Leitmotif

A leitmotif is a “short, recurring musical phrase” associated with a particular person, place, or idea. For example, the music that plays when the shark in Jaws is coming to attack someone. It creates tension as the audience know what is about to occur.

activity 5- example of a movie which uses leitmotif to enhance meaning for the audience

A leitmotif is when the same soundtrack plays multiple times in a film to introduce the same idea or movie.

In THOR RAGNAROK the same soundtrack was played at the beginning of the movie when Thor was at the peak of his abilities and his power was unmatchable and through the film we get to see Thor’s powers fall; towards the end however, the same soundtrack starts playing when his powers rise and grow again indicating a sense of power and confidence making him seem unstoppable.

Thor: Ragnarok Review - Aleteia

The Foley artist

A Foley artist adds in sound effects to the movie in post-production. It is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to films, videos, and other media to enhance audio quality. For example, they could recreate footsteps, the flipping of pages or animals walking.

Foley Artist | The Art Career Project

MATCH CUT EXAMPLES

A match cut is an edit in cinematography that uses elements of one scene in the transition to the next scene. The purpose is to create a visual match for different scenes that are not inherently linked.

Examples:

Graphic Match Cuts — shapes, colours, compositions.

Match on Action Cuts — action, movement.

Sound Bridge — sound effects, dialogue, music

How the match cut is used in film, explained (VIDEO).

Sound Activity 7 – My favourite film soundtrack

My favourite film soundtrack is from the movie Interstellar.

Interstellar" movie explained (meaning of the plot and ending) - Lot of  Sense

The soundtrack in this film is by Hans Zimmer. Hans Zimmer in my opinion is the most talented composer. He uses techniques such as ‘The Shepherd Tone’ in order to connect the action happening on screen with the audience. It also evokes sub meanings and create realities which wouldn’t have been created without his music.

Hans Zimmer also puts so much thought and effort into all of his songs and makes sure that they truly connect with the scene that they are over. This is especially shown in the scene where the characters land on the Water Planet. While this scene is being shown the music created by Hans Zimmer begins to play over the action and in the soundtrack there is a ticking sound that plays. This was meant to signify that with every prominent ticking sound a day on earth has past showing the space and time continuum. Without the music we as an audience would have no idea about this.

These are just some of the reasons why the Interstellar soundtrack is my favourite.

Biography of Hans Zimmer - Leader Biography

Sounds that can be made on a films soundtrack by a foley artist

Examples:

  • Thin sticks and dowel rods produce excellent whooshing SFX
  • Old chairs and stools are perfect for controlled creaking
  • Heavy-duty stapleguns serve for excellent gun noises
  • Roll up a large phonebook for realistic body punches
  • Twist and snap sticks of celery for convincing bone breaks
  • Corn starch inside a leather pouch makes the sound of snow crunching
  • Cut a coconut in half and line them with a soft material for a horse walking
  • Ball up and walk over old audio tape for the sound of grass footsteps
  • Locate an old car door to produce metal and car crash sounds
  • Flap a pair of cleaning gloves for the sound of realistic bird wings
Recording Foley and Sound Effects: The Fundamentals
Foley Artist