Even though both sound designers and mixers play very important roles within the world of film, there are some differences between the two, such as:

sound designer – sound designers have the role of recording or finding the audios and sounds used in a specific sequence or scene (e.g. dialogue, background noise, sound effects). sound designers often create their own sounds which often get used as “fillers” in scenes where there might not even be any dialogue.

Diegetic & non-diegetic sounds  

Non-diegetic: This scene in joker begins with no sound at all other than the subtle dialogue between Arthur and his social worker however, as the dialogue gets more “heated” and tense, tense music starts playing over the top. As the scene goes on, the music gets louder and louder creating tension and anticipation making the audience curious and intrigued.  

Diegetic: This scene in Joker had the diegetic sound of applause happening in real time with the actions in the movie making it authentic and makes it seem as if we (the audience) are there living it with him.  

synchronous – sound which is matched with the actions and movements being viewed.

asynchronous – sounds which are not matched with what the audience is seeing, usually used to create tension as the4 viewer can hear the sound but not see the source.

sound mixers – sound mixers are in charge of figuring out the timing of when those sounds get used in the sequence or scene. They have the skill of mixing sound elements together in order to make the final sound track sound like a whole.

sound effects – artificially created of enhanced sounds which are used in artistic ways to emphasise an action, mood or feeling.

Foley artist – creating a clean sound replicating what is on screen which then gets added in post-production.

leitmotif – “short, recurring musical phrase” associated with a particular character, setting, emotion and development of a character. “leitmotifs are guides” they condition the audience emotionally for the interventions, arrival or actions of a particular character.

sound J & L cuts – sound bridges which creates a smooth visual transition between scenes.

voice over/ narration – often informs the audience with all the information they need about a certain character or event, this can sometimes also be presented as “unreliable narration” meaning the viewer does not get all the information straight away.

musical score – pieces of music specifically created for a film/specific scene.

underscore – music playing “under” the dialogue between characters, usually quite quiet.

needle drop – popular pre-exciting pieces of music (out of the world of the film) which helps set the tone of the scene, this can go with what is happening in the scene or juxtapose it which usually creates a “jarring” of off-putting mood.

sound perspective – the apparent distance of a sound source, this can be supported by its volume, timber and pitch.

sound designer	sound mixer
decides what sounds will be used in the piece. (i.e. sirens, dialogue, cars) they may also create these sound effects for the specific project.	decides when the sounds will be present. (i.e. if they fade in and out during scenes of stress) make sure that audio is up to the quality that is desired

The Shepard’s tone: A tone of music designed to unnerve the audience. It is constructed with three tones in different octaves that all play at the same time. The lowest and highest fading at different times to give the illusion that the sound goes on forever.

Diegetic sound: Sounds that appear to the characters in the universe can hear, such as dialogue and music played on radio.

Non Diegetic sound: these are sounds that cannot be heard by the characters on screen, such as the soundtrack and narration.

Sound Effects: these are sounds that are artificially made for the purpose of enhancing a scene. (emphasising a mood, action or feeling). used in all kinds of media (radio, theatre, film and tv.)

The Foley Artist: re-creates the sounds in a recording which get layer on top of the original clip. This may get done because the original audio was too low or not clear enough. Things they could re-create are walking, a character getting hit or a character falling, along with most sound effects in movies.

Leitmotif: A recurring piece of music that is present throughout a film or film franchise, they are guides. there are 4 categories character, setting, emotion and evolution. an example of character music would be something like Indiana Jones’ theme that plays throughout the movies. An example of setting would be the piece of music that plays in lord of the rings when in reference to The Shire, this could be when the characters are present in the shire, or when they reminiscing on it while out on their adventure. These can also be modified to show emotion about the setting, like having the music slow down or be played on a different instrument to signify that they miss the place. An example of Emotion would be in Up with the music associated with Ellie, it plays throughout the movie to signify Carl’s mental state and at the end to show how he has grown attached to Russel. For Evolution, you could use Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader) as an example, as in the prequal movies, there is a slight part of the imperial march that can be heard in Anakin’s theme.

