Weekly Lessons

Lesson 1 - Introduction

Lesson 2 - SOUND IN MOVING IMAGE PRODUCTIONS =   Music, sound effects, and dialogue 

The Expendables 2 

Functional dialogue.... , spare,  often low in mix , used simply for  essential information or emotional  outbursts.    Dialogue is timed to avoid action  so you can hear it clearly. Villains don't even get dialogue.
Music :  mood rhythm pace

Diegetic Music also low in sound mix...sound effects are highest.

Children of Men  

Diegetic music, for rhythm and pace , dialogue  used for character and plot, sound effects to add realism and emotion for the audience.

MUSIC

Mood , genre   ( tone )?

Warm , soft, light, melancholy ( a mixture of sadness and hope)

Kingsman 

Music combined with sound effects for pace, rhythm and mood. The scene is violent yet upbeat because of the music , and the timing of the sound effects with the music, and the sudden pauses, creates a comic effect.


Miller's Crossing     LINK                            

Song starts diegetic but becomes non-diegetic as scene progresses, Is this  naturalistic ?  Genre , mood  of music matches scene ?  Song fits scene in terms of length and structure. Meaning and theme of song ?  No dialogue necessary.
 

Mulholland Drive  

    Music for mood and emotional realism , dialogue using repetition of key words( dream , scared etc.), sound effects used for shock.

 Lost Highway  Mystery Man   

Diegetic/non-diegetic music?  and sound effects . Non-naturalistic. Emotional realism ( a sound that puts you inside the mind and emotional state of a character)

Sound motif  : repeated piece of music the audience  associates with  specific character or event in the film


Jaws  opening

                           Jaws second  killing

Effect on audience if sound motif is  changed or  removed. It can also replace the actual character in the audience's imagination

                               Slow ahead  

                              Hooper in cage  



                          Non-naturalistic sound .  Often the sound mix in film scenes is artificial and unrealistic to make sure the audience understands key information , or to exaggerate certain points in the story.  Is the diegetic music mixed realistically here ?


                            The Matrix club scene


Here's an example of naturalistic sound that  we don't often hear in films


                    The Pink Room  from Twin Peaks

SPOKEN WORD

Spoken word content in film is  primarily about creating meaning for the audience , giving them information about  genre, characters, and the plot of the film. This particularly applies to  voiceover , which is a device that can be used to get the audience inside a character's head  ( emotional realism)  and to give the audience key information that would otherwise not be spoken aloud.

1   VOICEOVER

Usually the main character has a voiceover , as this is who the audience will find out out most information about  and will see the film through their eyes.

   The Shawshank Redemption - all elements present

As well as creating meaning , the tone and emotional content of the voiceover can also create mood for the audience.

 ( traditional , information to audience , warm tone, mood, pace)    The Shawshank Redemption roof scene


  Contrast with Fight Club

LINK

Voiceover and narrative structure :  we assume the narrator has survived the events of the film.
This is a convention that can be altered

(Adaptation on  voiceover )


DIALOGUE

Can be functional , naturalistic or artificial ( anti-naturalistic). Many films use a combination of these. Action films tend to use a lot of functional dialogue as long realistic conversations are not necessarily want the audience wants , and functional dialogue is best suited  to action scenes. ( See the Expendables 2 at top of page).

Here are another couple of examples of use of dialogue : note what information the audience is being given about character and plot to create meaning  as well as how it is being delivered.
Naturalistic :  Informal, overlapping, repetitive



Formal ,  antirealist , stylised , using space.

SOUND EFFECTS


                      THE GODFATHER  shooting

Sound effect ( the train ) used instead of music for emotional realism. It is exaggerated ( hyperreal) and non-naturalistic as it would not be that loud in reality.

        SAVING PRIVATE RYAN  beach scene

                      Diegetic/non diegetic. Emotional realism. Mood and meaning.  Foley.
                      Naturalistic/non-naturalistic. Minimal dialogue/no music. Sound effects are the main audio element of the scene.


