Sound in movies

House of Flying Daggers

Alien

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Guardians of the Galaxy

Gladiator

Sherlock Holmes opening scene Sound Anaylsis

The sound in the opening scene gives a frantic impression to the whole scene. The gradual increase in pace of the soundtrack, this is a great use of non-diegetic sound because not only does it give a more and more frantic mood but also it gives a feel for the time period for the piano is of an older style to victorian era is implied. This time period is also emphasised through other sounds though it is diegetic sound such as the horse and carriage, these give of the sounds of moving to the horses trotting and the wheels going along the cobblestones. These sounds give the impression of the film being set in victorian era but they also relate another idea, that of an important mission.

The sounds that give this dangerous tone are mostly diegetic sounds. Firstly the inside of the carriage has two different sounds going on the loading and cocking of a shotgun and the spin of a magnum barrel. This sound shows the dangerous nature of the scene ( you don't go loading guns for a picnic). The next it sherlock's footsteps while he is running, rushing to whatever location that we cannot see yet, you also here is jump over a wall and landing showing how fast he needs to go that he can even spare 5-10 seconds to walk around. Next he breaks open the door showing the need for haste, this big sound is where the scene ends.

One notable mention of sound that adds to the scene is the crow. In my mind the crow is a foreboding image and sound, for crows are carrion birds so the presence of one/ or the sound of one hints at death/murder. Its just a bad omen really ( though if the bird is a raven then i don't know what to make of it)

Glossary:

Diegetic- This is sound whose source is visible on screen

Mise-en-scene for The Matrix

There is a lot you can talk about in this scene but a lot of what I could say is how amazing the film is but I will try to restrain myself and only describe the Mise-en-scene.

First off is Setting:
                              The setting is obviously a subway is the general answer.  The question is when where and what kind of subway well firstly its not a big station as there is only one track, its fairly run down, a lot of rubbish and relatively old every prop the rubbish the old phone booth all lead to the conclusion that this is a dark rundown station.  From the technology present and the style of clothing of both heroes and villains it hints at a late 1990's time setting.

its dark but a big open area to fight in. There is no one else around adding to its abandoned feeling and isolated feeling.

Next is the Lighting:

Now there are two major lighting effect one major one that anyone can realise and one far more subtle. Starting with the major one then is the subway lighting, it is dark this adds to the effect of seriousness of the scene and the run down nature of the setting. The other use of light is used to show the escape/ way out so it is much brighter representing a form of safety.

Now onto the minor lighting its not something a lot of people pick up on is a colour tint in the films.

Here inside the matrix there is a green tint to the scenes most likely because of the green machine code that is shown on all the screens that depict the matrix this is like a subliminal message that all this is still a virtual reality and in a sense is not real

Where as when there are scenes in the real world and the screen is tinted blue probably to offer a direct opposite to the green tint which helps highlight them more, also blue is a more calm and still colour showing a more calm world (even though the world can be very violent)

Costume and Make-up:

   The costumes also are two different sets one set in the real world and one in the Matrix. The real world clothes and loose fitting maybe even a bit ragged which shows how bad things have gotten in the future and how desperate they are, the raggedness of the clothing show how hard it is to get clothes and the loose fitting show the lack of food.

In the matrix however you can have whatever clothes you imagine for yourself so the agents wear these suits which gives the illusion of a unified force, organised and powerful. The free humans have a lot of similar clothing suits and long cloaks it gives them power as well but also a veil of mystery about them cause they all wear sun glasses to hide identities and give more power to the characters. These clothes also look very impressive whilst fighting with whirling clothes/coats.

Positioning and Space:

    The positioning and space in this scene is interesting just like any fight scene there is a big open area to fight in and to move about , their position at the start of the fight is very far away from each other in a stand off from each other to emphasise the showdown look to the fight. After this stare off the fight really begins and their positions are closer to each other (because there fighting). They keep the fight moving not really staying in the same place for very long, there are also jumps, throws, knock-backs and a lot of different camera angles.

Acting Expression and Body language:

As you might assume in a fight scene most of the facial expressions are angry or focused. Its hard to find variety or at least good variety in this sort of scene, even body language its hard to describe for most of its body language is based on the fighting and there stances. The scenes out of the matrix show a bit more but still they are very short and not much can be picked up. Im not trying to say that this scene is bad when it comes to expression and body language, in fact it is really good for it, it just does not have the biggest range in the world.

Job Role: The Cinematographer

The Cinematographer

A cinematographer is head of the camera crews in T.V, Film, or any other live action piece and is responsible for all technical and artistic decisions in any live action piece.

Skills:

-Knowing everything to do with the technical aspect of filming and photography such as lighting exposure etc.

-Having a good artistic eye for film and photography so being able set up good shot etc.

-Being knowledgeable with other filming equipment like film cameras, blue screen etc. and being able to set them up and operate them.

-Good problem solving skills to handle any problems coming up in production i.e. bad weather, equipment malfunctions changes in script, budget limitations.