Sound Bridge: helps smoothen the transition from one scene to the next. can be referred to as a J-cut or an L-cut depending on if sound leaves before or after the image.

Voice over: a voice that narrates over the events of the movie, usually from a character present in the movie from the future. it may also be from the perspective of an ‘unreliable narrator’ which may be the views of one character, not the whole story. An example of voice over is at the beginning of the extended cut of lord of the rings: the fellowship of the ring by the character Galadriel.

Score/Underscore: The score of a movie is pieces of music that are composed specifically for a movie. An underscore is a piece of music that is played underneath the dialogue and sound effects. it can be used to help amplify the mood or themes of a scene, for example ‘Concerning Hobbits’ from the lord of the rings is used to amplify the feelings of comfort and tranquillity that is in The Shire.

Synchronous: a sound that is matched with the actions that are being viewed, I.E when someone is talking or when you hear and see a match being struck.

Asynchronous: when a sound is not matched with the actions that are being viewed. I.E. birds off screen or cars.

Needle Drop: when a pre-existing song is put as the underscore in a movie. This can be used to enhance emotions in a scene through the association of these songs.

Sound Perspective: Its volume, how far away it could be from the source. this could be utilized, by having a scene with no dialogue and having the sounds of the setting taking the foreground. For example, in Spielberg’s Munich, there is a scene that has almost no dialogue and does all of its story telling through the sounds of the scene. These sounds are raised and lowered throughout the scene to heighten the tension.

Film Score: my favourite Film score is the score for Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the ring. I feel that Howard Shore does a great job of world building for the first movie of the franchise. It makes each area of Middle Earth well known to the viewer, this is done by using different instruments for all the important areas that are shown in the first movie that will be reoccurring throughout the franchise. By having them all represented by different instruments, it is able to world build and introduce the audience to the areas of Middle Earth without having to say anything. For example, when Frodo wakes up in Rivendell, the music is very regal and the viewer immediately knows this is a place of importance and will be a place of safety for Frodo and the Hobbits. This regal sound is continued throughout the entire time they stay in Rivendell, this creates a connection of importance to the elves in the viewers mind.

Activity 1- 

Sound editors are responsible for the finished sound in movies and television shows unlike the sound mixer who is the leader of the production sound crew, responsible for recording high-quality audio on set and location for film and television productions. 

Diegetic and non-diegetic sounds in Joker: 

Diegetic sounds: 

The scene in the joker where he and Murray were in a different together room, and they could hear an applause from the audience. 

Non-diegetic sounds- 

The famous scene in the joker where he is dancing down the stairs is non diegetic as you couldn’t see speakers, so it was probably in his head.  

Sound Effects-

Sound effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds that are used in artistic works to emphasize or express an action, mood, or feeling. Sound effects were initially used in radio dramas, but can be observed more often today om podcasts, theatre, films and television shows.

Foley artist

a Foley artist is when people recreate the sounds that were missed when filmed. they use props and try make it as believable as possible.

Leitmotif

a short word or phrase that is associated with a particular. Normally its a song that’s associated. ‘leitmotifs are guides to emotion.’- Richard Wagner. A film that uses leitmotifs is Up by Disney, the well known song is changed into different songs with slower or faster melodies or even played with different instruments eg the piano.

L-Cut and J-Cut

A sound bridge is a type of sound editing that occurs when sound carries over a visual transition in a film.

A J-Cut is when the sound is in the scene before as if a voiceover then in the next scene you see the sound being made.

A L-Cut is when the sound is being made in the first scene and the sound carries onto the next scene with seeing the sound being made.

Voice over/Narration-

often informs the audience with all the information they need about a certain character or event, this can sometimes be presented as ‘unreliable narration’ meaning the viewer does not get all the information straight away.

Musical score-

pieces of music specifically made for a film/specific scene.

Underscore-

music playing ‘under’ the dialogue between characters, usually quite quiet.

Synchronous sound-

is sound that is matched with the action and movements being viewed.

