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Thursday: Sound and midterm review

Mid-term next Tuesday --review in sections

Sound Technology and

Sound and Film

Sound with Picture

Is sound secondary or supportive to vision in cinema? It is less consciously perceived--yet it is a very powerful factor.

Our ears do a great deal of selective filtering. So sound in cinema must be consciously controlled: recorded, edited and mixed in a very intentional manner.

Functions of Sound Another register of experience: complexity. Affecting how we experience what we see. Structuring or extend cinematic space. Strengthen continuity, smoothing over edits. As a cue—associated with a character, etc. Information (voice, but also effects, ambient) Spatial or temporal orientation (location, environment,

time of day, historical period) Predictive (warning; off-screen or imminent) Conveying mood or character’s emotions Setting the pace of scene

Sound Stems

1. Sound effects2. Voice3. Music4. Ambient sound(5.) Silence

The Conversation, by Francis Ford Coppola, 1974 Sound and space

The Graduate, Mike Nichols, 1961

M, Fritz Lang, 1931.

Selective use of sound and silence

Sound and the Story

DIEGETIC = from the world of the film: voices of characters, sounds made by objects in the story, music represented as coming from instruments in the story space ( = source music). May be on screen or off screen

INTERNAL DIAGETIC = thoughts of characters on screen

Non-Diegetic = outside of the film: narrator's commentary, sound effects which is added for the dramatic effect, mood music

Playtime, Jacques Tati,1967

Perception/confusion and the representation of sound

Foley effects

Playing with relationship of Sound to Image

Delicatessen, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, 1991

Rhythm and Motion

Hiroshima Mon Amour, Alain Resnais,1959, 86 min. Modern use of sound

Daughters of the Dust, Julie Dash, 1991 Narration of unborn child Dialogue spoken in the Gullah language

Qualities of Sound

Volume Pitch Timbre Rhythm Fidelity between sound and image

Frequency and Amplitude

Slow moving wave - low frequency, low pitch

Fast moving wave - high frequency, high pitch

Wave with great disturbance of molecules - greater volume

Altman The Material Heterogeneity of Recorded Sound (its complex make up)

Altman and SoundSound is vibration in a medium over time. Most of what we call sounds are complex events of

multiple sounds

The sound envelope Attack Sustain Decay

What is / where is the medium?

Altman and Sound

Since sound reception differs from moment of sound production, sounds is necessarily spatial nature.

Variables: space, distance, directionality, reverberance

Moment of creating sound (carries spatial signature) Moment of recording sound (technical stamp) Moment of playing sound (amplifying / reproducing) Moment(s) of reception (subjectivity, cocktail party effect)

Altman (cont.)

Altman discusses the difference between audio as representation vs. reproduction

Representations are never reproductions: they are always symbols and things in themselves

Becoming more conscious of the resonance between the two

We are already extremely attuned to this difference and this is central to communication

Altman (cont.)

Communication is about patterning (signal and noise, modulation, difference and sameness, identity and difference)

You already are, if unconsciously, extremely engaged and attuned to subtle variations in sound and the ambiguity between representation and materiality—this is fundamental to communication. By becoming more conscious of this—more reflexive— you can be productive in new ways.

Types of Audio Recording Equipment

Analog

Digital

Audio Recording Techniques

Boom or Lavaliere

Audio Recording Choices

Digital or analog Pick up pattern for microphone Type of microphone / transducer Stereo, mono Multi-channel recording Field or studio

Microphone Choices Hand held, Boom, Lavaliere Mic, Pick up pattern for microphone: Directional /

cardiod Super-cardioid or shotgun Omni-directional Type of microphone / transducer: condenser

or dynamic Stereo, mono Field or studio

Microphones

Directionality / Pick up pattern: Omni, Uni, Cardiod, Hyper cardiod, shotgun

Microphones

Transducer: Convert molecular Convert molecular disturbances into electrical energy.disturbances into electrical energy.

Dynamic Mic Magnet and coil of wire converts sound

waves into electrical energy.

Rugged, can tolerate high temperature changes and humidity.

Condenser Microphone Requires battery or Requires battery or

power from external power from external source.source.

Two plates with Two plates with voltage between voltage between them. them.

One plate acts like a One plate acts like a diaphragm, vibrates diaphragm, vibrates thus changing the thus changing the voltage.voltage.

Condenser Microphone Output audio signal is weak - requires amplificationOutput audio signal is weak - requires amplification Power can come from a battery or through the cable Power can come from a battery or through the cable

= Phantom Power= Phantom Power Can be very small - lavaliere microphonesCan be very small - lavaliere microphones Sensitive to high and low frequency soundsSensitive to high and low frequency sounds