Sound In Dunkirk

Dunkirk (2017, By Christopher Nolan) won the Oscar for best sound mixing and editing, a sound editor is a professional responsible for selecting/choosing and assembling sound recordings in preparation for the final sound mixing. a sound mixer is the member of a film crew responsible for recording all sound recording on set during the filmmaking  production.

Dunkirk is known for having very little dialogue and this is to make the film more realistic because in reality there wouldn’t be much conversation if you were a soldier waiting on a beach like sitting ducks. Nolan himself said prior to the films release “The empathy for the characters has nothing to do with their story. I did not want to go through the dialogue, tell the story of my characters. The problem is not who they are, who they claim to be or where they come from. The only question I was interested in was – will they get out of it? Will they be killed by the next bomb while trying to join the mole? Or will they be crushed by a boat while crossing?”

During the closing scene of Dunkirk there is little dialogue. This is effective because the scene doesn’t need to be explained or glorified by dialogue, The silence of the plane and the men on the beaches is enough to fill the audience with pride. Silence can be very powerful for an audience as it allows them to focus more on the visuals of a scene, in this case the audience focuses on the plane landing, the use of little diegetic sound allows the viewer to empathise with the pilot because in reality the pilot wouldn’t of heard much at all because his engine was dead.

Another effect used is the ominous sound of a ticking watch, this sound is repeated throughout the film prior to when something bad will happen like the bombs being dropped, the non-diegetic sound of the watch is subtle but reminds the viewer that something terrible is about to happen. The sound itself signifies time running out for the soldiers on the beach as they wait to be saved and taken off the beaches.

Most the sound in Dunkirk had to be recorded out of filming because it was mostly useless apart from the dialogue. the sound mixer explained that for the sounds of the planes they wouldn’t settle for regular plane sounds so they dotted 25 microphones around a spitfire in various areas like the engine cockpit, this was to make the film more authentic. Some ww2 enthusiasts would easily notice the incorrect sound of the spitfire and the film would get discouraged in the media.

There is an ongoing narrative during the final scene of the film where a soldier is reading the famous inspirational speech from Winston Churchill from a newspaper on the train. The scene skips between the soldier on the train and the main pilot landing whilst the narrative is in the background, this effect keeps the reader engaged and gives us examples of what Churchill is referring to in his speech, for example he says “we will fight on the beaches” whilst there is a long distance shot of the soldier on the beaches.

Whiplash’s final scene was edited by Tom Cross and directed by Damian Chazelle. It is said that the final scene of this film is the one that concluded the decision for the film to be awarded best edited film. The use of cuts throughout the scene  build up the tension and make the viewer more and more anxious to see if he successfully performs the song that he failed at so many times during the rest of the film. The song (caravan) is an indication to the viewer that he will fail, we get this feeling because until the final scene very time the song is played he fails and annoys his teacher Terence Fletcher (JK Simmons: Oscar for Best Supporting Actor) so when Andrew completes the song successfully we are filled with joy.

At the very start of this scene there are 2 distinctive shots that are held for longer than most other shots in the film, these shots are close ups of Andrews face after he has been embarrassed by his former teacher, Terence Fletcher, These shots are held to express Andrews emotions and allow the audience to sympathies him even more. After the first held shot it cuts to a shorter shot of the audience who all look very unimpressed and judgmental, It then cuts back to another held shot of Andrew, this is an example of the Kuleshov effect (The Kuleshov effect is a film editing effect demonstrated by Soviet film-maker Lev Kuleshov in the 1910s and 1920s. It is a mental phenomenon by which viewers derive more meaning from the interaction of two sequential shots than from a single shot in isolation) the shot begins with Andrews face and then cuts to the audience and then back to his face again showing his emotion and reaction towards the second shot (the audience).

When Andrew comes back on to the stage and begins to play again and the rest of the band join in there is a montage of all the different musicians, a Montage is a technique in film editing in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence. this particular montage  is in time with the music which is aesthetically pleasing for the viewer. This excites the viewer and allows us to feel a sense of pride for Andrew because of how good the music is and the camera cuts make it even better for the viewer.

Cinematography In The Shining

The shining (1980) was based on a Steven King novel that was released in 1977. The film was directed by Stanley Kubrick who was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. The film was visually amazing when released (and still is) because it had lots of new techniques and technology such as the Steadicam.

Stanley Kubrick is a perfectionist when it comes to mise-en-scene,  The shining was a huge breakthrough in the film industry due to the first real use of Steadicam in cinema, the Steadicam was a device which meant you could film smoothly whilst moving. Having the camera free hand meant it wasn’t on another device like a track .

The use of the Steadicam creates a sense of unease for the viewer as it seems like we are following the characters around or someone else is. A perfect example for this is throughout the film (The shining) there are shots where the camera is following Danny on his cart through the corridors although this seems like a harmless idea, through the use of the Steadicam it makes it more sinister. This feature is important for the viewer as there are lots of corners in the corridors and we don’t know what is going to be around the next corner which creates suspense and adds to the horror.

Stanley Kubrick is also well known for his subtle use of symmetry, this subtle feature is aesthetically pleasing for the viewer and in the shining it symbolizes the connection between jack and the hotel, making them a pair. An example of this is where Jack first enters the hotel and one of the waiters Is stepping in sync to him and crosses a square shape on the floor at the exact same time as him, although this is a very subtle feature it explains a lot when you take it into consideration to the rest of the film and especially the photo at the end where we are shown that jack has been absorbed by the hotel. There is also a more obvious symmetry during the shots of the daughters which is very unsettling for the viewer because of the unreal perfection in the shot (2 identical twins standing next to each other perfectly in the middle of a corridor).

Camera movements

In the opening scene to the Hobbit an unexpected journey, where bilbo is old and begins to write the letter to Frodo explaining his own journey. As he begins to write the camera moves backwards out of the room slowly probably on a Dolly. This symbolises him going back in time. It also shows that we are leaving his character behind for the rest of the story. 

The zoom: In the Shining, when Wendy is walking up the stairs with her bat, she reaches the floor where there is a man in a bear costume in one of the bedrooms. Then suddenly there is a fast zoom into the bears face. This scares the viewer because of the speed of the zoom and the fact the bear is looking right at the camera which seems like it is looking right at us!

The pan: a pan is where the camera moves from the action and averts away from the main focus. In reservoir dogs this is used when Vega chops the cop’s ear off, after showing a little bit of brutality when Vega slashes at the cop’s face. He then holds his ear and the camera pans out to the top left of the screen. This is a great method because it tells the viewer there is no hope for the victim and what is about to happen is inevitable, as a viewer we are left with no hope or suspicion that the victim may have averted the attack (This method also saves a lot of time and money on CGI or screen play).