‘Needle Drop’-

a version of recording that has been transferred from a vinyl record to digital audio or other formats.

Asynchronous sound-

used when the director wants to create tension as the viewer can hear a sound but cannot see its source. Sometimes the audience cant hear the sound that the character inside the film can hear.

Sound Perspective-

Refers to the apparent distance of a sound source, evidenced by its volume, timbre, and pitch.

For example Spielberg uses only camera work and sound perspective when the man is about to be killed to show the ambience of the scene. The sound in the distance was the mans footsteps and the dominant sound was the found ringing.

Favourite Film Soundtrack-

my favourite film soundtrack was rocky as it had the iconic theme song which everyone will always associate with rocky. the composers were Bill Conti and Carol Connors. The original song was only 90 seconds long as it was created fir the montage.

Difference between a sound editing and sound mixing:
Sound editing is the process of manipulating sounds post-production to receive the desired outcome. This can be to remove background sound or mistakes.

Sound mixing involves mixing individual tracks to create a convincing soundscape. This is done by adjusting levels to create an effect that conveys emotion to enhance the story.

The Shepard Tone – a sound illusion of sine waves separated by octave, with the bass tone ascending in pitch.

Diegetic and non-diegetic sound in Joker:
Diegetic: at 47:10, Arthur dances with his mother, Penny, to the music playing on the television. This ends at 48:08, which is when the show ends.

Non-diegetic: music begins at 31:36, when Arthur is on the train. This continues until 33:20, when it slowly fades out.

Synchronous sound: sound that is matched with the action and movements being viewed.

Asynchronous sound: sound not matched with a visible source of sound on the screen.

Needle drop: when a pre existing song is used in a film to underscore a particular scene. This is powerful as emotions and associations we have with a song can enhance a particular scene. For example, they play Come and Get Your Love by Redbone in Guardians of the Galaxy as the main character, Peter Quill, dances.

Sound effects: artificially created or enhanced sounds – used in artistic works to emphasise or express an action, mood or feeling, e.g. Ben Burtt created the iconic sound for the lightsabres in Star Wars. Sound effects were originally used in radio dramas, but can be observed more often today in podcasts, theatre, films and television shows.

Foley Artist: Adds sound effects post-production by recording in a sound-proof studio and layering it over the top of the scene.

Leitmotif: Musical score that is designed to condition the audience’s emotions towards certain characters. Leitmotif is used for characters, emotion, settings and evolution.

Characters:
Jaws theme tells the audience when the shark is near without explicitly showing it.

Emotion:
Married Life represents Carl’s emotions in Up.

Settings:
There are different themes in Lord of the Rings to suggest where the characters are.

Evolution:
Different versions of the Imperial March are used throughout Star Wars to show the evolution of Darth Vader’s character.

Sound Bridge: When sound carries over a visual transition in a film to bring the viewer seamlessly into the next scene.

Narration: often tells the audience what they need to know, but they can sometimes be unreliable. Unreliable narrators may be lying or not telling the whole story.

Score: the score is music composed specifically for the film to help enhance the mood and themes of the visuals.

Underscore: music that is played under the sequences to enhance mood and support the score – often mixed with dialogue and/or sound effects.

Sound perspective: the apparent distance of a sound source, evidenced by its volume, timbre, and pitch.

My favourite soundtrack is Pulp Fiction because I think the music really fits the general style of the film and helps to convey the emotions of the film.

The difference between the role of a Sound Editor and a Sound Mixer

The sound editor finds the sound sources. They are responsible for the finished sound in Films. Th process involves selecting, polishing, and assembling three primary elements – recorded dialogue, sound effects, and music- into a complete, integrated soundtrack.
The sound mixer is the process where the raw materials assembled in sound editing process are combined and balanced into a coherent soundscape. The sound mixer takes the edited products and hones it during post- production.

The Shephard Tone

A Shephard Tone is a sound consisting of a superposition sine wave separated by octaves. When played with the bass pitch  of the tone moving upward or downward, it is referred to as the Shepard scale. This creates the auditory illusion of a tone that seems to continually ascend or descend in pitch, yet which ultimately gets no higher or lower.