Qualifications:

-     Bachelor’s Degree in film and cinema

-     Experience

-     Not essential but if you get a masters degree you can get into better work

Famous Cinematographers:

-Andrew Lesnie, head cinematographer for the Lord of The Rings trilogy, The Hobbit Trilogy, I am Legend and Rise of the Planet of the Apes

-Peter Pau, cinematographer for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Forbidden Kingdom and Shoot ‘Em Up

-Larry Fong Head of cinematographer for 300, Watchmen, Now you see Me, Super 8 and upcoming film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Jobe Role : Film Editor

The Film Editor

The job role:

A film editor is a mechanic of sorts who removes unneeded pieces of film, cuts bits out and sticks the rest of the film together to make a whole movie. It is the film editor’s jobs to work with cinematographers and Sound editors to get an end result that matches the director’s vision.

Skills:

-       Good knowledge of the film industry and movie production.

-       Ability to work alone and deal with at times dull/tedious work.

-       Knowledge of editing equipment.

-       The ability to remain calm in stressful situations

-       Good teamwork skills for you will need to work with the director, cinematographers, sound editors, music producers, etc.

Qualifications:

A Bachelor degree (hopefully in film and television, film studies or communications)

Then all experience preferably apprenticeships and or internships.

Apprenticeships help you get into the film industry due to the fact it is very rare to be a head editor straight out of education.

Famous Editors

-Thelma Schoonmaker Head editor for The Departed, Goodfellas, Hugo, The Aviator, Gangs of New York. Thelma was born January 3^rd 1940 and has won 3 Oscars for Best Film Editing.

-Michael Kahn, Head Editor in Lincoln, Munich, Saving Private Ryan, Schindlers List, Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark and Close Encounter of the Third Kind. Michael was born December 8^th 1935 and has won 3 Oscars for Best Film Editing.

-Arthur Schmidt, Head Editor for; Forrest Gump, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Back to the Future Trilogy, Cast Away and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Arthur was born June 17^th and has won 2 Oscars For Best Film Editing

Mise-en-scene

Film Language: Mise-en-scene

Definition:

Mise-en-scene is a French phrase, which means everything in the frame, so from all the different props to actors and what they are wearing, where they are stand even how they are standing. Everything in the frame needs to be considered.

Setting:

Setting can be summed up as simply as time and place. Obviously the place influences a lot so what will be in the background and the foreground it can also affect what props will be around and how the actors will be place. Time is a key factor because it helps with continuity; this also affects props, costumes etc. You must be careful when it comes to time and your props and such don’t set it in ancient Egypt and have someone in the scene wearing a watch (unless they are a time traveller then its probably ok).

Lighting:

There are three basic lighting positions; key position which is the main light to fall on the subject. Next is the Back light which lights subject from the rear as simple as that really. Finally is the fill light this is used to reduce shadow on the subject and increase the brightness. You can also use coloured light if you want to convey a certain mood with lighting or a number of other reasons.

Costume & make-up, hair:

Costume is essential for making the scene realistic, and the more realistic the better for it helps in he suspension of disbelief. So costume will need to match the time and place so jeans and a hoodie doesn’t make sense if it’s set with Genghis Khan and his horde of Mongolians (unless once again it’s a time traveller then its ok but which silly time traveller doesn’t dress to match the time he/she is going to). Make-up and hair are all part of costume but they also they help convey the feeling of the character and the state they are in.

Positioning and Space:

This is fairly simple to understand it’s the position of the actors in the shot and/or the position of props in the shot. This position can help convey a feeling of power or a sense of isolation. Space can mean the space in the foreground or background; you can use a background of deep space to either show where they are with a usually amazing cinematic shot. Then there is a having a much more close background shot to show maybe that there is a danger behind the characters or something of interest in the background.

Acting, expression & body language:

All of these things help convey the tone of the scene, helps in a power display or emotional display. All the best preparation, settings, lighting, costume and special effects in the world will not mean a thing if the acting is shoddy. The actors are the biggest part of the movies ability to suspend the disbelief so if you mess that up say goodbye to your movie.

Special Effects:

Special effects enhance the experience of the film these are needed to film stuff like fantasy environments, monsters or just scenes that would be impossible to film without effects. Practical effects are just as important for example Alien the 1979 movie used all practical effects and that movie still looked amazing the alien, the ship etc. Special effects are just as good especially where practical effects fall short.

Battleship Potemkin editing

This scene from Battleship Potemkin epitomises the cruelty of the whole part of the film. The solider are in positions of power obviously with guns but also on height levels on the top of the steps. Though its the editing we are focusing on showing the horror , soldiers stepping over bodies without thought then switches to a mother carrying a child up steps among bodies. Most of the shots are from a top down position so it sets up the audience as a sort of witness to these events , detaching connections to specific characters and focusing more on the whole thing.

this is the exception to the high angle shots in this scene. This was done to not only show the scene from this woman's perspective but to show the hopelessness of her cause with a line of soldiers ahead and bodies to either side.

This was edited to show just the legs and body to dehumanise the soldiers further and make the audience focus on the actions of the soldiers more and suspend the idea that they are as human as everyone else

this frame and the two before were one long shot panning with the woman walking a very long cut. This I would say was done in editing to emphasise her not only hopeless situation but still how the woman is still determined enough to get help for the child that she will walk right up to the soldiers.

this scene with the crowd is juxtaposed into the rest of the scene to show how scared everyone is, how bad its got and still this one woman is trying to get help from these soldiers.