The SOUND of music
The SOUND of Music
Welcome to another blog post!
Today we will be talking about the sound component of my opening sequence that my group and I have been working on! The movie "The Sound of Music" is close to my heart, being that it is a movie my mom and I both love, and have watched hundreds and hundreds of times. My mom and her mother (my grandmother) also shared a special bond over this movie! This is significant in that when considering sound this movie immediately came to mind! I recently watched this movie and my mind was blown in that all the skills and vocabulary I have learned thus far in media studies immediately came into play. When watching "The Sound of Music" it was as if I was watching the movie for the first time! I couldn't help but make mental notes of all the diegetic sound(Trees rustling in the wind, train noises, etc) and the non-diegetic sound(the soundtrack, etc.). After rewatching this movie with my newfound knowledge I was prepared to get to work on my opening sequence project, now able to pinpoint certain aspects of sound, and make educated sound choices!
Alexa being our amazing editor for the project used iMovie to incorporate and edit the sounds necessary.
A majority of the diegetic sound used for the film's opening was recorded using the camera that Alexa's father provide us. Using the camera, sounds such as nature and wind from Lucia's backyard were picked up. Furthermore, the footsteps in the film were also captured using the camera. All these sounds are sounds that could be heard by the characters and in the life of the movie, making these sounds components diegetic. These are important to the overall feel of the movie in that our film is a Drama, therefore, meant to feel realistic, and seemingly insignificant sounds such as background noises and footsteps help create a realistic and normal feel. Without diegetic noises, the movie would feel superficial and wouldn't follow the conventions of a true drama. Moreover, significant usage of diegetic sound includes the inner thoughts of the main character. My group and I made the choice to include the thoughts of the main character in order to give the audience a greater understanding of the anxiety, and frustration that she was feeling. We recorded Desiree speaking on an iPhone and then edited the sound over the bathroom scene so that it would be perceived that the sound was the main character's inner thoughts. Being that the main character is able to hear her own thoughts, this is still considered diegetic sound.
Now onto the nondiegetic sound. The non-diegetic sound includes the noncopyrighted music. This music was intentional in that we wanted to create a happy and upbeat mood for the movie. Moreover, this music is contrasted with very sad music to correlate with the feelings of the main character. My group and I were selective with the music we chose to ensure that it emphasized the correct moods at the appropriate times. Moreover, my group and I decided to incorporate heartbeat audio with the intention of showcasing the panic and intensity of the main character's emotions during the bathroom scene. With this use of non-diegetic sound the emotions of the scene of exaggerated and emphasized. In doing so, the audience is able to gauge a great understanding of the different moods and feelings throughout the movie.
Overall, without sounds and all the different types of sounds, including music, diegetic sound, and non-diegetic sound, our film opening wouldn't have been possible nor would it have reached its true potential. When considering sound we had to consider that our genre is drama meaning that emotions should be dramatic and exaggerated using sound and that the movie should feel realistic. Overall, sound is an important component to film and it was so much fun learning about sound and utilizing what I learned to benefit my film project!
Comments
Post a Comment