Diegetic vs Non – Diegetic Sound

diegetic sound – is any sound that the character or characters on screen can hear.
non-diegetic sound – is any sound that the audience can hear but the characters on screen cannot.

In this scene, Arthur and Thomas Wayne are having conversation. This is an example of Diegetic sound as they can both hear each other while being on the screen. You can additionally hear the bathroom door swinging open and shot which creates the sense of the audience knowing what is happening in this scene not just the characters

In this scene, where Arthur is on the bus. This is an example of Non – Diegetic sound as there is a background music ( composed by Hildur Guonadottir ) creating an intense emotion within this scene. This is Non- Diegetic sound because the character on screen cannot hear it however the audience can hear it.

Needle Drop

Synchronous sound is sound that is matched with the action and movements being viewed

Asynchronous sound is not matched with a visible source of the sound on screen. 

A needle drop is when a pre-existing song is used in a film to underscore a particular scene. This can be a powerful tool for filmmakers, as the emotions and associations that we have with a particular song can enhance the emotions and associations that we have with a particular scene.

Sound Effects

Sound effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds that are used in artistic works to emphasise or express an action, mood, or feeling. Sound effects were initially used in radio dramas, but can be observed more often today in podcasts, theatre, films, and television shows

Many genres of films use sound effects but the main genres are Science Fiction, Horror, Action and Adventure genres where the soundscape is enhanced to increase dramatic tension.

A Foley Artist

A Foley Artist adds in sound effects to the movie in Post-Production. They make the sounds in a sound studio.
They make sounds like the sound of breaking bones, creaking floors, squeaking doors, footsteps, falling bodies, fire and basically any sound that is not dialogue or music, is Foley

Leitmotif

A leitmotif or leitmotiv is a “short, recurring musical phrase” associated with a particular person, place, or idea.

There is a leitmotif for settings, emotion, Character , evolution
Settings – Harry Potter shows when they are going back to Hogwarts and the surrounding there.
Emotion – In UP the musical phrase changes within different emotions
Character – Jaws, you know when Jaws is coming as the musical phrase is heard whenever the shark is near.
Evolution- Imperial march from star Wars.  

Jcut & Lcut

A sound bridge is a type of sound editing that occurs when sound carries over a visual transition in a film.

Voice over/ Narration

Sound device where in one hears the voice of a character and or narrator speaking but the character in question is not speaking those words on screen.
Narration can be first person or ” voice of god ” style.

Score / underscore

Score – the score for a film is the ( theme ) music composed especially for it to enhance the mood / themes of the visuals which appear on screen.
Underscore – the underscore is music which is played ” under ” sequences to enhance mood and this often mixed with dialogue and/ or sound effects.

Sound Perspective

Sound Perspective refers to the apparent distance of a sound source, evidenced by its volume, timbre, and pitch.
If we didn’t know the sound of things we wouldn’t know the climax of the story.

Activity 8

My favourite soundtrack is Mamma Mia 2 as it help brings the emotions more to life when adding the sound to the film. Sound helps the movie shift between emotion through the music and sound effects. Sound helps establish a reality within the film by making it seem more intense and

Difference between a sound editor and a sound mixer

The difference between a sound editor and a sound mixer is that a sound editor finds the sound sources, whereas the sound mixer decides when they should come in, how loud they should be etc…

Examples of diegetic and non-diegetic sound in Joker

Diegetic sound – any sound that the character or characters within the world of the film can hear.

Non-diegetic sound – any sound that the audience can hear but the characters within the world of the film cannot.

An example of diegetic sounds in Joker would be the opening scene, as the characters would’ve been able to hear all the sounds of the atmosphere, the black man playing the piano, the cars in the street, the people hurrying to work. The example of the black man playing the piano is actually trans-diegetic, as the piano appears to be part of the score, so non-diegetic, but then is revealed to be in the scene. This is an early example of how Arthur contains music and experiences within his own deteriorating mind.

