Music, Sound + Image -Charlie And The Chocolate Factory

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Within Charlie and the chocolate factory  there is a golden ticket section where various camera changes are happening. A camera change is when the camera is focusing on something in the moving image and then suddenly changes to focus on something else. Within the first marker the camera is facing the chocolates from above. The camera is focused on the left hand side of the chocolate and then moves slowly across the chocolate to face the right side. It then changes and moves directly onto the chocolate looking downwards as the golden ticket being put in place.

There are many things going on musically before the chocolate scene starts. As soon as the camera focuses onto the first chocolate and the golden ticket, all the fast paced music before has now stopped abruptly. This makes the listener feel a sense of this 'chocolate/golden ticket' is significantly important. When the golden ticket is being placed, the sound of the paper wrapper can be heard as it is being put on. This sound is natural and realistic. After the ticket is being placed, bells can be heard playing in the background. Th bells give the atmosphere a magical feel. Angelic female vocals are also being sung in unison. The vocals are sung softly in a childlike manner, making them sound magical.

Chocolate spiral

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Within Charlie and the chocolate factory there is a scene where the chocolate is being made. I chose this as one of my favourite scenes because there is a variety of effects and sounds taking place. The camera begins by facing directly down on the spiral. As the camera is following through the spiral, the spiral itself is moving closer to the camera so when the viewer is looking at it, it seems like you are going into the tunnel. I can see that the camera is also turning upside down as it it focused on the spinning spiral because the camera lens turns upside down.

Musically i can hear a loud thumping sounds that start on a low tone and then gradually builds up to a higher tone. The sounds are repetative and continuous. Male vocals are also be sung at a slow pace in the background.

Trucks taking the chocolate away

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Within Charlie and the chocolate factory the final scene is when the trucks are driving off to deliver the chocolate. Firstly i can see that the camera is facing towards the gate at the beginning. As the gates open, the camera is still facing straight ahead. The camera then skips to the scenes that are going n inside the factory like the chocolate being put into boxes. Now the camera is following each truck as it is driving out of the gates.At first the camera is zoomed in on each individual truck and then it zooms out so that the whole scenery can be seen. The camera is mostly focused still on the moving images.

Musically at the beginning i can hear the sound of a wind. I can hear drum rolls as the gates are being opened, this causes the audience to feel like the gates lead to somewhere significant. When the trucks are driving out from the factories gates, a trumpet sound is heard and then it starts to fade out.

Sound tracks pre-recorded

The Great Catsby

A sound track that is pre-recorded is a piece of music that is already know as a song, or it can be a piece of music that was especially pre recorded for a specific scene in a film. Different sounds can also be prerecorded to match a movement for a specific character, you would find this mostly in cartoons.

Throughout 'The great catsby' trailer, pre recorded music is always playing. At times the music is very faint and quiet whilst dialogue is spoken over it, and at other times for example near the end of the trailer, the pre recorded music is played loudly above everything else that is happening in the moving image, although small sections of dialogue are still being spoken. From the beginning of the trailer when dialogue is spoken the audience is listening to someones personal thoughts and experience of what they are seeing but this ends 0:31. The dialogue that is then spoken afterwards is between the actors and actresses. The reason the director Buz Luhrmann chose for the music to be loud above everything else near the end of the trailer, is to show a climax of events that happen throughout the film. The soundtrack that is played at the end definitely matches the moving image and what it is showing. The moving image plays fast through a serious of events whilst the soundtrack is loud indicating important and significant moments of the film. I would say that at the end of the trailer sound motif is also used at key moments. For eg at 2:08-2:09 and then again at 2:13. Anger is shown at these spicific moments, the music compliments it well as it is loud and the singer is slightly screaming which is powerful and fierce, just what the moving image needs.

Buzz Luhrmann found a few artists to sing on the different soundtracks that are played in the film. He chose different artists to sing for different moods that occur during the film.

