Unit 38 Soundtrack production

For this task I will be analysing three scenes from moving image productions explaining in detail how the elements of sounds are used to create meaning and mood for the audience. My scenes/episodes will include a postproduction studio sound and will also include a live location sound.  The films that I will be analysing are Children of Men, Kingsman the secret service, and Fight Club. I will also be analysing a live documentary called “Stacey Dooley investigates kids selling drugs”.

Children of Men

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCTgUq6hzUk

The first film that I have decided to analyse about is Children of Men and the scene I will analyse is the opening scene. The scene starts off with a diegetic sound of a women and a man’s voice speaking about the tragic and horrific news about the 18-year-old who happened to be the youngest human being in the world (35 seconds), the show on screen would have set the tone of the rest of the film and also shows that there clearly is a fertility problem as the youngest kid in the world was aged only 18. As the film starts to show visual image the atmosphere was quite dull as they have just heard that the youngest kid has just died which mainly suggests that it’s the start of the end of the world. As the camera switches to the TV a slow and emotional beat starts to play (minute 1:24) to suggest that it’s an emotional time not just for the kid’s family for everyone around the world, the beat shown in the background is played to create an emotional mood. Although each individual at the coffee shop is emotional about the recent death the main character (Theo Faron) doesn't seem to affect him. There is ambient sound throughout the opening sequence e.g. traffic noise, crying which creates the atmosphere essential realism to the situation. There is also a sound bridge at the beginning which is spread over the opening credits to the first cuts which gently introduces the context to the audience without it being a great shock revealed all in one clip. There is also a conversation of the main character requesting coffee (minute 1:10), by having less dialogue at the beginning, the clip lets the news report and sound effects create a more dramatic, realistic feel. As he finally leaves the coffee shop, sound of traffic from cars and bikes are strongly played, however he (Theo) walks away from the shop to the nearest bin so he would be able to pour some alcohol into his drink (minute 2:01), which suggest that the main character might have an alcoholic problem, however as he stops to pour the alcohol into his coffee there is suddenly an explosion a few buildings down (minute 2:14), blowing out the wall and sending smoke into the streets. Moments later the camera switches to a front view to feel and see what he is seeing, a non-diegetic ringing sound occurs moments after the explosion as the noise continues throughout the scene to show a gruesome image of a little girl screaming and holding her own arm. The movie title “Children of Men” then flashes across a black screen (minute 2:23). The locations are created as being very typical but at the same time have a little twist to give an insight into the change that has occurred from the present to 2027. For instance, we recognize that the first location is London; reflected through the renowned red London buses and skyscrapers.

Kingsman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tukQDg22o9M

The sounds in this clip are dramatic and at times there are also some heroic sounds because it is required for the effect that it makes. This effect is of something or someone that is becoming either dramatic or heroic. An example is shown when the group of boys enter the pub to look for trouble, the beat that is played in the scene creates a variety of tension between the two character, the sound then moves to a quite sound that fades into a dramatic tune to keep the audience on their toes as they know that an action scene is only moments away. Another effect it creates is realism, it creates an emotional effect towards the audience making them feel suspense. During the fight scene at the pub; hopeful background music begins to fade into the scene, this background music then comes to a sudden end when scene communicates that Harry Hart is exiting the pub and leaving the goons to settle their beef. As Colin Firth (Harry Hart) approaches the door to leave the pub he gets agitated and angry of what has been said to him, a loud and heroic beat starts playing as he approaches the door lock it (47 seconds), an exaggerated sound is used while locking each lock to intimidate the gang. As Colin Firth hits one of the men with a pint glass (minute 1:09) the noise gets louder and higher to show the intensity of the scene. The camera then switches back to Colin Firth (1:14) and the beat slows back down to suggest that he has done this multiple times and has faced bigger and stronger opponents than a gang of 6 men. Throughout the scene the director uses a typical beat to suggest that he is not an ordinary person but however is a spy. Throughout the fight scene the use of diegetic/ hyper real sound is shown to intrigue the audience. An example of diegetic sound that is used in the scene is when Colin Firth pushes two actors into one another resulting in their heads clashing, the sound that occurred was a loud bang that won’t usually be heard in real life. Another example is when one of the men brings out his knife to stab Harry Hart (minute 1:51) a loud noise occurs to show that he is attempting to kill him with a dangerous weapon. The scene ends in a heroic way as Colin Firth puts his bullet proof umbrella down and the camera zooms onto his face with the upbeat tune in the background still playing (minute 2:05). Throughout the popular bar fight scene the background music creates tension between the actors to make the shots more intriguing and interesting.