An example of non-diegetic sound in Joker is the minimalistic, harrowing cello that plays as Arthur dances in the bathroom, after he has killed the ‘Wall Street Guys’. This element, along with other in the scene, signifies Arthur’s transition to the ‘Joker’ personality.

Synchronous/Asynchronous Sound

Synchronous sound is sound that is matched with the action and movements being viewed. Asynchronous sound is not matched with a visible source of the sound on screen and is used when the director wants to create tension as the viewer can hear a sound but cannot see it source. Sometimes the audience can’t hear the sound that the character inside the film can hear.

Sound effects

Sound effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds that are used in artistic works to emphasize or express an action, mood, or feeling. Sound effects were initially used in radio dramas, but can be observed more often today in podcasts, theatre, films, and television shows. A famous example of a sound effect is Ken Burtt’s lightsaber sound effect.

Foley Artists

A Foley Artist adds in sound effects to the movie in Post-Production. The sound effects they make are physical and using real-world objects.

Leitmotif

A leitmotif or leitmotiv is a “short, recurring musical phrase” associated with a particular person, place or idea. The purpose of one is to condition the audience emotionally for the intervention, arrival, or actions of a particular character.

Leitmotif are usually associated with 4 things: theme, subject, character or setting. Setting motifs are used heavily throughout Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord Of The Rings’ to encapsulate the feeling an area has or too link a scene to a particular setting. The most iconic character motif is the one heard in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jaws’ and it is very effective as you never actually see the character early in the film, and the shark’s theme indicate that the shark is there.

Sound Bridge

A sound bridge is a type of sound editing that occurs when sound carries over a visual transition in a film.

Voice Over

A voice over is a sound device wherein one hears the voice of a character and/or narrator speaking but the character in question is not speaking those words on screen. narration can be first person or “voice of god” style – consider the two different effects on the narrative.

Score/Underscore

The score for a film is the (theme) music composed especially for it to enhance the mood/themes of the visuals which appear on screen. The underscore is music which is played “under” sequences to enhance mood and this is often mixed with dialogue and/or sound effects.

Sound Perspective

Sound perspective refers to the apparent distance of a sound source, evidenced by its volume, timbre, and pitch.

Sound Design

Sound Design is used in film to further convey the message, or thing that the director wants to show, which is shown through the images shown. Usually the sound that is in the foreground, is the thing that the director wants to draw your attention to. For example, in the film Munich by Steven Spielberg, a car driving past suddenly becomes louder in the mix and shoots over Daniel Craig’s intimate singing. He does this to presumably bring the viewer’s attention to this car.

Favourite Soundtrack

My favourite soundtrack is the original, ambient synth score by Vangelis from 1982’s Blade Runner. The reason it is my favourite is because I feel it adds to the amazing futuristic atmosphere and ambience that Ridley Scott builds through her use of creative sets and stunning shots. It also helps the climatic scenes throughout the movie, such as the emotional rooftop ending. During the Roy Batty’s emotional speech as he’s approaching his death, the synth surges to much the emotional surge of his words and his wanting to be rembered.

Diegetic Sound in the Joker  

When Arthur is at the Murray show we can hear applause. Arthur and Murray, along with everyone else, can hear this applause as it is in response to something someone has said. This is diegetic as the characters as well as the home viewers can hear it  

NON-DIEGETIC SOUND IN FILM  

When Arthur was dancing on the stairs while wearing his joker makeup.  

WHAT IS A SOUND AFFECT?  

Sound effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds that are used in artistic works to emphasize or express an action, mood, or feeling.   

FOLEY ARTISTS 

Foley artists re-record sounds for film in soundproof rooms. Once they re-create the sounds, they then layer it over the scene.  

LEITMOTIF 

A leitmotif is a recurring musical phrase associated with a theme, subject, character, or setting.   

