Sound in Films

Parellel sound - music that matches what you see in the film

Contrapuntel sound - sound that opposes what you see in the film

Sound bridge - when the music from one scene carries on into the next

Ambient sound - sound that you expect to hear in a location e.g. traffic

Foley sound - everyday sounds that ate added to a certain clip

How is sound used to create tension in the 2Fast2Furious clip?

Use of parellel sound like up paced action music to create energy in certain monents. For example when all cars escape.

Use of ambient sound such as car engines and sirens to show the tension and excitement/energy in the scene (loud noises to create this). Engines starting show ignition and the start of the escape which is a signifier.

Contrapuntal sound when the sirens coming in and out of the scene and hearing them because the police want to gain/regain conteol of the sccene however the other cars engines over power the sirens and are heard instead of airens at certain points to show they are controlling this part of the film, however moments of sirens show polive trying to regain this control.

In the clip of 2fast2furious the director uses parellel sounds. For example up-paced drum and base music to create energy in certain sections if the scene, for example when the police chase the escaping cars into the alotment garages. However this music then stops when the cars dissapear and te police surround them to build on the tensuon and this is what silence does. It builds tension and allows the audience to reflect; it is almost used as a breather for the viewer. This silence is aconponied with the readying narrative and aounds of the police engines, helicopters, shouts and sitens to show their reinforcement and control over the situation of the cars being trapped in the building.

However this then changes when the music then starts uo again when the garages open and themusic fades in as other cars then approach the exits and rive out to show the igniotion of the escape as if it is showing the tension and the silence has led to this escape. The up paced music with teumpets etc. Then acompanies the mess and havok of the cars racing around and escaping as well as the loud car shift changing sounds to emohasise this energy; the use of shoft changing sounds being really liud is contrapuntal sound as normally we wouldnt be able to hear this, however it could be used to show the point of view of the driver and have more of an effect on the audience to make them feel energised and there as you would only be able to hear most of these small car nouses when deiving or in the car.

What Is the Purpose of Censorship?

What is the purpose of censorship?

Censorship is used within media to provide guidelines in media texts so the mass audience isn't provided with explicit content. This is why The Hays Code was introduced in the 1930's as motion picture producers etc realised the authority and trust they had on their shoulders. So they took the burden on their shoulders to recognise their responsibilities to their audiences and the public as their media took an affect on peoples life's and the way they were. This meant they decided what was allowed to be shown and what should be censored. This was because  they realised that some things were deemed to explicit to show. So for example in the 1920's you were not allowed to show scenes of misusing the american flag, white slavery, or using words such as "Christ". However now this is all considered okay. This is because over the years these have slowly been taken in by the public through media allowing the use and them unconsciously becoming used to whatever is being displayed. As what they're displayed they feel is correct and okay. This then makes us ask what should and shouldn't be censored and where can we draw the line. As well as this it makes us ask the question as to who should be allowed to choose what is censored and have this power to choose what is theoretically right or wrong in society and shouldn't be consumed by the public.

As well as this music videos currently are a great example of why media is censored. We have people like Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears and many others that use explicit content in their music videos. They have even gone to the extent of on some videos adding an age certificate to stop people below that age watching such videos. This is because music videos are normally meant to be okay with all ages and entertainment for all ages to watch. However in modern day we have women walking around naked and singers using harmful words in their songs meaning it has to be censored as usually these videos would be aired in daytime. These music videos are now censored to stop certain ages from watching some of the aspects in their videos and conforming to them and copying their ways of these bad habits and picking them up.

This then links in to watershed and the reason of it. The UK watershed is 21:00. The reason we have this is because usually kids from a young age go to sleep before 21:00 meaning after that time programmes on television can air content with more adult and explicit content. The reason for this is because kids cant be provided with programmes using language and scenes of explicit ideas otherwise they will get the wrong idea and use these ideas in their life and think it is acceptable to do or say what they are. This is why there is a watershed to stop them from seeing such things as adults are more mature and can handle themselves as well as realising what is right and wrong in society.

How does it suggest we are a passive audience?

