In pairs we imagined the kinds of sounds would fill an explosive street scene like this.
Figure: screaming, grunting, scuffing metal clashes
ground: crackling of flames, screaming, running, glass shattering, bursts of flame
field: distant panicked voices, sirens, mummering, car breaks,
I think it is important to remember that visuals can conjure up sound just like sound can evoke memories and images. In film, when we take away sound it forces us to come up with our own mental soundtrack and that can be very powerful when it used used in film. For example in a war scene when a soldier becomes shellshocked, all we hear is ringing and we fill in our own sounds with the knowledge of what a battle field sounds like.
Week 4’s readings were surprisingly sciencey for what I thought was just a pure media course. But this diversity of this course has been delightful so far anyway. Film is made up of audio and visual stimuli (unless of course you went to Shrek in 4D at movie world*)
Because vision is our primary sense we perceive EVEN AUDIO through our eyes first. So behold the curious McGurk Effect!
ADD MORE FROM READING HERE
Back to the film side of it, a brilliant example of how visual and audio can work together to create a compelling effect is the sound edit in Jurassic Park (1997) directed by Steven Spielberg. After her daughter is attacked, her moth screeches. The soundtrack also swells with high-pitched whiney violins which help blend the screaming. This sound slowly changes into a train screech, as it cuts to the man yawning. We immediately join the sound to his open mouth as if he is screaming, even though the sound doesn’t how he would scream normally. This shows that visuals dominate our film experience, but sound can be used to trick us.
*shrek in 4D: I’m terrified of horror movies so seeing the haunted house short film was borderline torture. The 4d aspect was quite refreshing literally as we were splashed with water when goop was shown on screen. And a sadistic tickle device under our chairs set off when we were shown creatures on screen.
Roberts-Breslin, Jan. 2003, ‘Sound’ in Making media : foundations of sound and image production, Focal Press, Amsterdam ; London, pp. 115-144.
“Television has been called radio with pictures”
A lot of the tv shows I watch are quite old, my favourite is Frasier which is a nostalgic slice of life show about a pompous radio psychiatrist and his family. The jokes are very dialogue heavy as the audio is dominant in creating meaning. Ironically I often treat this TV show (about a radio show) as if it REALLY IS a radio show, playing it in the background as I do work. I think that our dependence on soundtrack is a lot more obvious when it is absent. For example the laughing track in a sitcom. When it is missing the audience can become completely lost as to when the punchline has occurred,
The absence of comedic timing detracts from the viewing experience of the whole show. A classic example of this is The Big Bang Theory. It is only obvious how much the humour depends on audio indicators until they are missing.
“sound by itself can encourage us to imagine visuals in our mind”
I usually think in visuals so when I need to calm down I put on a rain soundtrack, which instantly clears my thoughts fogs my mind with the serene scene of dappling rain on a grey day.
The power of association is particularly potent when it comes to sound. Our memories are most closely linked to the temporal lobe, the cortex responsible for managing sound and its emotional impact. My favourite examples are the sinister motifs of The Dark Knight (2008) and Zodiac (2007). In both films a simple motif plays which the audience learns to associate with the antagonist.In The Dark Knight, a high pitched whining violin is utilised during the Joker’s scenes and when he is about to do something sadistic. The same technique in Zodiac is used differently where the foreboding piano plays during scenes where Zodiac the murderer isn’t present to creating the feeling of dread and anticipation that he may appear.
I had never noticed how staged even “natural” looking holiday photos are until we unpacked it all during our lectorial. The photo of a man literally throwing a boy into a sparkling pool at a resort had many deliberate conventions. For example the calming palette of creams blues and greens created a sophisticated luxury feel which was enhanced by the stereotypical palm trees which generally signify tropical bliss. Words to the right of the page from sponsors used pronouns like “you” indicating that they were selling a lifestyle and identity to us. We should want to be the mid 30s male with a chiseled jaw, carefree in a fancy resort. All we need to do is buy that particular shirt.The more we discussed it the more unnatural and theatrical it seemed.
It is interesting how there are so many social conventions that we don’t think about. Another one I thought of is how if you see a male and female walking together (say on the beach) they must be in a romantic relationship. I have fooled many people this way as my best friend is a guy, we’ve learned to just laugh it off when a sales assistant urges him to be a good boyfriend and buy me whatever thing they are selling.