1. AMERICAN BEAUTY  

2.  APOCALYPSE NOW.  

3. THE DARK NIGHT 

4. LORD OF THE RINGS 

SOUNDBRIDGES 

L-Cuts and J-Cuts are both sound bridges, J-cuts carry music from a previous scene into a new one and L-cuts carry music in

VOICE OVER/ NARRATION  

Voice over and narration often give the audience extra contextual information about characters. Sometimes we have unreliable narrators who deceive the audience and change the audience perspectives of certain characters.

SCORE/UNDERSCORE

The score is music specifically written, and recorded for one film. The underscore is the music that plays under dialogue and carries the mood for certain scenes.

SYNCHRONOUS / AYNCHRONOUS SOUND

•Synchronous sound is sound that is matched with the action and movements being viewed. 

•Asynchronous sound is not matched with a visible source of the sound on screen. 

NEEDLE-DROP

Needle-drop is popular music used in film which either enhances the mood or creates an ironic atmosphere to add further to the film.

SOUND PERSPECTIVE

•Sound perspective refers to the apparent distance of a sound source, evidenced by its volume, timbre, and pitch.

Steven Spielberg Munich

in Steven Spielberg’s Munich he uses ambient sound and plays with shot distance in context to sound.

FAVOURITE FILM SOUNDTRACK

My favourite film soundtrack is the use of the song “The End” in the film Apocalypse Now, I like how symbolic it was when used with the first scene when bombs are being dropped in the jungle. And the usage of it when Willard meets Kurtz is very interesting, because as the song reaches its climax we see Willard kill Kurtz and as this happens the scene cuts to the Cambodian tribe sacrificing the water buffalo. The killing of the buffalo represents the brutality of war and the usage of “The End” is smart because it was a popular song during the Vietnam war among soldiers. composer is Jim Morrison/the doors. Song is considered acid rock/hard rock.

Sound editors work in post production, they sync and ensure all of the films dialogue, music and sound effects systematically come together and sync.

Sound mixers record high-quality audio for the film, they enhance the continuity of the films audio, they are the leaders of the sound production.

Diegetic and non diegetic sound

Diegetic sound is heard by both the audience and character such as dialogue whereas non diegetic sound is only heard by the audience like background music.

Diegetic sound, in this scene we can hear both the voice down the phone that Arthur is speaking to in addition to the New York city traffic outside the window, the use of this makes the scene more immersive as the sounds involved would be heard by the characters but are normally not heard by the audience.

Non diegetic sound, in the closing scene of Joker we can hear music that has been edited over the scene in post production as an outro for the film, however the Arthur cannot hear this as he solemnly walks away from the camera.

Synchronous and asynchronous sound, synchronous sound is sound that has been matched with the action/ movement being shown on screen, asynchronous sound is not matched with a visible source of sound on screen, it is most commonly used when the director creates tension, because we can hear a sound but not its source. This adds an aspect of apprehension, or sometimes the audience cannot hear the sound the character does on screen.

Needle drop moments are when music that is not from the world/ pre existing song is used to underscore a scene. This can either enhance the mood or juxtapose it, for example Joker or American psycho. The emotions and associations had with a particular song can also be carried over so we create the emotions and associations with that scene too.

Sound effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds used to emphasise and express an action, mood or feeling. Foley artists create sound effects, they’re filmed in a sound proof studio to prevent background noise to get a clear sound, these sounds are then edited in post production.

Leitmotifs are a reoccurring short musical sound, they condition the audience and prepare them for the intervention, arrival or action of a particular element of the film. There are leitmotifs for characters (Star Wars and Darth fader), settings (Harry Potter and the wizarding world), emotions (Up and love) and evolution of characters

Sound bridges are a type of sound editing occurring when sound carries over a visual transition such as L-cuts and J-cuts. L-cuts happen when the audio from the previous scene carries over, then the visuals shift. J-Cuts occur when the next scenes audio plays before the image changes. They help with the flow of the film.

Narration/voiceovers tell the audience what content we need to know in order to follow the story, however they can commonly be unreliable as if from a characters perspective their narration can be bias. Voice overs are a sound device where the audience hears the voice of a character/ narrator speaking but the character itself is not speaking on screen. Narration is first person.

