1. Listen to the audio taken from the film.
What can you hear?
List all of the component parts you can hear.
Which elements are most prevalent?
Do they all have the same effect?
For each one write down why you think they are part of the
soundtrack.
https://www.yahoo.com/movies/c-2013-captain-phillips-
83137452922.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yqAoaB4PSo
3. To be able to understand how sound mixing and editing can create meaning.
Level Grade Descriptor
2 D/E To be able to identify sound mixing and editing and describe
its effect.
3 B/C To be able to analyse sound mixing and editing and explain its
effect.
4 A To be able to evaluate sound mixing and editing and justify its
effect.Level Grade Descriptor
2 D/E Basic understanding of the way that mise-en-scène is used to
construct representation.
3 B/C Proficient understanding of the way that mise-en-scène is used
to construct representation.
4 A Excellent understanding of the way that mise-en-scène is used
to construct representation.
4. SOUND EDITING
Sound Editing is the creation and recording of new sounds, and the
work that goes into cleaning up and perfecting individual sound
elements. If you have ever seen Monty Python And The Holy Grail,
then you know that the movies don’t actually place a microphone on
a horse’s feet and make it run. Someone creates that sound in the
studio (in this case, using hollowed out coconuts). Think how
expensive it would be if every time you saw a thunderstorm in the
movies, the entire cast and crew had to first find a location with a
thunderstorm, and then run the lines a dozen times so that the
lightning and thunder perfectly matched up with the dialogue. And
then had to do it all over again to get a close-up shot!
They also handle mundane things like the sound of a door closing,
make sure the actors’ dialogue tracks don’t contain outside noises,
and record nature sounds and background noise so that the movie
sounds like it was filmed on location instead of in a studio.
To understand how sound mixing and editing can
create meaning.
5. SOUND MIXING
Sound Mixing, by contrast, refers to the way that sounds are “mixed”
or layered upon each other. That thunder (which the sound editors
created) needs to be loud enough that it doesn’t get drowned out by
the musical score, but soft enough that you can still hear the
dialogue. Maybe you are making a horror movie and you are coming
up to the big scare. Is it better to have eerie music, or does silence
make for a better build up? (Note that “silence” in film is often very
noisy, and includes the wind blowing, the lights flickering, or just the
barely audible sound of the actor’s breathing.) Sound Mixers are the
ones who determine whether the music should end abruptly, or
whether it should fade out (and if so, how quickly). And if you are
watching a movie in surround-sound, it is the sound mixers who set
it up so that the direction the gunfire is coming from matches up with
what you see on the screen.
To understand how sound mixing and editing can
create meaning.
6. PERSPECTIVE
“A sound’s position in space as perceived by the viewer given by
volume, timbre, and pitch.”
A film maker can manipulate the properties of sound to alter how that
effect or piece of music affects the audience. In basic terms it is used
to create a sense of verisimilitude; in others it is used to draw
attention or reinforce meaning.
• Moulin Rouge
• Casablanca
• Requiem For A
Dream
• Jurassic Park
• A Touch Of
Evil
To understand how sound mixing and editing can
create meaning.
7. SOUND BRIDGE
A sound bridge is where two scenes are linked by sound, which starts
at the end of the first scene and crosses over into the next. The
sound bridge often highlights a thematic link between the two
scenes.
In The Matrix, Keanu Reeves’ character, Neo, is rocked from what he
perceives as a dream by his alarm clock. Here the sound bridge
serves as a link between the two scenes, but the clock also represents
the start of Neo being awoken from his ignorance of the real world,
realising that he is living in the matrix.
To understand how sound mixing and editing can
create meaning.
8. SONIC FLASHBACK
A sonic flashback is where sound which featured previously in the
film is reused This is usually to highlight elements of plot and drive
the narrative forward. It can reveal information about character as
well as solve enigmas that have been previously set up.
A good example of this is the end of Sixth Sense, where we find out
the truth about Bruce Willis’ character. The reveal of the twist is
purely driven by the sonic flashback, aided by visuals.
To understand how sound mixing and editing can
create meaning.
9. FOLEY
A foley artist creates the sound effects in post-production, often
when there is no recorded sound source existing.
Foley artist Dennie Thorpe created the sound
of the egg cracking in Jurassic Park by
scrapping together two ice-cream cones. She
then pulled at the pulp of a cantaloupe melon
to simulate the wet sound of the baby
dinosaur emerging from the egg. Thorpe
then rubbed the rough skin of a pineapple to
match the scratchy sound of the scientist
cleaning the newborn’s rough skin.
To understand how sound mixing and editing can
create meaning.
10. SOUND & GENRE
Pick 5 genres.
For each one, list the diegetic and non-diegetic
sounds you would expect to hear.
To understand how sound mixing and editing can
create meaning.
