acted them out, allowing us to understand the role of a director. Going forward, we intend to work effectively with actors to bring our scripts to life.
Overall, I have found the tasks this week to be beneficial and interesting and think that they will prove useful in my future work.
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