voice over is the voice of an unseen narrator speaking (as in a motion picture or television commercial) b : the voice of a visible character (as in a motion picture) expressing unspoken thoughts.
A film which uses voice over, is Sunset Boulevard. This is to understand what the characters inner thoughts are without the character having to say it out loud to people for the audience to then gather an understanding of the emotions and thoughts. Sunset Boulevard also used narration so the audience can grasp the concept of what going on and gather information which some characters cannot.
Leitmotif: A short musical phrase that is associated with a certain character, place or idea. These pre-warn the viewer of what they’re going to see on screen next, giving them time to react.
A famous example of a leitmotif would be the theme for ‘Jaws’. Whenever the shark is going to appear on screen, a short musical phrase appears, telling the viewer to expect a shark attack in the next scene.
Foley Artists work as a part of post production, recording and creating sound effects for the film. They often record small details like the rustling of clothing or footsteps as characters move, and make sure that they sync up perfectly to the image.
A leitmotif is a musical phrase within a film that is associated with a character, animal or moment.
For example in Jaws one of the main Leitmotifs is Jaw itself as when the shark is near a musical phrase begins to play to convey a sense of fear and anxiety to the audience and let them gain tension and know that the shark is near and about to strike.
A leitmotif recurring musical phrase it invites the audience emotionally for the arrival or actions of a particular character
In True Romance Hans Zimmer repeats a musical phrase called (you’re so cool) for whenever the two main characters are together which prepares the audience for a romantic scene
Synchronous sound is when the sound/music matches with actions performed on screen- often when a character plays an instrument the sound will line up with what they are doing.
Synchronous sound can be used for Needle drop moments, with a character listening to music in the story and allowing the audience to listen to it alongside them.
Asynchronous sound is when there is a sound with no visible source on screen. This is often used to create tension as the audience question the source of the sound.
What is the definition of diegetic and non diegetic sound?
Diegetic sound is sound that comes from the setting of the film. Non-diegetic sound is sound that comes from our world, such as the soundtrack or scoring. Diegetic sound could include the voices of characters, utensils clattering in the background, or music coming from a piano being played on-screen.
What is a needle drop in film?
Needle drop (movie scoring), the use of an existing recording rather than an original score in a film.
A foley artist is in charge of the recreation of everyday sounds in real time, rather than pulling pre-recorded sounds from a soundbank. Foley artists work on foley stages with viewing screens, recording equipment, and props for creating sounds. Two foley artists and one mixer usually work together on one foley stage.
The well-recorded sounds that foley artists produce replace most of the sounds captured during filming. Foley artists do not re-record dialogue, even though this is usually replaced.
Sound recorded on set is poor quality compared to sound recorded in a studio. It is often unclear or too quiet to sound realistic.
Recording sounds as separate tracks lets production studios adjust their levels individually. This means the sound of crunching leaves can be increased without increasing the volume of dialogue, for example.
Experienced foley artists create sounds that enhance scenes by making them seem more realistic.
Good foley sounds draw viewers into a production by adding atmosphere.
