Film TV /2
In the film Clown Train how does sound contribute to the atmosphere of this film? Describe what you heard? Can you make reference to another genre film and how they utilise sound to create tension and a unique filmic space?
The contribution of sound creates a profound impact of the film “Clown Train”. The screeching sounds at the start of the film sets the viewers ready that they are either in for a thriller or a horror show. Knocking sounds, the sound effects of a broken power line, with in between awkward silences in the film, all contribute to creating suspense, tension bringing about an errie and spooky atmosphere.
Films like the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Narnia, films that happen during the medievel times or in the world of fantasy. Music can be used to enhance drama and to help illustrate the emotional context of stories, while on the other hand it creates sentiments to the viewers watching the film. The music in those films serve as a powerful guide as to how you should feel about what will seem to be happen on screen. With that, music can signal a certain kind of theme, a mood or a quality in a particular character (like how Azlan, the lion in Narnia always struts out of a scene to look really domineering and powerful) How we can sense that is that he has a kind of aura that gives off a domineering and powerful vibe is the music. If not, he’ll just come off as any other lion from the zoo. Music in films also give landscapes in films a character-like quality (it being tranquil or a mountain where “evil” resides) The instruments can evoke a certain kind of era or time period, country or a culture, randing from ancient, ethnic sounds or romatic orchastral sounds, to something modern and atonal like transformers or the Matrix.
Select from one of the readings, up to but not including Week 5, and briefly describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you.
After reading week 3’s readings of “Creating the sound design”, I found out that being a sound designer is not just about being in charge of the sound effects on the film itself. It’s wayyyyyyy much more work than just us knowing it on a superficial level. A sound designer is someone who practices the art of sound. Sound design involves the manipulation of recorded sounds, such as sound effects and dialogues covered in the film.
What was intriguing about the reading was that it gave me new insights about sound on it’s own. It’s not just merely the sound of the phone ringing or a sound of the thunder, or the rustle of the winds, but sound “provides cognitive information”. It brings about reasoning, judgement, knowledge and new perceptions to viewers.
In the tute we screened a short film called Rolling – a film made in Film-TV1 a few years ago. Things you could talk about – script, casting, timing, camera movement, location. You may not remember much detail, if so, it could be helpful to talk about your first impressions, after all this is what most of us are left with after one viewing.
To be honest, I zoned out while watching the short film. Even though it was meant to be a short film, I felt that the scenes were too draggy. But what was rather enlightening about the film was when Robin pointed out that sound effects were done separately from the context of the film and only added in once everything’s been filmed. Objects and things that i thought were insignificant in the film such like the “dropping of keys”, “phone ringing”, “putting down the cup of whisky” had extra sounds overlaying the original. I never noticed that till Robin pointed it out in class. What was good about Rolling was that the they showed clearly who the protagonist was in the film and successfully created an air of suspense and tension to build up on what was about to happen to him.