Score/underscore the score for a film is the theme music that has been composed specifically for the specific film and enhances the mood/themes of what we see on the screen, the underscore for a film is the music played underneath the sequences on screen often mixed with sound effects and dialogue, the underscore also enhances the mood. In the film Casablanca there is prominent underscore of an orchestra, mainly violins that play over the scene of the realisation only one would be on the plane. This has a strong effect on the audience as it creates a prominent mood of romance and sadness while additionally making us feel sympathetic towards the characters.

Sound perspective refers to the perceives distance between the audience/camera and the sound source through its volume, timbre and pitch. The concept of sound perspective is prominent in the film Munich as the climax of the film itself is told only through sound affects. We can tell what is happening in the scene singlehandedly from the sounds we hear and without looking at the screen. This is because in the background we can hear police sirens telling us that what the characters are doing is illegal, while the more prominent sounds of the daughter of the man who is trying to be killed and the cars driving past.

My favourite film soundtrack is from the film 10 things I hate about you, the song is called “Bad Reputation” and it opens the film. The song itself is a rock/pop song that was very popular around the time the film was made and released (1999). Its my favourite because the music is not specific to the film but whenever I hear the song I always think about the film. Additionally, the song fits in very well to the protagonist in the film as well as the story line as the movie is a coming of age teen movie which the song reflects well.

Sound Designer

Sound designers find, create (foley) and edit sound to be used in the film. This includes sound effects, diegetic noise, score, etc.

Sound Mixer

Edits and balances the dialogue, sound effects and the other sounds.

Diegetic sound in Joker

An example of diegetic sound in Joker is the people laughing in the comedy club when Arthur is watching the comedian

Non-Diegetic sound in Joker

An example of non-diegetic sound in Joker is the creepy orchestral score during Arthurs weird interpretive dance after killing the people on the train

A needledrop is when a licenced song is played in a movie, and it is used to create tension, comedy, and/or emotion for the audience, or set the tone e.g “That’s Life” in Joker, “Cry Little Sister” in The Lost Boys or “Stuck In The Middle With You” in Reservoir Dogs

Sound Effect:

Sound effects are artificially created/edited sounds that are used in film to emphasise an action or create mood and feeling

Foley artists would create sounds like glass breaking, footsteps, walking in sand or snow, impact sounds etc. by creating and using objects to make the sound effects.

A leitmotif is a short, recurring musical phrase associated with a character, like the theme from Jaws, a setting, like in Lord Of The Rings, emotion, like in Stand By Me, or a character’s evolution, like Darth Vader in Star Wars.

L Cuts and J Cuts are “sound bridges” that make the transition from one scene to another smoother

Voice Over is a sound technique where the audience hears the voice of a character or a narrator speaking over shots where the character or narrator isn’t speaking or on screen. Examples of films that use this are Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas, The Crow and Stand By Me. Voice over can also be utilised with an “unreliable narrator”, where the audience is given the information from the biased perspective of the narrator.

Score/Underscore

The score of a film is music composed specifically for use in the film to enhance emotion and themes of what is happening on screen. The Underscore is score that is played under sequences, usually mixed with dialogue and/or sound effects.

Synchronous sound is sound matched with actions being viewed, Asynchronous sound is not matched with what is happening on screen, which can be used to create tension by giving the audience a noise that they can’t match with a source, or giving the audience sound that a character in the film can’t hear.

Sound Perspective refers to the apparent distance of a sound source emulated through volume, pitch and timbre. In Spielberg’s film Munich, sound perspective is used through emphasising sounds to bring attention to important points of the scene, such as the target’s daughter’s footsteps being the dominant sound when she runs back into the building the assassins were going to bomb or silence being broken by the noise of a phone box’s metal dial to create danger and tension.