Fight Club

https://mythewatchseries.com/fight-club-uoa-episode-1

As the main character walks into his boss’s office he is accompanied by a sound bridge, from the previous couple scenes which was a comedic element, this leads the viewer into believing that this scene will follow the same path as the previous scenes that it will also be a fairly funny scene, however the sound bridge is used sarcastically as the humour shown in this scene (1 hour 15 minute 55 seconds) is a darker and more twisted version than that of the previous scene of a priest and a car worker fighting. Both characters then speak for a couple of minutes to show their emotions through dialogue, this has done to create tension and suspense. the 2 characters start to talk as the jingle like music fades out making the dialogue loud and clear, the boss in this part of the scene is louder as he is the dominant character (for the time being) as he is angry of the lack of effort Tyler’s putting in at work. As soon as Tyler’s boss reaches for the phone to call for security to escort Tyler the use of voice over is used, the voice of Tyler plotting his revenge on his boss (1 hour 17 minute 8 seconds).  Tyler’s revenge on his boss is to frame him for violent behaviour on a former work colleague. The director uses a hyper real sound when Tyler punches himself (1 hour 17 minutes 11 seconds), this is done to make the punch more gruesome and dramatic and interesting for the audience to see, the punch also shows Tyler’s determination to get revenge over his boss as he is willing to hurt himself to get what he wants. The beat in the background starts off slow and unexpected similar to Tyler’s plan however when he punches himself the second time and falls and shatters the glass table (1 hour 17 minutes 25 seconds) the director uses a hyper real loud sound as he hits the floor with glass all around him the shot is part of a sound motif. Every time Tyler moves his positioning there is a sound of glass moving and cracking. After he stumbles around the office more he throws himself into the glass shelf as he nearly hits the shelf the screen pauses and the narrator says some dialogue about what he was feeling during the incident (1 hour 17 minutes 54 seconds), Tyler then continues to cause trouble and mischief by throwing himself into a glass shelf (1 hour 17 minutes 58 seconds), as soon as he hits the shelves a guitar starts to join the background music. In the next shot the music becomes quieter and the faint office sounds become more dominant along with the sound of the narrator squirming through the glass on the floor making his way to the boss. The scene ends with no background music or any other background sound to suggest that that was the end of the scene and that his plan has worked.

Stacey Dooley Investigates Kids Selling Drugs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pkxa6vs9mIM

The documentary starts off with a diegetic sound off Stacey Dooley (the journalist) speaking about the youth and how easy it is being able to get a hold of drugs that could influence your decisions, however a slow and intense beat in the background is used to show the seriousness and intensity of the shot and also sets the tone of the short documentary. The scene shows a variety of different drugs from minor drugs that you can smoke to class a drugs such as cocaine (11 seconds). The beat gets faster and faster which might suggest how quick and easy it has become to get drugs. The first couple shots that the audience see is a preview of what is ahead and what Stacey Dooley’s documentary entails, which can attract viewers to keep watching. 31 seconds into the documentary a violent and illegal weapon is shown in a drug dealers hands, this is shown at the start with no beat in the background to attract the viewers and give them an insight of how the documentary is like throughout. Another reason the first couple minutes would attract the audience by sound and visual image as it shows what motivates every drug dealer 35 seconds into the documentary the sound in the background starts to play once more to show how important money is to them the scene shows subtitles at the bottom of the screen saying “This is why we don’t stop” with a pile of money in both hands. As the scene carries on, the shots start too show factual information on the screen to intrigue and to shock the viewers into seeing the horrific and horrendous fact that “18 percent of 16-24 year olds take illegal drugs” (1 minute 12 seconds). As the facts show up on the screen the beat gets softer and quieter to create an emotional effect from the viewers. Facts such as there are “300,000 new MDMA users in the United Kingdom” would intrigue the audience and make them more aware of the effect illegal drugs can have on people. The intense beat in the background finally stops (1 minute 43 seconds) when the English journalist meets up with a couple of drug dealers, I believe that by cutting the music the scene creates more tension as anything could happen as the dealers might not want to be filmed. Also by cutting the music the scene becomes more realistic as it shows that it is not an act and that she is interviewing and interrogating drug dealers. The upbeat music then starts to build back up (2 minute 40 seconds), the use of diegetic sound is also used in the background of Stacey Dooley’s voice explaining the situation the youth is in by the power of social media apps such as Snapchat, Instagram and Yellow. In my opinion I believe that the first 3 minutes of the documentary includes good sound mix as it attracts the audience into watching the rest of the documentary. The sound and facts shown at the start both in my opinion link in a very good way as it gives the audience a different view about illegal drugs and its consequences it has by selling or even taking them.