Month: July 2015

Snow White: Analyzing Sound

According to the textbook, dialogue is defined as characters talking to one another in films. Sound effects are the sound of what just happened in the moment. For example, the sound of an explosion when you see a bomb go off in the scene. Music in a film is self-explanatory, although there are different types of music. One example of music would be score, which is what plays in the background of a scene while action is taking place (Goodykoontz and Jacobs, 2014).

I have chosen Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to discuss the types of sound. The way dialogue is used in my film is wen Snow White is talking with the animals’, dwarfs, and other characters. The score music playing in the background is classical music. To me it is the background music and then at times is also used as the sound effects of the animals’ movement.

The diegetic sound in the particular clip I watched was when Snow White and the birds were singing and talking. It is diegetic because it is the actual characters who are making the sound. The non-diegetic sound is when you hear the sound effects of the animals’ movement. It is non-diegetic because it is not the actual animals making the sound, it is classical music.

I think I would be able to infer that it is an animated film by the specific sounds because of how much classical music there is being used as score and also as sound effects.

I would say that all of the sounds in this movie are realistic and expected.

Without sound, the movie would be very hard to follow since the classical music in the background is used for sound effects quite a bit throughout the whole movie and also implies the mood of each scene.

References:

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Snow White (1937). A Smile and a Song. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQZ6zzLpoNQ

Facing the Giants: Lighting

The lighting used in the above scene for Facing the Giants is called high-key lighting. I believe they chose this type of lighting because it is a happy and light-hearted scene. You can see some shadows but only because they are outside with natural light. Natural light can be either sunlight or skylight.

The genre of this movie is drama and sport. Most sport movies use natural lighting since most sports are played outside. So the lighting technique chosen for this film was very well suited. There are other scenes where it is night time but they have the bright stadium lights shining on the field. To me, it makes the scene more intense.

The link above is a happy scene, and the are also playing a sport so I don’t think any other type of lighting would have fit well for this particular scene.

The lighting in the clip above changes from a natural dim light to a low-key light. It is a very intense scene which is what low-key lighting is used for so this was very well suited for this particular scene. You could see a distinct contrast of the lightest parts and darkest parts. You could also see the shadows very distinctly.

Intro to Film: The Lion King

Title: The Lion King

Writers: Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton

Directors: Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff

Year: 1994

Actors: Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Young Simba voice), Matthew Broderick (Adult Simba voice), James Earl Jones (Mufasa voice), Jeremy Irons (Scar voice), Niketa Calame (Young Nala voice), Moira Kelly (Adult Nala voice), Nathan Lane (Timon voice), Ernie Sabella (Pumbaa voice), and Rowan Atkinson (Zazu voice)

Story: The Lion King is 1994 film about a young lion cub who inherits the position of king after his father dies. The lion cub has been fooled by his evil uncle who made him think he killed his father who was king of the lions when really the uncle did it so he could take the seat as king. The lion cub ran away from home and grew up in the wild with other animals. He eventually decides to go back home and be king and help all of the other lions who had been suffering under the rule of the evil uncle lion.

Plot: The film starts out with Mufasa as King of the lions. Mufasa has a cub named Simba who is now the Prince and will one day inherit the position as king. Mufasa’s brother, Scar has always been jealous of him so he plans a way to get him killed so he can take over as king, but he tricks Simba into thinking he got his father killed. Simba runs away into the wild and ends up growing up with other animals. Meanwhile, King Scar has ruined the home of all the lions. He only gives the good food to his hyenas, and all of the lions are starving to death. Nala, Simba’s childhood female cub friend is off wondering in the Jungle for something to eat and ends up running into Simba. They didn’t recognize each other because they have both grown up into full grown lions. They reunite and she begs him to come home to fight Scar and take his rightful place as king. He eventually agrees and comes home to the sorrowful Pride Land. He ends up fighting Scar and defeating him. Simba seals his position as King and begins to restore their land.

Chronology: The Lion King is presented in chronological order. The way it was presented helped to show the growth of Simba through the seasons and how he physically and mentally grew into a mature, full grown lion who rightfully deserved to be king because he inherited through his bloodline but also because he was a good lion who would make a great leader.

If this film would have been presented non-linearly, it would have taken away from letting the audience see how Simba matures, and it kept you guessing on what he was going to do next, if he was really going to step up and come back to defeat Scar.

Resources:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110357/

Disney movie trailers. (1994) The Lion King official movie trailer. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juV7ZcmSBKY