List of artists he chose-

Will.I.am, Andre 3000, Jay z, Fergie, Q Tip, GoonRock, Lana Del Rey, The Bryan Ferry Orchestra, Beyonce, Florence and the machine, The XX, Gotye, Nero, and Sia.

Madagascar 3

Pre-recorded music is also used in Madagascar 3. Different types of pre-recorded music is playing most of the time throughout the trailer. The pre recorded drums that are playing at the beginning of the trailer indicate that a major event is about to happen or something significant that is in the film is coming up. Different types of pre recorded music can definitely change the feel of a movie. For eg, the violin that plays at 0.19 seconds, creates a suspicious atmosphere. the audience is then left suspecting something to happen. Then the animals rise out of the water, so the pre-recorded music matches the moving image well for effect, it is also comical. At 0.35 seconds, the pre-recorded music is played louder for effect as the tv is flying out the window. If the music wasn't played in the background, the moving image itself wouldn't look or feel dramatic enough on its own as it could be. At 1.04 seconds the music in the background isn't playing but a pre-recorded swoosh or metal slamming sound has been pre-recorded to match the words as they draw back and come to a stand still. This is done sharply and is really effective.

Electronic Sound within films

After Earth
Electronic sounds are normally unnatural noises that are used in robot and space films.

Director- M. Night Shyamalan

At about 0.22 seconds into the trailer, electronic sounds can be heard when what seems to be a spaceship is passing through the galaxy. The electronic sounds are perfect for what the image is showing because it creates a supernatural atmosphere which is needed for a sci-fi film. When spaceships or any electronic transport is shown in a film, it is ideal to use electronic sounds as spaceships are known world wide in films for the electronic sounds that they make, as well as robots. Electronic sounds are great for effect. 

Silence within films

Real Steel

A silence within a film can be used for dramatic effect. A dramatic effect is often made on the audience when a long pause is created before a sudden loud noise or bang occurs.
                                           

Director Shawn Levy's review on 'Real Steel'

Throughout the trailer of Real Steel Shaun Levy has deliberately used passes to make the next sound or action in the trailer more dramatic and for it to have a greater impact on the audience. When watching the trailer a pause indicates that what is coming next is significant during the actual film, as Shaun Levy has only used the most important sections during the film to have pauses before them, before they are actually shown in the trailer. These pauses makes those sections the key moments of the film, so by watching a variety of small sections of the film shown in the trailer, the viewer is able to see what the story is more or less about. It also engages the audience to want to watch the full movie to see these major events happen.

Fast and Furious 6

Silence is also used in 'Fast and Furious 6' at 1.21 seconds into the trailer before the car hits the floor. If there was no pause before the car hits the ground i think everything that is happening along with the car crash would look too chaotic in that one clip of the scene. However Justin Lin the director, has effectively slowed down the tempo of the car hitting the ground so that the audience is just left watching the car in silence as it is passing through the air. This pause is really effective as the chaos that happened before the car was hit is no longer heard, it has disappeared and there is silence. A natural wind can also be heard as the car is ready to hit the ground which sounds great because if a car is in the air from a crash and it is about to hit the ground, there would naturally be some sort of strong wind because of the speed that the car is travelling at. So Justin Lin is being very true to the moment. Immediately after the silence the audience is then watching the chaos with its sound as it carries on. A pause is a great way to cause a climax before everything continues as normal.

Organic/Natural sound within films

Saving Private Ryan
An organic or natural sound is a noise that is heard in real life, it isn't electronic.