This can suggest that we as an audience are passive because we are unconsciously falling to these subliminal messages being sent by television, film, and radio producers or directors etc. This is because when we are are shown something we don't realise it but we take note of what we have seen and categorise it in our head. So when we hear explicit language constantly used everywhere we start to think this is acceptable without consciously thinking it or engaging with the media. This is because we become used to things and eventually conform or copy what we see or hear, whether we intentionally engage with it or not. The reason we are a passive audience is because we are just so stubborn to our senses are tend to ignore the bigger situation. As we realise something is either being sent to us a message yet we just take it in and go along with media instead of asking question of why is this not allowed to be shown and even if there was something horrible shown we would't complain as eventually it would be shown more and eventually we would become used to it as passively we are becoming used to it and not really knowing what is right or wrong as its just what the media has portrayed to us, instead of our own thoughts as we are constantly being led by the media and injected with their opinions instead of our own.

How far do you agree with the comment that mass audiences are still passive recipients of media texts?

In media there are primary, secondary and tertiary ways of taking in the media. However the question is to what extent do we conform to each of those three categories; as in which out of primary, secondary and tertiary ways of taking in information do we as the audience use the most.

Passively is in the tertiary section where we are aware it is there yet we are not engaging with it or meaning to read, listen or take any of what it is in. This is known as passive; the sending of subliminal messages or ideas unconsciously without you actually knowing of it. In media this is commonly used to send across messages either to persuade in advertisement or get a message across to someones target audience. One way of showing this is that what you may see on television you may not take note of, say you hear something on the programme like a word, yet you don't take note of it. However you then end up using the word in the future. This is a sign of conforming to taking in information passively. This links in to sensory in media. As years ago directors and companies were scared of displaying footage like the ridicule of religion or showing the leg above knee as they thought it would provoke their audiences to do the same and act in such a way. Therefore they didn't want to risk it by showing explicit footage considered at the time. This is known as censoring. This is constantly used throughout media to stop certain scenes or explicit images being displayed as people would get used to it and passively conform to it until they do the same and act the same and eventually see nothing wrong with anything. This is because we are constantly being injected with the medias opinions and ideas whether it is intentionally or passively taken in. We are constantly taking in information whether it is positive or negative, therefore affecting our own thoughts and opinions on certain subjects in life which then affect us as a person: our characteristics, personality, clothing, likes, dislikes and just us a whole.

Personally I think that the mass audience does conform to taking in media texts passively. Although I think that is to an extent. I think that people chose what they want to watch, read, see and listen to; however I feel that the media only give us certain categories or genres to chose from. As if they have set us a bunch of characters and personalities to act like and we are only choosing a certain stereotype to be rather than being an original. So therefore I think we do passively take in all these ideas and opinions that the media send to us but we do have some leeway in it to an extent. However the main reason we take it in passively is just because media is everywhere and virtually impossible to escape so we have no other choice but to take in the information whether it is intentionally or not.

Signs Around School

When I looked around school I realised that many signs used the same instructing language. For example they use language like "What did you learn today" and "Success is an Attitude". Short blunt sentences like this stand out and catch passers attention. Also the fact that these signs are based in a school suggest they are ained mainly at school children and partly teachers. This proves that the reason the phrases are short and to the point because they realise to get their point across it has to be short and simple to stick in the viewers head. Overall the messages around school are conveying questions and statements that suggest a productive learning as well to motivate and wuestion the way you are. This is obviously to help with learning and subconsciously slip questions in to their heads to ask themselves about their attitude, learning and state of mind. This could also link into passive learning a way of subliminally sending messages across.

Links In Key Concepts

This lesson we then looking deep into each of the key concepts in our learning of media, we then reviewed how each of these in fact linked in to one another and how everything in media is linked together.

Everything overall boils down in my opinion to representation as everything in media is just someone re-presentation of something e.g. characters, props, scenes, scenery, emotion, genre, stereotypes etc. Are all chosen in a certain way to be re-presented by either a director, producer or someone to portray a certain message or image to their  audience. This is because different people and genres, films, extracts etc. have different target audiences due to peoples likes and dislikes and what they find entertaining. Therefore this is not only up to the director or whoever chooses this representation but also up to the audience and how they chose to interpret the piece of work. This means everything in media is in a constant flux and constantly linked and changing. Whether its semiotics, binary opposites, representation, genre, narrative, editing or anything else.

