Preliminary Exercise 13: Introduction to Sound in Film (Be a Sound Engineer)

 Introduction

Greetings all! Welcome back to my blog. This blog post will be about.. *drum roll please*...

Sound in film!!

So, let's get on it shall we?

What is sound in film? Well, sound in film is when a piece of media uses background noise, soundtracks, or sound effects for a scene. It enhances a movie because without it, the movie would be dead silent. I don't know about you, but I can't fully engage with a film if it was completely silent. It makes the film feel empty. With sound effects, we can fully understand a scene, and can even imagine ourselves in the scene because sometimes the noises sound too real.

When watching a film, I would hear typical noises like:

• Footsteps walking down a hallway.
• Doors creaking.
• Floorboards squeaks.
• Background characters talking as the main characters have a conversation.

Sound supports the genre, setting, and characters in the storytelling part of film because, like I mentioned before, it adds more context to the scene. For example, hearing how a character talks can give us clues on their personality, which can help us understand them more. Or hearing loud party noises can signal to the audience that the scene takes place at a party or club.

Sound supports the atmosphere of the film because it sets the right tone. For instance, a horror movie takes place in a creepy haunted neighborhood. Maybe the sound engineers would add eerie noises, sounds to keep the viewers on their feet.

Sound creates audience engagement because certain sounds trigger a certain emotion. If the sound engineers used sad music in a sad scene, it would indicate a feeling of sadness in the viewer. I know that whenever I hear a sad violin in the background of a scene, I start to feel sadness coming over me.

Table we created

Section A:  Definitions and Examples 

Score: ______/20marks
Word	Meaning and example
Sound in film	Sound in film is where you combine every audio element in one scene. Things like dialogue, and music. For example, the sound of a door creaking.
Sound engineer	A sound engineer produces the audio for the film. They produce sound effects, the background songs. One example of a sound engineer is Randy Thom, he worked on films like The Incredibles and Ratatouille.
Soundtrack	Recorded music that accompanies the scene. An example of a soundtrack is the Black Panther soundtrack.
Score	A score is music originally made for a specific film. For example, the Frozen score.
Incidental Music	Classified as background music. It adds a sense of atmosphere to the scene. An example is, when a dramatic scene uses strings to emphasize the dramatic feeling of the scene.
Theme music	Theme music is when music is created specifically for a piece of media (film, show, video games). For example, the theme song for Wanda Vision.
Sound effects	An artificial or enhanced sound is used to emphasize action in a film. For example, a car’s horn honking at another driver.
Dialogue	A conversation between two or more people. For example, “Did you do the homework?” the teacher asked. “Yes, I did,” said Sarah.
Ambient Sound	the background noise that is present in a particular scene or location. For example, ocean waves crashing on the shore.
Voiceover	The addition of a narrator speaking on top of the visuals on screen. For example, Tom Kenny is the voiceover for SpongeBob.

 

 

Section B: Becoming a sound engineer. Identify the types of sounds to support each theme. 

 

What types of sound would you select to support the visuals in the introduction to movie set at a Cabin/The Woods? 

A Cabin/The Woods (Horror)
Music  (List 6 words used to describe this music)	Eerie  Howling  Forest sounds  Slow, off-key flute music  Slow-Tempo  Choir or enchanting synthetic keyboard noises
Sound Effects  (List 10 effects)	Crows making noise  Owl hooting  Wind shaking trees  Floorboard creaking  Breathing  Screaming  A flame of fire sparking  Doors or windows opening/closing  Leaves blowing  Tree branches cracking
Dialogue  (List 4 lines or words used in popular movies to support your answers.)	“Did you guys see that?”   “Ghost!”  “Run for your life”  “We got to get out of here”

 

 

Basketball Game (Teen Drama)
Music  (List 6 words used to describe this music)	Fast Paced  Hype  Remixes  Rhythmic beats  Loud  Bass-boosted
Sound Effects  (List 10 effects)	Crowd screaming and cheering  Basketball bouncing  Buzzer of score board   Whistle of referee  Coaches yelling plays  Sneakers Screeching on floor  Crowd stomping on the bleachers  Basketball announcer   Cheerleaders cheering   Girls arguing over boys in stands
Dialogue  (List 4 lines or words used in popular movies to support your answers.)	Free-throw  Three  Rebound  “Pass Pass Pass”  “Right here right here right here”

 

 

Urban City Scene (Thriller)
Music  (List 6 words used to describe this music)	Popular Hits  Bass-boosted  Radio station mixes  Latin Pop music  Quiet Storm  Rhythmic Beats
Sound Effects  (List 10 effects)	Engines revving  Lawn Mowing  Barking  Popular hits playing nearby in a vehicle/house   Honking Horns  Birds chirping  Elevator door  Shoes on sidewalk  Police sirens  Construction
Dialogue  (List 4 lines or words used in popular movies to support your answers.)	“Watch where you’re going buddy”  “I’m going to be late for work”  “Move out the way”  “Be home by sundown”

 

Car Chase (Action)
Music  (List 6 words used to describe this music)	Fast pace  Intense  Electronic music  Dramatic  Fragmented; a music piece divided into smaller segments of various musical ideas  Adrenaline boosting
Sound Effects  (List 10 effects)	Car engine  Wheels screeching  Police sirens  Radio  Honking horns  Car crash  A person in a car yelling  A person on the other side of the phone  The passenger talking  The stuff in the car moving around
Dialogue  (List 4 lines or words used in popular movies to support your answers.)	“Hold on tight”  “They’re getting away”  “Floor it”  “We got to get them off our tail”

 

 

Alien invasion (Sci-fi) Create your own!
Music  (List 6 words used to describe this music)	Synthesizers  Classical sounds  Choir of Sopranos singing  Suspenseful  Fuzzy white noises (static, for instance)  Range of contrasting frequencies
Sound Effects  (List 10 effects)	Farm animals  Spaceship engine  Ray guns blasting  Ray beam taking up things  Spaceship door opening  Spaceship equipment beeping  Crash landing  Electricity buzzes  Foreign Alien languages  Steam or smoke blowing from the spaceship
Dialogue  (List 4 lines or words used in popular movies to support your answers.)	“Look out!”  “Stay quiet”  “Don’t let it see you”  “Aim for the head”

Reflection

In this exercise, we looked into the minds of talented sound engineers to see how sound can fully enhance a movie to its greatest potential. We looked at sound engineers like Andy Nelson (responsible for La La Land, Batman, and Avatar), and we are currently implementing his ideas into our future 2 minute opening scene.

Each member of the team worked flawlessly to complete this chart. We didn't really split the work, we just talked out what we would each do on this assignment, and we made it work! We all had the same jobs. We were all responsible for researching, and implementing the ideas onto the chart. Thank you for popping in! P is taking her leave.

Work Cited

Simpson, M.L. (2023) What is sound design in film? definition & examples | backstage, Backstage. Available at: https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/what-is-sound-design-in-film-75845/ (Accessed: 11 Mayy 2023).