House of Flying Daggers: Sound

Opening Sequence

(00:00:00 – 00:07:12

A non-diegetic composed score plays over the opening titles to set the tone of traditional Chinese mythology for the rest of the movie. The score is comprised of whistling bamboo flutes and other such traditional Chinese instruments. These traditional instruments allow immediate immersion in the world of the film and the wuxia genre. The score comes to a head when the title is seen on screen, signifying the importance of the title to the movie.

Diegetic weaponry sounds start off high in the mix in the first shot in order to show the importance of the items to the characters on screen before they go off on their patrol of the area. The sound of the patrol lowers in the mix when the dialogue picks up between Leo an Wind. This focuses the attention of the audience on to the words being said as their is little else for them to hear. We can, however, still faintly hear the sound of the patrol on their march in the background. This keeps the patrol in the back of our minds and establishes the militant nature of the police as a key element of the film.

Jin and Leo are  distinguished by the diegetic sounds that accompany them when they first appear on screen. The sound of Jin drinking tea is high in the mix when we first see him. This brings to mind feelings of comfort and relaxation. We feel like Jin is an alright person as he appears to be laid back and relaxed and not particularly violent. In contrast to this Leo is introduced along with the sound of him cleaning his sword. This is representative of the differences between the two characters with Jin being lazy and laid back whilst Leo is uptight and spends too much time on his work.

When Mei is walking into the room her head wear tinkles with every step drawing the attention of the audience and showing that she will be significant over the next few moments. the sound is juxtaposed by the sound of the other girls in the scene. It sounds calm and light whereas when the other girls were on screen the air was filled with laughs and shrieks. The sound has connotations of wealth and power. This hints at the fact that Mei is pretending to be the daughter of the old leader of the Flying Daggers who would have held a lot of power over the organisation and so by extension their daughter will have almost definitely been treated specially.

The sword hitting Mei’s face is an example of a diegetic stab. It shows to us the threatening nature of Jin and makes us worry for the safety of Mei. Jin is shown in a bad light in this scene as he takes advantage of a girl he believes to be blind by pressing his sword against her. This reflects the patriarchal society that these people live in and shows that women are seen as objects by a number of men. The stab is followed by  a number of heavy breaths to show the fear that Mei currently feels and it makes the audience feel for her in her current situation.

Echo Game

(00:10:33 – 00:19:22)

A crowd forms to see the echo game play out, the diegetic sound of the exited audience members can be heard as they chatter and clomp about the set. This shows the excitement brought about by the echo game and shows to us that it is a spectacle that people enjoy watching. The sudden silence that falls over the crowd when the game begins shows the concentration that the game requires building our anticipation as we wait to see what the game contains.

When the beans are being thrown at Mei the diegetic sound of them soaring through the air is greatly exaggerated in order to highlight the beans to the audience and to allow the audience to realise what the game is. It also shows to us that the bean is the centre of mei’s attention. She has shut off all other sounds, no matter how small, and is focussing entirely on the bean. When the bean hits its target a digetic call and response from the drummers engages the viewers and raises the tension in the scene as they become more elaborate with the difficulty of the game.

The diegetic sound of Mei drawing a sword from its scabbard is high in the mix and serves to emphasise the danger that the sword poses. The sword emits a ring that seems unnatural and ethereal in order to reinforce the themes of myth and legend that the film has been setting up. The whistle of the sword slicing through the air makes the sharpness of the blade more apparent and it emphasises how close the blade was to striking Leo and ending the fight before it had even really begun.

Leo stands up to face Mei and to begin the sword fight that the scene is building up to. When he stands up a number of diegetic screams can be heard from the crowd to emphasise the danger of the scene and the fear felt by the on lookers as they worry they will be caught up in the fighter. High in the mix during the fight between Leo an Mei is the sound of the two’s heavy breathing and grunts of exertion as they test each others reach and flexibility. This shows the amount of work the two of them are outing into the fight and that they are determined to win the fight.

