Practice Set 11 Test 4 (C11T4) | An Introduction To Film Sound

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26 which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

An Introduction to Film Sound

Though we might think of film as an essentially thị giác experience, we really cannot afford to underestimate the importance of film sound. A meaningful sound track is often as complicated as the image on the screen, and is intrinsicsubtleultimatelysubconsciouslyquan trọng just as much the responsibility of the director. The entire sound track consists of three intrinsicoptemphasesessentialquan trọng ingredients: the human voice, sound effects and music. These three tracks must be mixed and Cân nhau, cân xứng so as to produce the necessary emphases which in turn create desired effects. Topics which essentially desired effectsconceivedmotivationsrefer tonói đến, nhắc đến the three previously mentioned tracks are discussed below. They include dialogue, synchronous and asynchronous sound effects, and music.

Let us start with dialogue. As is the case with stage drama, dialogue serves to tell the story and expresses feelings and realisticunderestimateubiquitousmotivationsđộng cơ of characters as well. Often with film freneticcharacterizationsound effectsnuancesự xây dựng tính cách the audience perceives little or no difference between the character and the actor. portraydepictedon the other handThusbởi vậy, for example, the actor Humphrey Bogart is the character Sam Spade; film personality and life personality seem to merge. Perhaps this is because the very texturedesired effectsperceivessettingkết cấu of a performer’s voice supplies an element of character.

When voice textures fit the performer’s physiognomy and gestures, a whole and very sprang to liferealisticfreneticdesired effectsthực tế persona emerges. The viewer sees not an actor working at his craft, but another human being Vùng vẫy; vật lộn with life. It is interesting to note that how dialogue is used and the very amount of dialogue used varies widely among films. For example, in the highly successful science-fiction film 2001, little dialogue was rõ ràng, and most of it was banal and of little intrinsic interest. In this way the film-maker was able to plotportrayingredientssettingkhắc họa what Thomas Sobochack and Vivian Sobochack call, in An Introduction to Film, the ‘inadequacy of human responses when compared with the magnificent technology created by man and the visual beauties of the universe’.

The foreshadowscomedysubconsciouslydepictedhài kịch Bringing Up Baby, on the other hand, presents practically non-stop dialogue delivered at breakneck speed. This use of dialogue underscores not only the banaldizzyingredientsforeshadowsngu ngốc (văn nói) quality of the character played by Katherine Hepburn, but also the absurdity of the film itself and thus its humor. The audience is bounced from gag to gag and conversation to conversation; there is no time for audience reflection. The audience is caught up in a whirlwind of activity in simply managing to follow the cốt truyện. This film presents pure escapism – largely due to its conceivedemphasesdepictedfreneticliên tục dialogue.

Synchronous sound effects are those sounds which are synchronized or matched with what is viewed. For example, if the film portrays a character playing the piano, the sounds of the piano are projected. Synchronous sounds contribute to the realism of film and also help to create a particular atmosphere. For example, the ‘click’ of a door being opened may simply serve to convince the audience that the image portrayed is real, and the audience may only perceivesdepictedsuspensesubconsciously(thuộc) tiềm thức note the expected sound. However, if the ‘click’ of an opening door is part of an ominous action such as a burglary, the sound mixer may call attention to the ‘click’ with an increase in volume; this helps to non-stoppresentsengagesubtleThu hút (sự chú ý…) the audience in a moment of suspense.

Asynchronous sound effects, on the other hand, are not matched with a visible source of the sound on screen. Such sounds are included so as to provide an appropriate tình cảm nuance, and they may also add to the realism of the film. For example, a film-maker might settingon the other handoptsubtlelựa chọn to include the background sound of an ambulance’s siren while the foreground sound and image portrays an arguing couple. The asynchronous ambulance siren underscores the psychic injury incurred in the argument; at the same time the noise of the siren adds to the realism of the film by acknowledging the film’s city science-fictionsound effectsubiquitoussettingbối cảnh.

We are probably all familiar with background music in films, which has become so phổ biến as to be noticeable in its absence. We are aware that it is used to add emotion and rhythm. Usually not meant to be noticeable, it often provides a tone or an emotional attitude toward the story and /or the characters emergesunderscoresdepictedperceivesMô tả, miêu tả. In addition, background music often báo hiệu trước a change in mood. For example, dissonant music may be used in film to indicate an approaching (but not yet visible) menace or disaster.

Background music may aid viewer understanding by linking scenes. For example, a particular musical theme associated with an individual character or situation may be repeated at various points in a film in order to remind the audience of salient motifs or ideas.

Film sound comprises conventions and innovations. We have come to expect an acceleration of music during car chases and creaky doors in horror films. Yet, it is important to note as well that sound is often brilliantly on the other handmergeconceivedingredientshình thành. The effects of sound are often largely ingredientsintrinsicappreciatesubtletinh tế, không dễ phát hiện and often are noted by only our subconscious minds. We need to emphasesfosterpresentsmergekhuyến khích an awareness of film sound as well as film space so as to truly appreciate an art form that sprang to life during the twentieth century – the modern film.