Dialogue is the conversations, true talking, of the characters on the set. The set words they say to themselves or others. Sound effects are sound imitations of sounds for a dramatic effect to enhance the reality of the scene. Music in the movie is songs sung by artists that fit the scene or instrumental sounds, with no words.
Explain how the different categories of sound are being used in your chosen film.
In "We Bought a Zoo", there is constant dialog between all the characters. Many times it is soft, everyday talk, at low key sounds. When the main character Ben talks about his deceased wife, his voice is very quiet and subdued. Throughout many scenes there is quiet instrumental music in the background to fill in the quietness of the scene. The instrumental music fits in with the quiet atmosphere of the movie. This movie also has sound effects for the zoo animals. I am certain that some of the sound effects were quite real, and other times, it was recorded to use at a specific time. The majority of this film uses non-diegetic sounds, but with the sounds of the animals, that is diegetic.
Assess the impact of sound in establishing the theme.
The impact of sound throughout this movie gives the audience an over all calming, relaxing theme for the movie. There is no real major action shots, no major screaming, beside an argument between father and son. This movie is based on a family trying to start over after losing a wife/mom. Many times throughout the movie, are quiet instrumental sounds being heard to coincide with the quiet talk of the characters about real life situations.
How does the use of sound inform the mood of the scene, or the film overall?
The sound informs the mood of quiet and sadness at times. The movie is a feel good, good natured movie about a family just trying to move on in life after a tragic loss of a loved one.
Can you identify specific sounds in your film that allow you to infer a particular genre?
I think because of the calming instrumental music, and soft low key voices of the characters sets a good feel for a family movie. I have a family of six, with my youngest being six years old and my oldest being 14 years old, and of course my husband and I. We can all watch this movie an I don't feel that I have to cover up any inappropriate parts of the movie. There are no major sound effects that would be scary. The dialog between the characters is low key. Not too loud, nor too soft, but the tone is just that of everyday people just having a low key conversation. The sounds of the animals are true to each specific animal. In one scene, Kelly is teaching Rosie (and the other as they listen) the sounds a tiger makes. Then the tiger mimics her, which I believe was real.
Since each category of sound may produce a range of effects, how might you characterize the effects in your film? For example, realistic and expected sound effects may have a different effect on a viewer than exaggerated or unexpected ones.
When it comes to the zoo setting, I think the realistic sounds of the animals really give the feel of being at the zoo. In the scene where Ben and Rosie are with the realtor, and all of a sudden they hear a lion roar, they feel quite shocked, as well does the audience watching it for the first time. Hearing that roar, gives excitement of what's about to happen in the movie. (Meeting the Animals) In the scene where Ben and Kelly talk, (Letting Go) and Ben tells her all about his deceased wife, the music is a calming, almost sad instrumental piece, making the audience feel for Ben. Feel his sadness for the loss of this wife. The scene when Dylan confesses his love for Lily, (20 seconds of courage), the sound of the rain pitter pattering and the instrumental music builds the suspense of whether or not Dylan will indeed have his 20 seconds of courage. The music slowly gets faster as he says all that he can in his 20 seconds of courage. As the music slightly increases, so does his words.
Assess how the scene or sequence would play differently if you changed or removed a key category of sound.
First, if we were to remove the sound of the animals, that would have a dramatic effect. Hearing the sounds of the animals really place the audiences' mind into the zoo. Also, the calm instrumental music played in a lot of scenes would be less exciting to watch without it. The most dramatic parts of the movie, have instrumental music and some music with lyrics, playing in the background, building up the scene just enough to have a full effect on the audience. There are many scenes in this movie with no background sound, just dialog, and I think that suits those scenes just perfectly. Adding additional categories of sounds with some of those scenes would take away from the dialog going on, in which is just perfect with out added sound.
References:
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title"We Bought a Zoo" (It's a Zoo). [Video File] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV-6-NTIm7M
"We Bought a Zoo" (Meeting the Animals). [Video File] Retrieved From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_DPvIyy-z0
"We Bought A Zoo" (20 seconds of Courage). [Video File] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmMFIganRQY
"We Bought A Zoo" (Letting Go). [Video File] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nuhP1j5O2k
"We Bought A Zoo (20 Seconds of Courage, Dylan and Lily) [Video File] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c-4XLvqD0w
No comments:
Post a Comment