A non-diegetic composed score plays over the fight to show Mei as being a good, heroic character who the audience should be rooting for. The music shows that she is willing o fight for what she believes in as she knows herself to be right without a shadow of a doubt. The score is also traditionally Chinese to reinforce the wuxia genre of the film. When Mei and Leo move through the chains dangling form the ceiling, the sound of the chains connecting grows in the mix and drowns out the non-diegetic score. This shows that even if Mei is good and true, in the real world that doesn’t matter and that she can still lose the fight to her enemy.

Bamboo Sequence

(01:03:03 – 01:10:20)

Diegetic sounds of the environment can be heard before Mei is attacked in the forest. The sounds connote peace and the calmness that it brings with it. This contrasts with the whistle of the soldiers bamboo spears as they fly towards Mei and miss her by inches. The sound of Mei’s scream as she is thrown into the air is a disturbing sound as it lets us see the terror in her mind as she is pulled of the solid ground and thrown into the environment that the soldiers chose to fight her.

The sounds of this fight contrast with the sounds of the fight at the pavilion previously, using more natural sounds that reference the surroundings and other nature-y stuff. The mix is full of bamboo whistling through the air to represent the forest and the danger that Mei has been placed in by entering the forest and found by the soldiers. This is a traditional technique used by Chinese filmmakers that reflect old paintings that explored the four seasons. By having all the fight scenes using a totally different sound track each fight is different enough that the film is reminiscent of one of these paintings.

The sound perspective of the scene is from Mei’s point of view. This places the audience in Mei’s shoes and makes them experience the same feelings of terror that she is. The diegetic sound of her heavy breathing and grunting show that she is becoming tired and beginning to fail in the fight as she starts to lose to the soldiers. The sound of the fight is exaggerated in the mix to make it seem like Mei is surrounded by the fight and that there is no way she could escape the fight.

When Jin returns to Mei’s side, a non-diegetic choral score plays to establish Jin as noble once again and to assure the viewers that the hero of the film has returned in time to save Mei. The score reflects Mei’s mood as she is overjoyed to see that he has come back to her and that they stand a chance of winning this fight now.The score is higher in the mix than the diegetic fighting. this is representative of the fact that Mei is more interested in the return of Jin than the fight for her life she is currently engaged in.

When Mei activates the trip wire, diegetic sounds of bamboo spikes being lifted up fill the mix. This sound echos in the mix to really embed it in the mind of the audience. the loud stabs of sound help to show the shock felt by Mei and Jin as they realise that they were nearly defeated. As they continue to flee the non-diegetic score shows the protagonists believe that they might well have been defeated and that they are running because they refuse to give in.

 

 

 

 

 

Pan’s Labyrinth: Sound

Opening scene

(00:00:00 – 00:05:52)

The films credits begin in complete silence, this builds tension as we wait to hear what the first part of this movie will be. Ophelia’s breath rises in the mix from the eerie silence and begin the anticipation of the first image on the screen as we are still met with blackness. Non-diegetic humming begins to rise as well as the scene begins to build up. The humming is placed right at the start of the film so that we notice it whenever it is re-used throughout the film.

Non-diegetic narration rises to tell us a little backstory and give us a early glimpse of the workings inside Ofelia’s head. The narration follows the tradition of fairy tales which often start with “once upon a time” or something similar. The film begins with “A long time ago” and continues to deliver a small amount of exposition that gets the film going.

The narration plays host to a non-diegetic composed score that forms from the original humming. The tune becomes largely choral giving it the feel of something other worldly and supernatural.

Once the narration is done we catch are first proper glimpse of Ofelia and Carmen. The non-diegetic score fades away leaving the diegetic dialogue and car noises alone for us to focus on. This smooth transition lets us realize that we are back in the real world and that this is where the story really begins.