A soundtrack is music used in and/or made for the film

My favourite film soundtrack is The Crow (1994), as it utilises a lot of bands that I really enjoy to create the grungy, industrial, dark and gloomy setting the film produces. It works so well as it sounds good in the context of the film and is a good soundtrack by itself. There are so many scenes in the film that are elevated by the music, like the iconic scene where Eric puts on his makeup set to The Cure’s Burn, or the scene where he fights the room full of gangsters when After The Flesh by My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult plays.

the difference between a sound design and a sound mixers is a sound mixer mixes multiple different audio’s and adjusts them to creates a sound atmosphere that fits the tone of the scene. They also adjust the quality of the audio so its easier to listen too.

A sound editor makes sure everything sounds perfect and makes sure that the dialogue music and effects all sync together well for the specific scene. They also polish off any sounds or audio and add in sound bites ( short audio clip taken from a larger audio clip) where needed.

diegetic – joker

this scene is diegetic since the sounds you can hear in the scene e.g. the crumpling paper and the TV in the background actually exist and you can see them. Therefore all of these sounds come naturally from the movie and isn’t ‘added’ in separate from the world in the movie

Non-diegetic – joker

This is an example of a non diegetic scene because in this scene the background music doesn’t actually exist in the world of the film and the joker cant actually hear the music but as the audience we can

what is a sound effect

sound effects are usually artificially created or enhanced sounds that are used inartistic work to emphasize or express an action mood of feeling. sound effects were initially used in radio dramas but can be observed more often today in podcasts theatre films and television shows.

Needle drop and why we use it

A needle drop in film is when a pre-existing song syncs up with a scene making the scene unforgettable, the song doesn’t need to be made from scratch or be original for it to sync and create a certain mood or display an emotion.it can also be used to create irony by having a song played in the background that gives the opposite feel to what’s happening in a scene.

Needle drop are used to enhance emotions in the scene by using songs we are familiar with to underscore the scene.

asynchronous sound is no matched with the visible source of the sound on screen and is used when the director want to create tension as the viewer can hear the sound but not where its coming from.

synchronous is sound that us matched with the action and movement being viewed

Sounds that would be made by a Foley artist

A Foley artist finds creative ways to mimic sounds that need to be added and synced into a scene post production. These can be any sounds including animal noises e.g. a horse running or a dog walking. It can also be movement sounds like a fight scene or someone skiing down a hill. its normally recorded in a sound proof studio and then that audio is layered over

Leitmotif

leitmotifs condition the audience emotionally for the intervention arrival or actions of a particular character. is can also relate to the character and make the audience relate a specific song with a character or a scene/ location

Leitmotif can be use to show how the character develops over time , for example in star wars darth vaders theme song is used throughout the time we see him including when he was young and while he’s dying.

Leitmotif also shows us when a character related to the song is about to come in, for example in jaws we rarely ever see the shark but we know its there from its catchy song that we relate to the shark.

sound bridge

a sound bridge occurs when sound carries over a visual transition in a film

A J cut and and L cut are two good example of this

Voice over

a voice over is a narration over the the film and its often to give context of the film or scenes while they are happening. Narration is usually in the first person or from ‘gods perspective’

narration often tells the audience what we need to know for context, however they may not always be reliable

score/underscore

the score for a film is the theme of the music composed especially for it to enhance the mood/themes of the visuals which appear on he screen. The underscore music is played under the sequence to enhance the mood and its often mixed with dialogue/ sound effects.

in the movie Casablanca the underscoring in the final scene adds sadness to the mood which shows the character emotion through the music, the music also starts when she finds out she’s going to be separated from the man and has to go on the plane alone which adds to the shock with the sudden music.

sound perspective

refers to the apparent distance of a sound source evidenced by its volume timbre and pitch. The sound in a movie isn’t always aligned with where the camera is which makes the sound an important aspect of a movie.

For example in the movie Munich the sound in the scenes are so powerful you don’t need to be watching the movie to understand what is happening, like when the assassins are planting the bomb, you can hear the ambient sound of the city changing as the assassins are working.#

favourite film sound track

my favourite film sound track is the frozen sound track. This is because its one of the most memorable Disney movie sound tracks and is used through all the different movies which ties them all together. Its also one of my earliest memories of film and the sound in the film is still I’m my memory after years of the films release.