Steven Spielberg doesn’t use music throughout the battle scenes so that the scenes are more visceral and true to the memories of what battle was like. Steven shows dialog between the men as they speak, causing the viewer to be in the ‘moment’ of what was going on in the war. He wanted the machine guns and bullets to be heard sharply and boldly throughout the war scenes. Not having any music throughout the shooting scenes has made the trailer more realistic and true to the time period. By hearing the guns and explosions, engages the viewer as they have to listen to the horrific realism of the ammunition and shootings that are happening. The reason Steven Spielberg doesn’t use music, is so that the realistic chaos of the 2^nd world war isn’t over looked by a beautiful piano melody playing over the top, but so that the natural sounds that happened in war can be heard for eg, anxious breathing from a man, fast footsteps running, bomb explosions and especially the realistic sound when men get shot underwater. There is an effective moment in the trailer underwater where the real sound of a bullet going into man is heard. To create this sound effect the sound editor Gary Rydstrom ripped a fly line off a river. Creating a sharp sound effect that was just right, its how a bullet would sound when coming towards someone underwater, it is a muted sound but still powerful. Gary Rydstrom throughout the trailer uses natural sounds that he himself creates, rather than using music to make the impact on the audience.

When the battle scenes start they immediately cause the viewer to experience the dramatic and violent shootings in a very direct way. If music was playing over the top, the audience would know that they are watching a film because they would be drawn into the melody of the song and in general enjoying what they are watching. However Steven didn’t want this to happen, but he wanted the realistic sounds of ammunitions, bombs and canons approaching to be heard ‘live’ in a sense to engage the viewer to feel the fear of the men in battle.

Titanic



















Organic sound is also used in Titanic. Within the trailer there are moments where specific dialogue is spoken between people which is natural and gives the audience an opportunity to engage with the actresses and actors situation. There are also organic moments where no soundtrack is played over the moving image, but the organic noise coming from people in the background is heard. From 1.10 seconds up to 1.34 seconds into the trailer, the previous music that was playing now stops so that the natural reaction from the people in the scene can be heard. The audience is now focusing on the panic that the people on board the ship are feeling. James Cameron the director of Titanic chose for the ship to be shown sinking in the trailer, whilst the people with their moaning and screams can be heard. This engages the audience to want to watch the movie to see the reality of this tragedy, and it gives the viewer an idea of the confusion that the people must have been in. James cameron makes the music come in later after the ship is shown slightly sinking, so that a climax arises with sudden loud prerecorded music that is played which is extremely effective. Overall the organic sound that is shown in the trailer at 1.10 is effective without music played over it as everything is natural, even the cracking sound that the boat makes as it sinks.

Sound motif within films

The Colony

Sound motif is when the music in a film matches the situation in a scene.

Jeff Renfroe the director of The colony uses sound motif at one point during the trailer. The sound motif starts at 1.33. A group of men are running out of a darkish/gloomy building and a dark atmosphere is created through the dim lights in the background. Because the men are running fast, Jeff Renfroe uses fast dramatic music to increase the impact on the audience and to show the tension of the situation that the men are in. The music that is playing matches the situation that the men are in. The men are clearly panicking therefore the music cannot be slow tempoed or classical. Medium paced and repetitive drum beats are being played in the sound track, whilst screams from the cells can be heard. Jeff Renfroe also made sure that the breathing of the men can be heard for effect. When listening to the anxious breathing of the men it reinforces their situation to feel more dramatic to the audience. The viewer is then watching the men as they run in shock and horror whilst the music contributes to how their situation should feel in real life. Jeff Renfroe also chose for a bomb to go off as the men start running, to indicate that something has happened and that the men are escaping. The bomb also indicates that there is danger lurking around.

The Crawl



















Another Film that uses sound motif is 'Crawl'. At 1.30 seconds into the trailer the music is fast tempoed and repetitive. If there was no moving image at this point in the trailer but just the music playing anyone would be able to figure out that something dangerous has occurred. However the moving image at this point in the trailer does compliment the music that is playing over it. Panic, danger and fear is shown in the moving image. The fast music means that the moving image cannot be played slowly as the two would be in conflict, it wouldn't look right and there would be no climax. In the film however the music that is played fast creates the climax as it is loud and feel dramatic when listening to it. The moving image is then contributing to the fast music by showing short clips from one scene, like someone is reminiscing certain moments of an event or having flashbacks. It works really effectively. The different clips of this scene, seem to be the climax, the danger scene. The music and moving image together works effectively to create an impact on the audience.