Ofelia makes her way away from the convoy of troops and as she does the diegetic sound of the soldiers and her mother fades away as Ofelia stops being interested in what they are doing and more involved in her own thoughts. This is mirrored later on when Carmen approaches Ofelia an the diegetic noises rise in the mic as she is pulled out of her thoughts and back into the real world and into a car.

When Ofelia finds a statue carved to look like a grotesque face a non-diegetic cello rises in the mix. This instrument gives the scene a darker and more mysterious vibe as it seems to become more dangerous and when the insect jumps out of it the non-digetic sound stops completely. The only sounds left are Ofelia’s breath and the sudden sound of the insects wings as it flies out of a hole in the statues face.

A sound bridge is formed between the next two shots. One of the convoy and another at the camp. This shot introduces us to Vidal. Before we see anything to do with Vidal we hear the ticking of his pocket watch that he is holding in his open hand. This introduces us to the idea that time is important to the Captain and that it controls his life as it controls the edit between this shot and the previous.

First Bed Time Sequence

(00:11:14 – 00:17:52)

The floors in Ofelia and Carmen’s bedroom creek loudly to emphasize the discomfort felt by Ofelia in her current situation. The sounds of the Captain’s world scar Ofelia right from the start. This could hint at the fear that Ofelia will feel later in the film and it sets the tone for Vidal’s story. What is frightening in this, the real world, is not some great big toad or a cannibalistic heliophobiac but the real life things that happen each and every day.

Crickets can be heard gently in the background to emphasize the time and show it to be dark without needing to look outside. This background dietetic noise helps to build set the scene for the following events as we don’t need to have an extra shot and throw off the pacing of the movie.

A sound bridge is used to smoothly transfer from a shot of Ofelia talking to a shot of what Ofelia is imagining. This non-diegetic score allows to tie her story into both the fantasy world of fauns and Pale men that she is currently dreaming up and the real world with the war and the brutality.

The idea of narration is revisited in a slightly different manner as Ofelia tells the story to her unborn brother. Her diegetic voice is heard over several different visuals that show the reason why the Spanish don’t take their freedom back. This sequence allows for narration to explain more of the events in the real world but uses the style of the imagiwnary one and pretends to be about it in order to do so.

This narration is accompanied by a non-diegetic composed score that gives the tale a certain melancholic feel as Ofelia explains why people accept repression in the best way she can. This score helps us to realize that Ofelia probably knows more about this subject than we would assume and that she is much more mature than she looks.

When the Captain speaks with the Doctor up in is chambers we can hear the same faint diegetic sound of crickets chirping away in the background. This same noise was used for the scene with Ofelia and Carmen in bed and so it provides us with a bit if a false sense of security. This natural sound and the fact that it is associated with the protagonist not moments earlier makes Vidal’s actions in the next few moments even more shocking.

When Vidal walk out to deal with the farmers we hear the low diegetic heavy breathing of one of the farmers. This heavy breathing creates tension within this scene as it is one f the loudest sounds in the mix. This sound shows the fear that the young farmer feels when faced with the captain and makes us anticipate what will happen next as we worry for the safety of the two farmers.

The Captain lifts up a large glass bottle from the farmers bag during their interrogation, when he does so we can hear the diegetic sound of liquid inside the bottle. This gives the effect of making the bottle seem heavy and making Vidal’s actions in the next few moments even worse as we see that the impact on the farmers face is equivalent to that off solid glass. The fact that the sound of the liquid is so high in the mix emphasises its importance to the next few scenes.

Shaving Sequence

(00:24:36 – 00:26:13)

Diegetic patriotic music is played from a gramophone during this scene. It is loud and bright creating a more happy tone for this scene than we have had so far. This music contrasts with Vidal throughout the film as he is always cold and calculating in almost every scene he’s in. The effect of the music being patriotic serves to emphasize Vidal’s patriotism and remind us of his motivations.

