Sound Deconstruction

Sound Deconstruction

The Soloist

The scene from ‘The Soloist’ is set on the side of a busy road. There is no score in the scene, this may be to make it seem more realistic and authentic or to prevent any distraction to the fact that they are on the side of the road. The road, although evidently busy, is quiet, the scene is obviously in a city but there is a calm quietness that makes the scene more intimate. I find the use of a quiet but obviously busy road effective as the use of sound is limited but effective as the setting and feel is very clear but it doesn’t derive the audience’s attention from the scene that is playing out.

Fish Tank

The opening scene from ‘Fish Tank’ starts focusing on specific sounds as the setting needs to be established. There is faint bust noticeable noises of a busy road nearby, this give the idea that the scene is set in a town or city, as we get a closer image as to where the scene is, we can hear shouting through the open window. All sound is diegetic and purposefully edited in so that the audience can understand that the location is not upper class or entirely safe. The dialogue chosen is also specific to creating an image as the words chosen are conventional to an urban drama as they are usually set in violent or unsafe locations. The use of sound in the clip is effective as it has subtle but important hints concerning the tone of the film and how they can use the diegetic sound to create the emotional response as there is not score.

Skyfall (tube and city)

As this is a more generic action film ‘Skyfall’ has a more effective score, the sound of the underground is not as effectively used as it could be. The sound is muted and only diegetic footsteps and the character’s dialogue can be heard. The sound of that train is prominent but is one again slightly muted by the score that is powering the scene. Although the use of the tube is something we were hoping to include, the use of sound in this clip does not hold the realism that we want it to.

Homeless (short film)

In a scene from the short film ‘Homeless’ there is no diegetic sound used, only a score that catches the ambience of the film. The piano used is slow and emotive and has a more emotional outcome compared to what we hope to create in our coursework but it is still effective. As we hope to create the more real, in the moment, effect the short film had a distant but more intimate feel.

Evaluation
Although the use of no dialogue or diegetic sound is effective in the short film that I deconstructed I feel that we should take inspiration from 'The Soloist' and 'Fish tank' as I believe that they are closer in genre and would be more effective then a score. Although 'Skyfall' is not an urban drama I felt as though the scene held a location that we could interpret and that their use of sound could be interesting but the use of a score seemingly ruined the ambience of the scene so it was not as effective as it could have been.