Movies ultimately engage two of the main senses, vision and hearing. Director Steven Spielberg once said, “The eye sees better when the sound is great.” Sound is just as imperative as an element as every additional component of film form. As stated in the textbook on page 41 “Any attentive filmgoer is aware of the enormous power music holds in shaping the film experience, manipulating emotions and point of view, and guiding perceptions of characters, moods, and narrative events” (Gorbman). The sound, in the majority of narrative films is the element that provides distinctive cues that assist the spectators from expectations with reference to significance; and in numerous occasions, sound essentially helps to shape the audiences analyses and interpretations regarding the film. For this final paper, I want to discuss the importance of sound in three of the films viewed this semester. These three films are: Bonnie and Clyde the 1967 film by Arthur Penn, There Will Be Blood the 2007 film by Paul Thomas Anderson and Bamboozled the 2000 film by Spike Lee. With omission of the chase scenes, there was virtually no music heard in the film Bonnie and Clyde. There wasn’t an accompanying piano, orchestra or string quartet reminiscent of most other films. However, there is the hillbilly banjo music that is played merely throughout these chase scenes in the film. If there were not any music playing throughout these scenes, I think that spectators would construe the chase scenes as being nerve-racking and perilous getaways. But, the Barrow Gang as they called themselves, were an entertaining company that thought everything they were doing was comical. Another scene in Bonnie and Clyde that I found that vastly utilized sound was th... ... middle of paper ... ...pleasant to watch, that is if it is done correctly. I always have found that sound and music help to move films along faster and smoother. Works Cited Barsam, Richard and Dave Monahan. Looking at Movies: An Introduction To Film. Third Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Ltd., 2010. Bradshaw, Peter. There Will Be Blood. 8 February 2008. 7 December 2010 . Gorbman, Claudia. "Film Music." Gibson, John Hill and Pamela Church. Film Studies critical approaches. Oxford: Oxford University Press Inc., 2000. 41-48. Stevens, Dana. There Will Be Blood Paul: Thomas Anderson's deranged masterpiece. 24 December 2007. 7 December 2010 . Venicelion. Bamboozled (US 2000). 31 October 2008. 6 December 2010 .
The use of sound helped to create a story behind the scenes. The sounds of Drum’s gunfire and Ouiser’s dog barking create a humorous event outside of the set. This scene of family/neighborhood craziness is relatable to any audience member in some way and helped the audience to connect with the characters. The use of the radio at the beginning and end of each scene helped to establish a mood and in some cases a time change. It also worked as a signal to the audience when a scene was beginning or
Three additional children followed Clyde’s birth, and the families financial difficulties worsened as the price for cotton bounced up and down. After some years the Barrow’s found it impossible to provide for their children and sent them to live with relatives in east Texas. At one relatives home Clyde developed two interests that remained with him to the end of hid life: a passion for music, and an obsession with guns. Even as Clyde drove along the lane in Louisiana to his death, he carried a saxophone and reams of sheet music, as well as an arsenal of firearms. Clyde loved and named his guns, and regarded them as tokens of his power.
The film starts out with orchestral music, and shows James Dean's character, Jim, drunk on the ground of a sidewalk. The sound of a police siren is heard and used as a transition into the next scene that takes place, understandably, in a police station. While in the police station, Jim is yelling along with the sound of the siren, and humming loudly to give the impression that he is drunk. At one point in the scene he is brought into another room with an officer, and begins to punch a desk. The sound effects are loud, and the he pauses, and music begins again when he begins to hurt. Again, a siren is played at the transition to the next scene. However, for the most part, score music is played during all transitions.
Bergan, Ronald. "A History of Creative Sound in Film (Abridged)." The Guardian. n.p, 17 July 2008. Web. 11 Jan 2014
The films musical score alerts the viewer to an approaching attack of the shark and they automatically build this association with the music in their mind. Horror films often make use of high string instrument notes that irritate viewers and increase tension. Music plays an important role in film editing and the editor must choose its placement wisely to ensure its intended effect on the viewer’s mind and
"Bonnie and Clyde (Page 3)." About.com 20th Century History. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.
To conclude, the shower scene presents a complex compilation of both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. This extraordinary combination is one of the main reasons the scene stands out as one of the best throughout film history. It is important to remember that sound plays a major part in the craft of storytelling, allowing the filmmakers to convey emotions to moving images which results in a deeper and more dynamic experience to an
For this essay I will be looking at the work of Hans Zimmer to discuss how music in film engages the viewer and evokes emotion and pulls the viewer toward the film. Hans Zimmer is a German born music composer. Hans Zimmer’s love of music stems from his childhood when he learned how to play various instruments. Before Zimmer began composing music for films he was in a well-known band. The band was called The Buggles whom were famous for their song Video Killed the Radio Star. After the Buggles Zimmer played in other bands but never had another hit. As Zimmer has progressed as a film composer so has his list of nominations and awards. Zimmer has won 4 Grammy Awards and 2 Golden Globes and many more for his outstanding film scores. The reason I chose to write this essay on Zimmer was that his genres and music score are extremely versatile ranging from animations to comedy to dark thrillers. This is important to highlight as it shows Zimmer can create almost any atmosphere with his music whether it be sad or creating tension that all cause us to engage with the film. Zimmer's use of themes and introduction of different instruments allowed him to create these wonderful engaging film score. In this essay I will look at three films by Hans Zimmer these are The Holiday Rush and Rain Man.
...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.
The music suited the movie very nicely. By the type of music playing, you could determine what sort of scene was coming up, either fast and light...
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.
In conclusion, I have demonstrated how Coppola exploits a wide array of sound and editing to create suspense, intensity, and anxiety in the sequence to affect the audience’s emotions, using diegetic ambient sound effects, non-diegetic music, voice over and four editing types. With this sequence, Coppola has shown the savagery of war and our complicity in this violence as an audience.
Today, most movie goers categorize ‘silent films’ into one genre and discard the stark differences that make Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat, The Great Train Robbery, and Broken Blossoms vastly dissimilar. In my opinion, these films clearly illustrate the evolution from silent film projection on a cafe wall to the birth of the hollywood that we know today. The profound contrast is most apparent in their stories, their performances, and the emotional response each film invokes. Collectively these films provide viewers with a clear perspective on how early film progressed from silent stills into what we call today, The Classical hollywood “silent” film era.
Sound is what brings movies to life, but, not many viewers really notice. A film can be shot with mediocre quality, but, can be intriguing if it has the most effective foley, sound effects, underscore, etc. Sound in movies band together and unfold the meaning of the scenes. When actors are speaking, the dialogue can bring emotion to the audience, or, it can be used as the ambient sound. Music is one of the main things to have when filmmaking. The use of Claudia Gorbman’s Seven Principles of Composition, Mixing and Editing in Classical Film gives audiences a perspective of sound, and, how it can have an impact on them.
Sound is important in film and how it is used to drive a narrative progression. I will analyse how and why in this essay. Covering the history of sound in films and the essential component it plays in the film industry.