As the cut-throat razor connects with the surrounding objects we hear a distinct metallic clink noise. This Foley effect emphasises the danger of the razor and this in-turn the danger of the captain. This also shows the care that the Captain is putting into shaving and as this is a more trivial task, we realise the amount of effort he must put into the actions he takes when doing important things.

The music from the gramophone bridges over a number of shots to show that these scenes all take place in the same few moments but not one after the other. This also shows that since the shots do not occur one after the other that the Captain has time on his hands to shave and is not being pressed by anyone to get on with the actual task ahead of him.

Vidal’s diegetic boot polishing is louder in the mix than would be deemed strictly necessary. The exaggeration of the scrubbing serves to create a loud harsh noise that drowns out the patriotic music that can still be heard faintly in the background. The fact that this rough sound makes the happy sound inaudible is representative of the way that the fascist system is resenting itself to the people and the way it actually treats them.

We are introduced to another world beneath the house when Mercedes descends into the kitchen and the servants quarters. As Mercedes walks into the kitchen the diegetic sound of the servants doing their serving becomes louder and the Captain doing his things lowers in the mix. The two layers of sound contrast with each other as one, Vidal’s, is an awful lot calmer than another, Mercedes’.

Fig Tree Sequence

(00:30:50 – 00:38:18)

Vidal and his forces begin their journey on horseback. The diegetic sound of horse hooves filling the scene gives the fascist a sense of danger as they dominate the mix with their audio.

The non-diegetic composed score for the sequence of shots that feature Ofelia walking through the forest and Vidal galloping to the rebels changes based on what shot it is showing and what tone it wants the scene to have. On the shots starring Ofelia the score is lighter and faster, conveying the curiosity felt by a little girl in the big forest. But when the fascists are on screen the score is much more threatening and violent. This is done in such a way to force a comparison between the two story lines. The light music makes the threatening music more threatening and the threatening music makes the lighter music lighter. This has an impact on the audience as they see the world to be more sinister/light because of it.

When Ofelia comes across the fig tree the camera cuts to a shot of the stones in her hands. We hear the diegetic sound of the stones connecting in an exaggerated manner. The exaggeration of this Foley effect highlights the importance of the stones to the next few moments and makes sure that we are focusing on them.

A new score begins to play when Ofelia approaches the entrance of the fig tree. Its dark and mysterious and has the effect of creating tension as the viewers wait to see what is through the hole. This score then fades out along with all other non-diegetic sounds leaving Ofelia alone in the mix and allowing the audience to focus on the action on screen.

The Captain shouts to the rebels when he fails to find them. We cut to a variety of distances and yet can always hear Vidal. This combined with the echo of his voice shows off the power that the Captain commands as his voice alone can fill a valley.

Diegetic sounds of insects crawling around the inside of the tree can be heard when Ofelia is making her way through the cavern that leads to the toad. This has the effect of making the audience recoil fro the scene as the unpleasant sounds surround Ofelia an makes the environment even more horrible. The noises are high in the mix. This serves to draw attention to the insects in the same way that was used for the stones a few moments prior and make sure the audience is aware they will be important to the plot later.

As Ofelia exits the entrance of the tree we can hear the distant rumble of thunder. This sound begins the scenes allowance for the diegetic weather noises to dominate the mix. This also brings the change in environment to the forefront of peoples mind. When Ofelia picks up her dress the action is accompanied by a crack of thunder. The dress is ruined and the diegetic sounds of thunder and rain are pathetic fallacy to show it.

The Pale Man Sequence

(00:55:21 – 01:02:19)

When Ofelia is readying to enter the lair of the Pale Man certain item’s diegetic noise are raised in the mix and emphasised to show to the viewers what will be important over the next few minutes. The book’s pages being turned is louder than in previous sequences and the sound of the chalk against the wall is also emphasised in the mix

When Ofelia opens her freshly created stone doorway into the Pale Man’s lair we hear the diegetic sound of stone scrapping against stone. This is the first sound that could be said to come from the lair and is emphasised to show that this is where Ofelia’s second quest really starts and so you should put your phones down and look at the T.V. again.

