Important Motifs in Sound and Editing

The efficacious nature of films owes its prominent properties to the array of editing techniques. In the aforementioned films , editing techniques stabilizes the movie and

Sound is extremely important in films, and the types of sound used differ between genre. Sound is important in all films. Without sound, films do not possess as much power compared to if they did have sound. In ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’, multiple soundtracks are used throughout the film. Two fantastic soundtracks in the film are ‘This is Halloween’ and ‘The Oogie Boogie Song’. Both use orchestral instruments and the lyrics are sung with deep voices. Diegetic sounds used in these soundtracks and throughout the film include bats squeaking, bugs crawling, and pumpkin heads being chopped off using a large metal blade. The effect of sounds, including soundtracks, is to enhance the feeling experienced from the visuals. Deep voices and multiple orchestral instruments create suspense and fear. As the music crescendos, the suspense increases as well. Loud, sudden sounds like a scream or crash create sudden fright. Using different sounds, films are more exciting and can be used to determine a genre.

Sound is something quite special, impactful, and adds layers of elements and complexity to a film. As with the progression of the movie making medium, sound has grown and changed drastically over the decades. However, sound cues in the form of effects, dialogue, and everything in between, shapes our perceptions of a scene and movie.

The beginning shots of the movie are of an African American man walking alone at night through a suburb while talking on the phone. The audience can hear the external sounds that are associated with night-time. As the man walks the neighborhood is quiet, you can only hear the ambient sounds crickets chirping and the sounds of him talking and breathing. Peele combines sound effects and dialogue initially here to start to develop the scene and provide realism. The quietness demonstrated through these sounds in the scene creates an eerie tone. Peele creates

Along with background music, sound effects play more of a role on the way we feel than many moviegoers think, and "although the function of sound effects is primarily atmospheric, they can also be precise sources of meaning in film" (Giannetti, 225). When the

Run Lola Run is a film not based in a particular place or country, more of a cityscape, although some audience members may recognize the scenes as ones representing Berlin, Germany. Throughout the film Tom Tykwer the film's director, shows a wide variety of editing and camera techniques giving the film an alternative feel rather than a commercialised one. A few of Tykers many technques include close ups, establishing shots accompanied with a bird's eye view, flash backs, fast paced editing and to counter flashbacks the use of flash forwards.

During the early stages of Hollywood cinema, silent films have been the foundation of early filmmaking and film art. Exaggerated movements and facial expressions by the actors and the use of intertitles were important elements to make sure that the audience could understand the meaning of the plot without the use of sound. Films soon started to incorporate live musical performances to create a sense of synchronized sound to enhance the quality of the film. However, there was not any dialogue between the characters within the film. Filmmakers all over the globe experimented with the development of synchronized sound.

Sound and editing are quite possible the two stand-out aspects of all Edgar Wright’s films. The two go side-by-side and are an essential aspect of delivering a satisfying experience in modern day cinema. Wright’s films push the boundaries of what someone would consider the standard function of these two elements. Edgar Wright is one of the only people working in the visual comedy genre using a full range of what is possible and because of that, he can find humour in places that other people don’t look. Wright directs his scenes with a method that referred to as entering a scene later and leaving it early. He does this by using his trademark close up montages. These montages take a scene that would normally be up to 30 seconds long and reduces it to 3. It also falls into his style of visual comedy, taking mundane tasks and extenuating them with quick cuts. Another efficient way Wright tells his stories is with the clever use of background action. Instead of blankly exposition, he lets the visuals tell the audience everything they need to know. In Shaun of the Dead, there’s a scene where Shaun is going to the convenience store and is completely oblivious to the zombie apocalypse. He ignores people running for their lives, doesn’t look at red hand prints on the cooler doors and even slips on blood without even noticing. Nobody has to say anything. That’s because Wright trusts that his audience is smart enough to pick up on visual cues. Wright is also big on repeated dialogue

Another example of diegetic sound used to create a tense atmosphere is when Andy first arrives to prison. We hear the inmates’ voices, whistling, screaming and banging the gates. This makes them seem mean and the scene tense and makes the viewer think that Andy has arrived to a dangerous and horrible place and that he could be in danger there. These sounds make us feel anxious for him about his new home because the inmates seem intense and mean.

The music throughout the trailer emphasizes conflict. In the opening 25 seconds, there is no music or background sounds, only the use of light and dialogue. A deep synthesizer beat occurs after Edison is introduced as “The Inventor.” This goes on for 30 seconds as the trailer gets setup, characters are introduced but no conflict has yet been given. This beat captures the viewer's interest, building suspense having the viewers wonder what conflict is coming and what is the main story for the film. The beat picks up as the conflict between Edison and Westinghouse for the next 20 seconds until Westinghouse is asked by a child if he is rich, in which he responds “At the moment” and the beat disappears suddenly, into a fast paced war snare drum beat with an orchestral string instrumental behind it. This adds to the tension and risk that both the inventor and businessman are taking to beat the other. The viewer is grabbed by the sound of the snare as the tension rises and the

Another aspect of sound in this film was how it affected the story. By using sound dramatically in certain parts and not using it at all in other parts, sound gave this story an entity of its own. For example, during long stretches of film with mostly dialogue, there was no music played in the background, only a phone ringing in the distance, or the men's voices during their deliberation. These long silences also took place during editing shots of the town and images that surrounded this German city. This dramatic difference in sound was a revelation of how mood can be made by images and sound put together to make an incredible component.

The opening credit starts with a thunder sound which immediately get the audience’s attention. Then the electronic music starts to play with a lot of unusual noises along the visuals and at the end we hear “will bring you closer to god”. The opening soundtrack perfectly sets the mood for audiences that they will be introduced to dark and mysterious story. The music involved throughout the movie are dark tones that intensify the sense of thrilling for each scene. Moreover, the sound designs such as car sirens, trains, neighbors talking and etc. helps to create a theme for the movie. Best example of using sound design and music is the last scene when detective Mills found out that John Doe killed his wife and detective Somerset is trying to stop Mills before he kills John Doe. The intense music gets louder when get close to the final climax and the sound of the helicopter helps to make the scene more

There is a “tick-tock” sound throughout the background of this cue making it seem like time is running short and that something awful is about to happen. The vast differences between these two tracks prove Herrmann’s ability to compose music of various styles, which enables him to so effectively represent the characters and allow the viewer to feel that they themselves are present in that exact

The diverse environmental sounds allow the audience to recognize the difference of settings through out the movie.

For example, the film starts off with a black screen and a loud, high-pitch screeching sound of an airplane’s jets. Without any dialogue or visual information, the sound present in this scene is used to creatively establish the setting of an airplane landing. In comparison, when Hans and Theo are in the access control room while their download for robbery is complete, there is a sound effect synchronized to the bright light and wind behind Hans’ head. This specific sound effect generates the meaning of success for the antagonists. Following sound, music has a large impact on the film.