Lesson #4 | Identifying Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Sounds

In our fourth lesson, we learnt about the three major types of sound: Dialogue, Sound Effects, and Music, as well as the functions of sound effects:

→ Impact on the Plot

- Change the Mood / Feeling of the Character

- Provide Contrast

- Shape Character’s Personality

- Define Location: eg. In a Jungle / Forest - Sound of Bees / Bugs

- Portray the Environment’s Impact on Characters: eg. Gunshots enhance the tension experienced by the characters, allowing us to understand their situation better.

→ Impact on the Movie (as a whole)

- Simulates Reality

- Helps Create a More Dramatic Effect

- Provide Better Sound Quality

Zhu Laoshi also taught us how filmmakers apply different components, such as onscreen and offscreen space, image mood and sound mood, objective and subjective sounds, as well as image time and sound time to either create contrast between sound and the imagery onscreen or to enhance the plot of the movie - for example, image time and sound time may differ during transitions between scenes in order to foreshadow what would happen next.

Afterwards, we each found a clip and identify the diegetic sounds (ones that can be heard by characters in the story) and non-diegetic sounds (those that come from outside the world of the story) in the clip. I chose to analyse the training scene of the Hunger Games movie (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGyQFdjCy6c). Here are the sounds that I identified:

DIEGETIC

Dialogue

Sound of Peeta Falling onto the Ground 

Weapons: Bow and Arrow

Sound of Training Machines

NON-DIEGETIC

Background Music (Drums)

We then worked on our group projects. Josephine is responsible for the dialogue of the clip, while Michelle and I are responsible for the sound effects. We are planning to finish the sound list as soon as possible so that we can begin emulating and recording sounds. We will also need to find people to help us out with recording the dialogue since all the characters in the clip are adult males. 

Lesson #3 | 1st Foley Experience

It was our third lesson and we have officially begun our journey as foley artists. Groups were reformed, and in our new groups, we practiced foley. My group - Josephine, Michelle and I, tried to simulate different sounds. We attempted to recreate the sound of rain hitting a tin roof by tapping on surfaces like the cover of the trash bin, tables, whiteboards, and door knobs, using either our fingers or push pins. Originally, we were going to try recreate the sound of running in high heels by attaching wood pieces to Michelle's shoes using blu-tack, however, the outcome was a bit different than expected and sounded more like a horse trotting. Ms. Zhu suggested to attach wooden pieces in the front of the bottom of the shoes as well for a more realistic effect.

Push Pins - Sound of Rain

Wooden Pieces on Shoe Bottoms - Sound of Horse Trotting

All the other groups produced impressive results. I remember the first group simulated the sound of sniper rifles by slapping a shoe against the ground and throwing coins. Another group achieved outstanding results as well - they recreated the sound of horse trotting using the volleyball net. 

We then watched a video about the sound production of the animation Wall-E and I was once again amused at the foley artists' creativity and the massive amount of work involved. Afterwards, we searched for clips for our foley project and my group decided on using a silent film. 

Today's activity and videos made me realise that there are so many items that can be used to create sound and I believe that the key to producing desirable sound is simply creativity. 

Lesson #2 | Movie: The Incredibles

“A truth whispered among animators is that 70% of a show's impact comes from the sound track.”

 –Michael Dougherty, 

scriptwriter of films like X-Men & Superman Returns

We began our second lesson of film with the movie The Incredibles. The sound effects were impressive: numerous elements were included - music, sound effects, dialogue and all these elements certainly enhanced the outcome of the movie. I remember in one of the parts, after Mr. Incredible returned to his superhero job (35:30 - 36:40), joyful, lively music was playing in the background, which reveals the fact that he enjoys this job and his excitement for future adventures. At 22:32, when Mirage (the lady with silver hair) glimpsed at Mr. Incredibles as he walked out, the background music sounded mysterious, allowing Mirage to appear suspicious and foreshadows how she will eventually be influencing him in some way. At 1:15:52, there was a moment of silence and Dash said "I'm alive" after being chased by the spaceship-like vehicles - which brings the audience relief and helps create a better effect afterwards as right after that moment, the sounds of the "spaceships" suddenly resumed, immediately provoking the audience's fear. The sound effects of the weapons and superpowers throughout the film were very realistic. For example, when Dash runs, the speed of the music accelerates to show that he is running at a very high speed. 

After the movie, we learnt about how the sound effects in films are produced using a technique called foley - the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements during post-production. With foley, everyday sound effects are reproduced / simulated using unexpected objects, then added to films to achieve the desired sound and enhance the quality of the audio. This is the first time I've heard about foley, and I certainly did not expect there to be so much work involved in order to create sounds. Knowing about this process has increased my appreciation for sounds in films and admiration for sound designers / editors. Foley seems to be a very interesting process and I can't wait to create our own soundtrack soon.

Lesson #1 | The Sound of a Story

1. How was sound used to manipulate the audience?

The absence of visual images allows the audience to visualise scenarios that match with the sound of the clip, manipulating our imagination. For example, in the film clip shown in class, the sound of chickens squawking immediately gives audience the idea that the film is set in a farm. Other than that, I think that sound can also manipulate our emotions and produce physical responses in us - they can heighten the panic and terror in the film and give us palpitations; they can induce sorrow and give us tears.

2. What does sound bring to the film story? What elements were in the film clip shown today?

Sound can help create an atmosphere / mood for the film story as it can convey emotions and can effectively capture the audience’s attention. As an example, in Ms. Zhang’s documentary of the Irish couple, most of the time the audio is filled by concrete sounds, dialogue or simply silence, creating a melancholy and gloomy atmosphere. Sound can also make a film more realistic and interesting. Dialogue and different sound effects / concrete sounds were applied to the film clips shown today and provided information about the scenario - a door slam delivers the image of someone entering a place, clock ticks suggests that time is passing by, while words like “detergent” instantly provides us with a clear idea of the film being set in the laundry room. Without sound, film clips would appear to be dull, confusing, and unrealistic.