A non-diegetic composed score fills the mix when Ofelia first looks around the lair. This score serves to reinforce the scale of the lair and to show off the elaborate carvings and paintings all around the room. The score feels like something one would hear in a church. This religious imagery links the Pale Man to Vidal and shows them to be as bad as each other. The score slowly dissipates eventually to allow focus on the action on screen.

The diegetic sound coming from within the box that Ofelia carries hints at its contents as the sound of fairies comes from within. This give us the location of the fairies and means that we know they will be important because the sound of the fairies within the box was high enough in the mix that it would attract our attention.

The first time Ofelia sets eyes upon the Pale Man a non-diegetic stab is used to shock the audience and to link the Pale Man with fear right from the off. We feel the threatening pretense of the Pale Man straight away despite the Pale Man having done nothing and so tension is built up as we wait for him to start doing whatever it is he might do.

We hear, when the Pale Man awakes, the diegetic sound of him placing his eyes into his hands. The sound that it makes is squelchy and wet to make the viewers feel disgust and discomfort at being so close to the Pale Man. It also solidifies the idea that the Pale Man is villanus as the only other squelchy sounds in this movie have been associated with bad things such as the toad under the fig tree.

When Ofelia is unaware of the Pale Man’s recent awakening we focus on her and can only see the Pale Man in the background. A technique called sound perspective is used so that we do not focus on the sound of the Pale Man approaching and it is kept to a minimum. This is used to reinforce the fact that Ofelia is unaware of the Pale Man’s approach and that she is in grave danger.

When the Pale Man gives chase to Ofelia he emits a loud evil roar. This diegetic sound serves a few purposes. It reinforces the danger that Ofelia is in as roars come from dangerous beast like lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) and it also brings in connotations of ancient mythology. Greek and Roman and Norse myths all have beasts that scream at the top of their lungs and eat people, whether it be a Minotaur, cyclopes or gorgons they are all really dangerous

Once Ofelia has successfully eluded the Pale Man she closes the trap door that she escaped through and sits breathless in the middle of the room. The sounds of the underworld begin to fade int the mix leaving Ofelia’s heartbeat alone at the same volume.  This too eventually fades so that Ofelia is completely alone. This might be indicative of two things. the first being that Ofelia is glad to have escaped with her life and is afraid to move in case she somehow ends up back in the Pale Man’s clutches and the second being how Ofelia really feels. She creates these imaginary worlds, fundamentally, because she has no one to play with. Once she has left her magical world and is back in the grim world of the captain she is once again all alone and in this scene she feels it more than ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Sound

Non Diegetic

The scene “The remote foothills” begins with a non diegetic composed score consisting of a rolling kettle drum that forms the basis of the score throughout the scene. The rhythm of the composed score gives the scene a momentum that otherwise it would not have and matches the action that appears on the screen as something is always occurring on the screen. The volume of the sound alters to create effects on the audience at certain points. For example when there is a diegetic sound and the composed score is lowered to allow that sound to make an impact. The kettle drum composed score is constant throughout the scene and links the changes between the different settings. In this scene there are short snippets of narration in order to give the reader information easily and due to the nature in which this film is being told to us the narration is non-diegetic but does not spoil the film as it still exists in the world.

Diegetic

In most films diegetic sound is very rarely recorded on set. Effects will be recorded by foley editors and added in post. This means that Wes Anderson can chose selected sounds and remove the distraction that regular sound can pose. This means that he diegetic sounds that we can hear in this scene are completely fake. In this scene there is little dialogue. The largest part features right at the end when Gustave and zeros stand together on a pier and gaze at the snow. Even though the sequence starts with an extreme long shot we hear Zero talking as though we were right next to him. This dialogue was probably added in in ADR.