Still Alice is a movie about Alice Howland, a professor at Columbia University majoring in linguistics. During one of Alice’s lectures she forgot a word and during a jog she does everyday, she became lost. Alice went to her doctor who diagnosed her with early onset Familial Alzheimer’s Disease. The director has used Sounds, Costumes and Cinematography that is used in the movie to develop the character of Alice Howland. Non-diegetic sound is important in movies as it helps the audiences understand the specific emotions of a scene. It is also there to create an emotional response from the audience. Non-diegetic sound is only used in the film when something big happens. Throughout the movie the sound changes with the mood of the scene. An example of this type of sound in Still Alice is when Alice was running on campus. While she was running they had a quiet violin sound but when Alice become lost it turned into an intense sound of violins playing and had Alice …show more content…
A major scene that displayed cinematography was the scene when Alice was jogging and she got lost on campus where she runs everyday. The scene showed Alice’s face when she was looking lost. In the scene the camera circled Alice to show that she was confused, lost and out of breathe from running. Another example of cinematography that was significant in the movie is when Alice was looking through her laptop and comes across her “suicide” video. Throughout this specific scene the cinematography was significant because it showed lots of close ups of Alice’s face to show that she was confused and did not know what was going on. Alice had to keep replaying the video over and over again to remember what she was doing. This scene was very heart wrenching as it showed that Alice was going to unknowingly “commit” suicide at the command of her past self, but yet she had no idea about what was going to happen to her after she did
The vast majority of sound used in the film is non-diegetic, especially the musical ideas, which is
In effect all the techniques mentioned above portray a society of individuals who are weary of the world they live in. They are rejects who lead a pitiful existence in a wasteland called earth because they are not fit enough to go the out-world colonies. Suppressing their own natural instincts for the sake of physically surviving they really the walking dead. Scientific progress conducted not for the best interests of humanity but for the best interests of business has effectively brought about the progressive degradation of society. By exploiting and destroying the natural world human can no more find solace or beauty so as to recuperate their weary minds and rekindle their dying spirits. In summary the techniques that are unique to film such as camera, lighting, costuming, colour and location works in conjunction with common literary techniques such as visual symbolism, irony and characterisation to effectively convey the relationship between humanity and nature.
One of the techniques used to promote fear and suspense into the audience is the use of the music. This technique makes the audience afraid of the shark, whenever the theme song is played the audience is to expect another horrific attack from the deadly shark, which adds a lot of suspense and build-up to the scences following. Spielberg uses this particular sound to build-up the scene, such as in the beginning when the shark attacks the girl swimming. Spielberg uses this non-diegetic sound which is only heard by the audience, not by any of the characters in the film. A non-diegetic sound defined by film sound says, a sound neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be prese...
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.
In the scene when Amélie’s perfume cap drops to the floor and hits the wall tile, sound effects emphasize the visual image of what actually happened. Before the cap hit the floor, the background music became silent, and all the audience heard was a loud band from the cap. After the cap hit the floor, it quickly rolled, and knocked a tile off the wall. After the cap hit the tile, a loud rumble emphasized that there was importance that lied behind that wall. The director applied multiple sound effects to key the importance as to the box that was behind the wall. Although the sounds were simple, it created an interesting vibe to the audience. Some of the key sounds of the scene were the cap hitting the floor, the cap knocking the tile of the wall, and the loud rumble that occurred after the hole in the wall was created. On the other hand, this film also uses silence expressively. In the final scene, when Amélie greets Nino at her door, silence expressively describes the mood of the two characters. The only sound the audience hears is the kisses they are giving to each other, but even their facial expressions describe that they are in love with each other and meant to be
The book, ‘Still Alice’, is written from the perspective of Alice, a woman diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease. Focusing on Alice’s thoughts, feelings and wishes surrounding her experiences throughout the progression of her condition, as well as the impact which she believes her illness will have upon her family, the story can relate to the emotional state of many individuals during the transition into mental distress. Within the book various themes relevant to social work become evident, however, this review concentrates on the issue of identity and how this can be impacted by loss, as well as societal treatment following a diagnosis of mental illness.
