Have you ever thought about how movie industries create sound? This question is rhetorical by the way. Well, sound in movies isn’t always made on set at that specific time. “Apparently there are sounds that are created post-production.” Yeah… after the scene was already shot. Crazy right… this movie stuff is getting really trippy. Anyhow, sound is an important aspect of a movie. Giving the audience the ability to immerse more deeply into the movie, giving them a deeper sense of the mood without have to directly show it visually. Yeah… still crazy.
During our lesson of the ol’ mighty “sound design” our class learned many different types of sound… designs? I don’t know how to call it but you get me. We first started learning about dialogue. By dialogue, I mean the speech.
Dialogue gives the speaker authenticity. This means that the character will seem real, and not just an imaginary creation. Then we went to sound effects… like “thud!” or “crash!” In other (normal) words sound effects are sounds in the film that is not dialogue or music. Giving the audience a more real and complete environment.
Then there is synchronous sound which is the sound that is matched with the action and movements viewed (Sort of like when two things are synchronized). There is also an asynchronous sound… I bet you don’t know what that is… Well, let me tell you. The asynchronous sound is the sound that is NOT matched with the action and movements. Bet you never guessed that.
Direct address is ultimately breaking the fourth wall by directly involving the audience. This will likely be a large aspect that will most likely be used in our movie because it kind of adds a comedic effect to the movie. And our film is going to be an action comedy so…
Sound motifs are a combination of sound effects that are associated with a particular character, setting, situation or idea through the film. I want to use this aspect, however, I am not sure how to implement it into the film. It will most likely be included in the darker more serious scenes where we must change the mood from funny to serious.
Post-synchronization dubbing is adding sound to a scene after it is filmed. Yeah… AFTER. Like what the world is that. But I am pretty sure we are going to end up doing this due to the fact that the locations we chose will most definitely have a loud background.
Off- scene sounds are sounds assumed to be in the general area of the scene but are not shown. This will be used in the blackout scene when the dark figure is rustling in the background trying to remain anonymous and hidden.
Non- simultaneous sounds are those that occur earlier or later in the story than the current image being seen.
Sound perspective is the appearance distance of the sounds’ sources made evident through volume, timber, and pitch. This will most definitely be used for it will create realism to the movie and make it less like a cartoon and more like a live action movie.
Sound bridging is a type of sound editing that occurs when sound carries over a visual transition of the film.
Voice over is a sound device where one hears the voice of a character or narrator speaking, but the character in question is not speaking those words on a screen.
Automated dialogue replacement, better known as ADR, is the process of recording dialogue by the original actor after the filming process to improve audio quality or reflect dialogue changes. ADR can also be used to modify and change the original lines to clarify the content, improve diction or timing, or replace an accented vocal performance. So basically, this is trying to go back and fix all the mistakes that might have occurred during the scene. Due to the fact that we aren’t professional actors, I believe we will be using this aspect a lot because I guarantee that there will be no perfect take.
And then there is FOLEY. What is FOLEY? Well, this is another rhetorical question. I’m just kidding, Foley is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to the film, video, and other media in post-production to enhance audio quality. Including these foley sounds provides the film with a more realistic and natural sense. Rather than keeping the scene uncomfortable and quiet. Don’t worry I didn’t know what Foley was either… however, this quickly changed as we had to produce a quick clip of multiple foley scenes. Whilst producing this video, my partner and I grew familiar with different sounds that could match everyday actions. However, we wanted to challenge ourselves, and do rather unorthodox things. For example, ripping your pants. We didn’t want just tare a piece of cloth, because it wasn’t exaggerative enough. Instead, we ripped a piece of paper to give it a crisper ripping sound. We also had a scene where my partner pretended to urinate on a tree (he didn’t actually pee). However, squirting water on dirt did not make a good enough sound to produce the noise we wanted. So, we gathered some leaves and piled them tightly on top of the dirt, squirting that with water instead. This provided some louder sounds as the water splashed on the leaves rather than solid and firm ground. We did try to exaggerate every aspect of every scene, solely due to the fact that most of the time they provide a more light-hearted and comedic effect to the scene. We wanted to practice doing so because our film will be based off an action comedy.
All in all, we will use all the strategies and aspects of sound design throughout the entire film due to the fact that the locations we chose may not be the best places to film. There may be possible ambiance noises and disruptions. Therefore, I have no firm answer to what aspects we will use, however, it is clear that we will need to use some. Sound editing and sound mixing will be extremely important. And will be used to ensure the best possible quality of film.
Function Films 