sound(s good) Flashcards
Amplitude
the Volume of the sound in the film. Contrast in film is mostly created through changes in volume/amplitude, ie quiet dialogue immediately juxtaposed with a GIANT EXPLOSION. OR contrast can be done to show emphasis on certain parts of the story, ie when two lovers in a concert hall kiss, the concert music might go quiet in order to give the audience a sense of connection to the lovers. Amplitude can also be used to show distance in film by making sure that what appears closer to the camera/audience is also louder (ie, a character that is far away is harder to hear). Finally, the amplitude can show more subjective elements in the film, like a character’s awareness of reality. If a character can’t hear anything, the audience might assume that their awareness of reality is lacking.
Sound Perspective
is created through sounds in the foreground, midground, and background of a scene. It also describes the proportion of direct sounds (ie, actors talking directly to the mics) and reflected sounds (sounds that bounce around walls and ceilings, creating echoes and headaches).
Analog audio
What they used before digital audio, it relies on magnetic tapes and it used to be completely physical, just like the old film strips.
Dialogue
any and all talking done by characters, including voice-over
Music
any and all music in the film (both diegetic and non-diegetic)
Digital Audio Workshop
a special computerized audio editing system (NOT SOFTWARE. SYSTEM. THIS IS NOT ADOBE STUFF).
The Jazz Singer
The first ever talkie!
A Clockwork Orange
the first Dolby user
Dolby
They are the go-to people for sound technology in film. They reduce background noise, enhance vocal clarity, and create cool sound effects, and cinematic music. All on SIX different channels/tracks!
Post-Production
Whenever I hear someone say “Oh, we’ll just fix it in posts” I GET SO MAD BECAUSE YOU CAN’T DO THAT! YOU CAN’T FIX THE FACT THAT SOMEONE WAS LAUGHING UNCONTROLLABLY IN POST!! YOU CAN’T FIX THE FACT THAT NO ONE GOT THEIR LINES RIGHT! YOU CAN’T- ok I’m getting sidetracked but that was kinda funny. Post-production is the editing process, and, importantly, where 90% of the sound work is done ESPECIALLY THE SOUNDTRACK WORK!
Foley Artists
The cool people who create sound effects and duplicate sounds (duplication is specifically Foley Walker). If ATA ever did another radio-play-esque thing I would be so down to be a foley artist
Scores
The usage of music and soundtrack in a film. Baby Driver had a good score. In all honesty, I have a difficult time working with scores because if I don’t have a PERFECT idea of what music to use, I just end up using something mediocre. I’ve been working on trying to fix that for a while now.
Composers
The writers of films with original scores. I’ve been struggling to find a composer for Romeo, Juliet and Scene. Truth be told, I don’t really need one. I just want one.
Sound mixer/mixing
the person who balances the sound effects, dialogue, and score. This is a hard job! You gotta make sure the dialogue isn’t too soft, and the music isn’t too loud, and that it’s all quiet enough that the sound effects (ie, explosions) can have that cinematic contrast without having to sound like a real explosion is happening.
Diagetic vs Non-Diagetic sounds
Diagetic sounds are in-universe sounds (the music that characters listen to), whereas Non-Diagetic sounds are out-of-universe sounds (Darth Vader’s theme). Note: almost all scores in films are non-diegetic, as the characters can’t hear that music. The one exception is movie musicals where the characters are also performers (think in the Helluva Boss special, the Crooked duet is Non-Diegetic, as they weren’t singing in-universe, but Two Minutes Notice was a real song that Fizz performed to Mammon).