Scream is no exception. From the very beginning of the movie, sound is present. The movie starts out right away with creepy music in the background as Dimension Films slowly comes out of the darkness. It is followed by a rumble, as if several doors are being shut. While the eerie music is still going the title of the movie is stretched out and comes back together with a loud crash. This is followed by a phone ringing, a heart beating rapidly, a terrifying scream, a knife slicing into something, and finally followed by more screams. The ringing phone ties it into the first scene. The caller picks up the phone and the music, the beating heart, and the screams vanish. This is all done within twenty seconds of the film. Craven has already played on the viewer's senses. There's the apprehension that something bad is going to happen. Another example of sound is in the beginning, when Drew Barrymore's character hangs up the phone for a second time from the mysterious caller. The scene changes to the outside of the house where the camera is focused on some tree branches. There's the sound of some crickets, frogs, etc. In those noises, a creaking sound is heart. The camera travels downward and the viewer sees that it's a swing swaying back and forth that's making the noise. The rope is rubbing against the branch. It creates a feeling of tension because amongst these peaceful night noises is this odd creaking noise. It also leaves the viewer wondering perhaps, is there someone in the tree? Wes Craven is setting these small elements up to scare the viewer. Yet another example of sound being used is when Drew Barrymore (Casey, as her character is known) is talking to the mysterious caller. The caller had already threatened her. She tells him that her boyfriend is coming over and that basically, he'll beat him up. The caller responds with, "His name wouldn't be Steve, would it?" Casey stands stunned as a loud boom
What do you think about when watching a film? Do you focus on the characters' good looks or the dialogue? Or do you go behind the scenes and think about what made the film? Maybe, it's even a combination of all three. No matter what comes to mind first, an important part of any good movie will be what you see. A camera and good director or cinematographer is needed to make that possible. Different directors and cinematographers will use different camera techniques to make you focus on what you see. Camera techniques show emphasis in films, because they make you focus more on situations and people. They are especially important in Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream.
Music has frequently been used by directors to strengthen the impact of scenes that are dramatically weak and on the contrary, when music is not needed to strengthen a scene, it can be used for neutral effect and can refrain from drawing attention to itself e.g. easy listening or subtle complementary background music.
Analyze a film shot or scene to explain how filmmakers use cinematic techniques to tell a story, develop characters, create atmosphere, and evoke emotions.
...successful collaboration of sound, colour, camera positioning and lighting are instrumental in portraying these themes. The techniques used heighten the suspense, drama and mood of each scene and enhance the film in order to convey to the spectator the intended messages.
Still Alice is a movie written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland in 2014. The film is about the life of a 50 year old female linguistics professor at Columbia University who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Julianne Moore, plays the role of Dr. Alice Howland, the main character in the film. Alec Baldwin plays the role of her husband, Dr. John Howland and Kristen Steward, Kate Bosworth and Hunter Parrish play the roles of their 3 adult children Lydia, Anna and Tom. In the beginning of the movie, John is portrayed as a loving, supportive and understanding husband, however, as Alice’s illness progresses John becomes unable to cope with the physical, emotional and life style changes. In order to deal with what is happening in his life John accepts a new position at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. This new position takes him away from his wife and in order to compensate for his
As an audience we are manipulated from the moment a film begins. In this essay I wish to explore how The Conversation’s use of sound design has directly controlled our perceptions and emotional responses as well as how it can change the meaning of the image. I would also like to discover how the soundtrack guides the audience’s attention with the use of diegetic and nondiegetic sounds.
Each featured film uses certain styles and techniques to bring forward a certain feeling of emotion. Featured films either have visible or invisible dialogue; known as either diegetic or non-diegetic. The Film, Phantom of The Opera, brought forward this realization, the uniqueness about the
The use of sound has been greatly developed and is now considered as "one of the richest sources of meaning in film art." (Giannetti, 2002). When sound in film is being examined, two positions must be assumed; digetic sound and non-digetic sound. These positions relate to the basis of the sound in film and television. For example, digetic sound refers to the sound that materialises inside the creation of the film (if a character h...