“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.
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