SOUND BRIDGE    A sound ( usually a diegetic sound effect) that crosses across two different scenes and acts as a sonic fade between them. Although not realistic, this makes the transition between scenes smoother and may also add to the narrative  of the scenes if the chosen sound effect has  meaning.


For example , the alarm clock  at the end of this scene.

The Matrix : end of club scene

Lesson 3 - Voice Over in Documentary

You must include analysis of at least one factual television programme that uses live location audio recording in your assignment.  Stacey Dooley generally records her interviews and to-camera pieces on location without much use of non-diegetic sound to add realism and emotional impact to her programmes.
TASK:

=WATCH THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTARY=

Stacey Dooley investigates  : SELLING DRUGS ONLINE

1. Analyse how sound ( dialogue, music  and sound effects ) creates mood and meaning for the audience in Stacey Dooley's documentarY.   This will involve focusing  on spoken word content , accent and dialect ,  the content of the interviews and the emotions she wants to provoke in the audience with her voiceover as well as using music to add emotion to scenes. Does the way of recording sound make the content more efective ?  Is the use of music necessary and effective ?


Use as many key terms as possible and use timings.

 ( 400 words minimum)

Lesson 4 - Foley Sound

CLICK HERE FOR POWERPOINT FROM LESSON

CLICK HERE FOR SUPPORTING DOCUMENT

Lesson 5 - Analysis 1

Analyse how  music, sound effects and dialogue  are used to create mood ( atmosphere) and meaning  (knowledge and understanding of plot and character ) in three specific film or television scenes of your choice.

You should focus on specific sounds and lines of dialogue  and their purpose in the scene and the effect on the audience and be as detailed as possible.

KEY TERMS TO USE :    

Diegetic 

Non-diegetic 

Mood 

Score

Hyper real

Naturalistic

Synchronous/non-synchronous  sound effects

Emotional realism

Functional dialogue

Conversational dialogue

Weeks 6-15

Workshop 1 - Adding A Voiceover

You will be completing a series of practical audio workshops and recording and analysing the results and the skills you have developed every week on the blog.  This will help prepare you for the next section of the unit where you will be re-recording complete audio soundtracks for moving image sequences using a range of different techniques.

WORKSHOP 1  : Adding a voiceover

Individually or in pairs, find a scene from a film or TV programme without a voiceover.  ( 1 minute approximately)

The scene should be one where there is enough space in the sound mix to allow a voiceover , and where you can add meaning to the scene by adding one.   There are examples you can use in

 ART-MEDIA / MEDIA / 20172018/ 1  2018 SOUNDTRACK PRODUCTION 

Write a script for a voiceover of the thoughts  of  one of the characters that adds mood and meaning to  the scene.

Drag the video file of  the scene into Garageband  and record your voiceover using your phone,  a voice recorder or directly into Garageband.

The voiceover  should  be recorded over a relevant part of the scene and combine effectively with the visual content and the existing sound mix. .

You can then save and export the edited video sequence .  Save the video file in a relevant folder.

Complete a blog evaluation about the workshop, explaining the software and processes you used, your intentions with the voiceover, its placement within the scene and the sound mix , and an evaluation of its success and the audio techniques you used. Explain how your voiceover added meaning or mood to the sequence.

WORKSHOP 2  : Dubbing Dialogue

Your next task in your workshop assessment series in to dub dialogue over a scene.

You will be muting the original audio, then  recreating  the spoken word content of  short  film scenes   and dubbing it over the original moving image sequence. 

For this workshop , your main focus should be timing and technical accuracy in lipsyncing and editing : you will not be graded for how similar  your voices or acting  are to the originals. 

Select a suitable  film sequence from

ART-MEDIA / MEDIA / 20172018/ 1  2018 SOUNDTRACK PRODUCTION/DUBBING WORKSHOP CLIPS 

or download your own from Youtube ( convert to mp4 using a Youtube converter).  The scene must have some onscreen dialogue .

Write a script of the  spoken word content of  the scene ( if there is a lot of dialogue, you can use just part of the scene ).

Complete a blog evaluation about the workshop, explaining the software and processes you used and an evaluation of your success in terms of timing and technical accuracy.