So to start off with week 7, we introduced some different types of sounds and techniques and how they can be combined to create meaningful and effective compositions:
1) physical: physical sounds follow the physicality, materiality, action, facts and event of the scene. This could create a comedic effect or be suitable for action sequences and drama as well. Physical sounds authenticate the scene, the environment, explain the narrative, plot, history, geography, space, location in which the action is taking place. Whenever we articulate the action and sync the visuals to the music in order convey the place and time (where and when in the world the scene is taking place) we create some effect called Mickey Mousing, as it was very popular in Walt Disney animations. The term comes in fact from early Walt Disney productions, such as the 1940 film Fantasia, in which music was only designed to completely mimic the animated motions of the characters.
In this case, this particular musical techniques was used for comedic and cartoonish effects, as most of the times the actions were not being mapped with realistic or diegetic sounds. Instead, they were synchronised by orchestral music, through which it was also possible to convey emotions: tempo, rhythm and melody not only mapped the action but also indicated whether the situation was joyous, funny, frighting, or full of suspense. In a particular scene of Fantasia (1940), Mickey Mouse is helping the sorcerer in his magical experiments, and when casting some spells, his gestures are accompanied by orchestral music (comedic and funny outcome emotions), that intensify when something goes wrong and there is a huge explosion (crescendo of music, high MSI and high pitch sounds that intensify always more). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VErKCq1IGIU&t=70s
This approach also reminds me of the Cinderella animation (1950): in a particular sequence, Cinderella's mice are trying to steal some food while Lucifer the cat is sleeping (the little footsteps of the mice are mapped by high pitch notes played on woodwind instruments https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6pu2zo1BMA&t=36s
However if used more creatively it can also be adapted to drama and action sequences, like the first James Bond film (1962) in the scene in which he tries to kill a tarantula he found in his bed. (this link) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF-3wgcDRk4
2) Structural: structural sounds can enhance the structure of a scene both on a micro and macro level, in order to modulate attention, or distract or completely abstract the viewer's attention from what is happening in the scene. This can also influence the way in which we get in and out of frame (for example J cuts in which the music of the first scene is cut off while the visuals of the first scene are still playing; and L cuts, the opposite of j cuts, in which the music of the first sequence continues playing while the visuals are cut off sooner, and the second sequence moves in).
2) psychological (delineate psychology of the character, more than authenticate environment, convey moods and vibes, makes us feel something)
STARTING POINTS TO CREATE SOUNDS:
- pbjects (find physical objects and subjects in the scene and map sound to them)
- actions (map and authenticate actions in the scene)
- environments (music describes environment
- emoitions (psychological)
- transitions (structural, transition progression between scenes, and actions gives momentum)
- global (somehing drops stg and that needs sound)
- non musical/synchronous
- musical/ synchronous (Warner Bros, action sequences soundtracks, anhorage f particular movements and actions, can be either soundscore and musicscore)
- musical and asynchronous (Eisenstein, when transition from silent to audio films, problem arouse in montage, ,so directors pushed to have asynchronous music pasted on images, and that didn't end up well). Unempathetic music to justappose comedic and violence together.
(Marvel sounds lock everything down so that everything is really clear. big budget big expectations).
REFERENCES:
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