What is sound? What gives us the ability to listen to our favorite songs in the first place? The low tones that surround our ears and give songs that sense of emotion, the high tones that seem to pierce our very souls during the most emotional parts of the saddest songs. What is it and how does it play a part in making a film whole? And how were we able to capture this invisible phenomenon and put it into a film in the first place? Sound is created through a range of vibrations of air molecules. We can detect and perceive sound thanks to our tympanic membrane located within our ears. This tympanic membrane (more widely known as our ear drums) vibrates as the air’s vibrations hit it, and thanks to a complex series of nerve endings which are connected to our brain from the tympanic membrane we are able to depict a wide variety of sounds. During the silent era, a pianist simply played an up beat ragtime theme along with the film. While watching the film, it could sometimes be difficult to know weather or not the pianist would be playing along with the mood of the film, or just playing to cover the gap of silence. When sound was finally recorded it changed the very course of film for as long as film has been around. It added the heir of realism to the film, it helped the audience to feel the emotion of the film and become more invested in what was going on, as if they themselves was a part of the film. So now we know what sound is, and how it is created and depicted, but how in the world were we able to capture and record sound? I mean sound exists in a continuum right? You can’t pause live sound or hold it still so you can record it. Sound is a physical phenomenon, can literally feel sound if you pay attention. Have you ever dr... ... middle of paper ... ...Jazz Singer Plot Summary." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 20 May 2014. "Kinetoscope." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 20 May 2014. "Lee De Forest." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 20 May 2014. Mack, Stan. "What Is Analog Audio?" EHow. Demand Media, 17 June 2009. Web. 20 May 2014. Mack, Stan. "What Is Analog Audio?" EHow. Demand Media, 17 June 2009. Web. 20 May 2014. "Phonofilm." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Aug. 2014. Web. 20 May 2014. "Sound Film." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Dec. 2014. Web. 20 May 2014. "Sound-on-film." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 May 2014. Web. 20 May 2014. "Vinyl Disk." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Nov. 2014. Web. 20 May 2014. "Vitaphone." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 July 2014. Web. 20 May 2014. "William Kennedy Laurie Dickson." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Sept. 2014. Web. 20 May 2014.
In 1904 Eugene Lauste successfully recorded sound onto a piece of photographic film. This invention was known as a “Sound Grate” the results where still far to crude to be used to public display.
Sound that is represented as originating outside of the films world or story space, for example:
Owsinski, Bobby. The Mastering Engineer's Handbook: The Audio Mastering Handbook. Boston, MAT: Thomson Course Technology PTR, 2008. Print.
Music has become a common language in film in the twentieth century. It has become the lingua franca of films. Scholars working on this topic find it challenging to explore some aspects of film music for several reasons. One main reason is that films (images and sound) are interdisciplinary by nature, posing challenges for the scholars. Despite visuals and auditory means evident in films, scholars do not adequately examine the two means as they work with each other. This could be partly due to the fact that film is largely seen as a visual medium (film music in minor page 8). Music in film is often viewed as subordinate to the visuals. Marlyn Boltz addresses the interaction between the two media and this reveals great potential in this field,
Music can decipher a narrative event by indicating a perspective. To unify a set of diverse images and provide rhythmic and formal continuity and momentum, a film’s structure is more often than not, directly articulated by a musical structure. Music can assist the dialogue and visuals of film and often is inaudible (e.g. music is meant to be heard unconsciously, not consciously). Music has been used by directors to reinforce or strengthen certain weak scenes in film and then on the other hand when music is not needed to reinforce a scene
Sounds are produced by the vibrations of material objects, and travel as a result of
11. Kim-Cohen, S. 2009. In the Blink of an Ear: Toward a Non-Cochlear Sonic Art
In brief, the audience can see how this 1931 sound film could be shaped by sound in a number of ways. Considering that sound at this time was a new phenomenon it is understood why mostly diegetic sound was used over nondiegetic sound. This director also showed the audience how the story could be affected by sound with examples like the clock becoming a character and storyline of its own and also the murderer being identified with his whistling. With the lack of sound and the collage of images during specific times, the director was able to create a mood without music or sound. Apparently this was a technique that was learned throughout his many years of silent films. These details were what brought the story together and would not have been done so precisely without the technique of sound.
Physics is all around us, and yet we always overlook it. We see, hear or feel something happen but never stop to question why. Physics will tell us why. Music plays a part in everyone's lives. So much so that it is often overlooked and the technicalities of it are unappreciated. Sure there are times when we listen carefully to the music behind the songs we hear, we may focus on the rhythm or the harmonies, but we never think of what it took to make the sounds that we are hearing. In this paper, I will explain the physics musical instruments. I will describe and define sound in psychics terms and then describe how different instruments create their unique sounds.
Since I've settled down and become a family man, however, I have discovered a whole new world of sounds that give me more pleasure than music ever did. Something I never thought possible. I would like to describe for you the world of sound that I experience in a typical day.
...nsations are then interpreted and we hear. The range of our hearing abilities is amazing. Most of this can be attributed to the sensitivity of our hair cells which can detect the smallest audible sounds yet withstand a trillion-fold increase in power (Martini, 2009). Our hair cells are constantly changing in order to adapt to our environment. We can have a conversation with our friends, listen to music, and distinguish which direction a car alarm is coming from without any awareness of the detailed process that is necessary for hearing. Overall, the process of turning sound waves into auditory sensations is quite remarkable.
The introduction of sound to film started in the 1920’s. By the 1930’s a vast majority of films were now talkies. ‘If you put a sound consistent to visual image and specifically human voice you make a “talkie”’ (Braun 1985 pg. 97). In 1926 Warner Brothers introduced sound to film but, other competing studios such as FOX, didn’t find it necessary to incorporate sound to their motion pictures production, as they were making enough money through their silent movies. Warner Brothers decided to take what was considered a risky move by adding sound to their motion picture, a risk taken, as they weren’t as successful in the silent movie department. But this risk paid off with the hit release of ‘The Jazz Singer’ in 1927. Though sound in films was then acceptable and successful it wasn’t until the 1950’s that it became feasible to the public as sound was introduced to cinema by the invention of Cinerama by Fred Waller. The Cinerama used 35mm film strip and seven channels of audio.
Reeves, Alex. "A Brief History of Sound Design." Advertising Week Social Club. The Beak Street Bugle, 21 Jan. 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
...ing sounds and transmit them into the human heart. Without movie music, films would be dull and boring. The importance of film music is considered a jewel for manipulating the viewer’s emotions and immerses them into the movie. Music is one of the most important elements in film, for it capabilities and versatility of telling a story independently without picture.
Speaking of how the human ear receives music, sound is produced by vibrations that transmits energy into sound waves, a form of energy in which human ears can respond to and hear. Specifically, there are two different types of sound waves. The more common of the two are the transversal waves, which ...