Terror In the Night & Change In Narrrative

In this lesson we made our own storyboard and explored transitions used and timing in narration. Therefore we made our own storyboard based on a horror genre with a title called "Terror In the Night" we then came up with the following storyboard below. We then had to chose what transitions we wanted in between each scene.

Different transitions, for example:

- dissolve

- fade

- zoom

- jump cut

- straight cut

- fade to white/black

- flip and many more

As well as this we then had to decide on the timings of how long we wanted a certain scene to be displayed for. This allowed me to explore the idea and the effects these two aspects have on the narrative and therefore the viewers. I then realised that the longer you keep something on screen the more emphasised it become and the short bursts of something can speed up the narrative and give it a more thriller or horror type feel. This led me to realise that a lot of factors affect the narrative and how the timing and transitions are two of them.

Using these storyboards we then had to look at changing the order of events in our storyboards to see the effects it would have on the narrative and anything else. We then moved the middle scenes to beginning which played on the narrative and how the audience therefore saw the story. This is because narrative effects the story and how it is portrayed. By doing this I realised that we were using Todarov's theory of narrative and how if we put the end at the start we therefore have to explain how we got to such a conclusion and this creates a loop. I then also played around with the scenes by moving the scariest moment of them of the close up face.

I then realised this removed all chances of the short story being remotely scary and in fact changed the genre completely. This then suggested to me how much the narrative and editing could effect things and not just the structure and how the story is portrayed but actually the entire film or story and its genre.

SHIELD Analysis

Camera Angles:

• pan camera
• mid shot
• close up
• low angle
• high angle
• mid shot
• extreme close up
• birds eye view of city - establishing shot

Mise-en scene:

• black suits - smart makes the people more formal and seem more powerful
• black/dark surroundings implies the scenery at the time is dark or evil
• vehicles and lot of machinery makes it come across more sci-fi and fantasy
• government in dark clothes and suits makes them seem evil
• red car, stands out and is surprising because the government man has it which is a change of attitude as he inst so black and white or evil as we first thought
• heroes are dressed casually which is ironic as they are subverting from their stereotypes of being smart, slick, confident and standing out

Semiotics

Semiotics is the study of sing systems which allows us to construct media texts to understand how means is being created.

TEXT - Rose - signifier
OBJECT - actual rose - signified

A sign is the smallest element of meaning. Signs will be grouped together top create larger units of meaning; these are called codes, which can be decoded or interpreted.

Re-combination of signs create a code - which can be understood usually through cultural or social contexts e.g. people wearing certain cultural identity.

The combination of dark hair, black make-up and nail polish, black clothes and fishnets (all signs) - we create a cultural code.

Like wise the word itself would act as a signifier of this image.

Denotation and Connotation:

denotation - what the sign denotes (the literal meaning of a sign)
connotation - what the sign connotes (the interpreted meaning of a sign or signs)

a rose denotes nature/flowers but context could connote growth, love or passion

polysemy refers to the capacity of all signs to be many signed (polysemic: i.e. to have more than one meaning)

A dictionary is a good place to discover this. The average number of meanings for a single word (or sign) in English is four or five.

Polysemy therefore also applies to the ideas that many signs will be 'iconic', 'symbolic' and 'indexical'.

More Key Concepts

Music expected from each genre:

Action - up paced and loud

Sci-Fi - futuristic and computer generated/synths

Horror - moody, dull, loud, quiet, eery and silence

Comedy - up beat and happy

Romance - quiet, violins, soft and calm

Children s Films - happy and cheery

Fantasy - dramatic and slow sometimes

Digetic sound - sound that happens naturally from the scene e.g. footsteps or a car beeping

Non-Digetic sound - sound that isnt usually in the scene or natural to it e.g. narration or music

Verisimilitude - making something look real or the appearance of it come across as real.

Most television shows use a lot of realism to add to their verisimilitude. This makes the show more realistic and more comfortable for the audience to agree with and relate to with their own situations.