15: Why is sound so important in film?

Sound is used in film to create tone, atmosphere and to help give the audiences clues about the plot, characters and the genre of the film. It is also used to help suspend belief to create realism for the audience and heighten their experience of the film. George Lukas argues that 'sound is 50 per cent' of a film and that without sound the film would be half the product and not as good. There have been many developments in sound and sound design over the course of film history and we have the technology to make sure that a film's sound is 3 dimensional and makes the visceral experience enjoyable and makes a film as enjoyable to hear as it is to watch it. 

Definitions of sound and soundscapes:

Sound: What a person hears
Soundscape: Component sounds
Sound design: How the sound goes with the image
Suspending Disbelief: Making something believable

In class we watched a title sequence  The Taking Of Pelham 123 twice, once without the sound and once with the sound. When I watched the title sequence without the sound it was boring and I found it difficult to engage with what  was happening in the sequence. When we watched the sequence with the sound the sequence became engaging and I was interested in what was going on. The upbeat music and the the sounds of the trains help give a hint to what the genre was and you could hear that the music was synchronised to what was on screen. Having the sound makes a massive difference as the audience can get exited and enjoy what they see on screen.

Sound term definitions:

Ambient sound: background sound

Diegetic: sound source is viable

Non-diegetic: sound source that is not visible

Score: music that dose not include singing

Song: music that dose include singing 

Voiceover: you can't see the speaker

Dialogue: the words spoken and you can usually see the speaker

Foley: sound in real life

Synchronous: matches the certain movement shown on screen

Asynchronous: matches the action but is not completely synchronised 

Sound bridge: when the score begins and it is carried over to another scene

Sound motif: sound effects or combination of sound effects that are associated with a particular character, setting, situation or idea.