UNIT 7

Task 1

Lighting

The development of different types of lighting equipment goes hand in hand with technology and film styles giving cinematographers of early years the scope to experiment with different types of technics which some are used today such as three-point lighting and also five-point lighting for blue/green screening.

Most of the early types of lighting were used mainly for non-film use such as street lighting and search light in war times, the history of film lighting is a complex, and the gradual development and refinement of existing techniques.
Lighting techniques used in cinema in the late 1890s and the early part of the twentieth century were primitive compared with those used in still photography. Early filmmakers did not use the range of artificial lighting that was already being used in photography studios and widely used by photographers to. Instead, filmmakers on bright daylight. Thomas Edison’s famous Black Maria studio rotated that allowed the glass roof to be moved to follow the direct sunlight. The availability of bright sunlight was important to early filmmakers this is why the American film industry left New York and moved to California.

Daylight was the main source of lighting provided visual clarity, but however it did not allow for dramatic effects like artificial lighting can, also daylight did not permit for indoor or night-time filming.

In 1896, the pioneering German filmmaker Oskar Messter (1866–1943) opened his indoor studio in Berlin. By 1900 the Edison studio in America had begun to make regular use of artificial light to complement naturally available light. Examples of this practice can be found in Why Jones Discharged His Clerks(1900) and The Mystic Swing(1900).

However the use of artificial lighting was used to replacing sunlight to give a clear image, filmmakers in 1905 had begun to experiment with artificial light. Even tho the technology was being used by photographers the value of using it to further the development of film does not appear to have been recognized in the early cinema.

The purpose of lighting in film

Good Lighting

Good lighting does the difference between a good and a poor video, no one wants to see a film that isn’t correctly lit. It is also important to mention that good lighting helps to increase the sharpness, everyone knows how difficult it is to take a video or picture in low lighting or when it’s too bright. Studying and understanding how lighting works is beneficial and cannot just be done in a day.

Poor lighting

Can lead to a longer editing process this factor also plays a big role in photography, poor lighting means that editing won’t be a quick process. Instead, it will take longer to fix the mistake, but sometimes they simply cannot be fixed and the scene needs to be re-shot. A simple mistake like wrong lighting can lead to unnecessary costs and a longer production time, which could have been prevented.

Lighting determines mood

Good lighting will set the mood for any scene in a film, it conveys the plot and creates the atmosphere. A poorly lit film can mislead and leave viewers feeling unfulfilled or confused, just because the lighting needs to represent the genre. No individual wishes to watch a film that is supposed to be happy but has dark lighting, as it represents a more sinister character and darker plot. Bright lighting represents the opposite and is associated with happiness and cheerful characters, so by getting the light wrong the film will have a different feel and may not represent the correct emotions with it.

Lighting Techniques

Three-point lighting

This is the standard method of lighting that every video- and photographer needs to master, it is used for all kinds of visual media such as the film and video industry. It is a simple technique that can be easily learned through a bit of practice and reading. The three-point lighting consist of three different lights, as the name already reveals, which are placed in front and behind the object.

The key light is the main one and is placed next to the camera and shines directly onto the object. The Fill Light is the secondary one and is opposite the Key Light, to fill in shadows and leaving the object well lit. The Back Light, as it already suggests, is the one behind the object and allows the picture or video to look more dimensional and gives it more depth.

Low-key

This is all about achieving a very dramatic look with strong shadows and only little lighting, it is used to focus and highlight key points in a scene. This specific technique has been adapted from the painting style ‘Chiaroscuro’ and is also very popular in the photography industry. The set up for this can be a little more tricky at first and will need a lot of practice to get the correct lighting, it is mainly achieved with just one light across or slightly next to the object. A large reflector can also be used behind the object to rim the light, this is useful just because it separates the object from the background and therefore gives it more depth.

High-key

This is a style often used in the film and photography industry and refers to the technique that is all about bright lights, white tones and only a little or no black/mid tones. This is often used to portray an optimistic, youthful or flashback scene in a film and is the opposite from Low-key lighting. High-key filming can also be quite tricky for inexperienced users, just because it’s important to achieve the correct balance between artistic looking images and plain overexposure. This can be done by not completely erasing all dark colors and having a few black or mid tones in the picture.

There are many different set ups for this specific lighting, the key, therefore, is experimenting and practice until you find a perfect set up. The most common setup is having the key light next to the camera and slightly across the object, a fill light opposite of that next to the camera and background lights in the back. However, those background lights shouldn’t directly shine at the object, but rather at the wall behind

Lighting types

Soft light

Soft light use is popular in cinematography and film for a number of different reasons:

Cast shadow-less light.

Fill lighting. Soft light can reduce shadows without creating additional shadows.

Make a subject appear more beautiful or youthful through making wrinkles less visible.

This technique is used to perform "motivated" lighting, where all light appears to come from practical light sources in the scene. Soft light does not cast shadows that would be a giveaway of a supplementary light source.

Hard light

Hard light sources cast shadows whose appearance of the shadow depends on the lighting instrument. For example, lights can be focus the shadows to be "cut" with crisp shadows. The shadows produced will have 'harder' edges with less transition between illumination and shadow. The light will produce harder-edged shadows. Focusing the light makes the rays more parallel. Hard light casts strong, well defined shadows.

Examples of lighting

1903 Mercury vapour tubes.
1912 carbon arc instruments, such as the Klieg light
1927 Fresnel-lens spotlights then became the standard to prevent excessive light loss around the sides.
1960 Tungsten-halogen lamps with quartz envelopes came into wide use.
1970’s Compact source iodine lamps (CSI)
1980’s fluorescent lamp
1990’s HMI stands for Hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide
2000’s LED stands for light emitting diode

I have used social media to gain primary research using a photo from the 1940's and a photo that I have edited to imitate the era.

I used lightroom CC and added filters and monochrome as well as making the photo less sharp as well as adding +13 clarity, dehaze +73, vignette -32 and grain of 31.

I also done some secondary research by attending the Tate gallery and looking at the exhibitions that were on show by using light set ups to give off either hard or soft lighting but also filtered lighting as well.

I have also looked online to my chosen concept and found that a lot of the movie makers in the time used hard lighting to give high shadowing, which for a martial arts movie is very common as the shadowing give a big sense movement so you don't always need to see the actors/actresses

To the left are examples off HMI lighting rig

kelvin-light-light-kelvin-scale-car-led-

To the right is the Kelvin scale which is how light is measured

Sound

The art of sound recording for motion pictures has developed dramatically and has been the most sort after from the time film began with the main problem of synchronization to picture and sound. Most of the improvements fall into three areas: fidelity of recording; separation and then resynchronization of sound to picture; and ability to manipulate sound during the postproduction stage.

Optical recording

Until the early 1950s the normal recording medium was film. Sound waves were converted into light and recorded onto 35-mm film stock. Today the principal use of optical recording is to make a master optical negative for final exhibition prints after all editing and rerecording have been completed.

Magnetic

Magnetic recording offers better fidelity than optical sound, can be copied with less quality loss, and can be played back immediately without development. Magnetic tracks were first used by filmmakers in the late 1940s for recording music. The physical principles are the same as those of the standard tape recorder: the microphone output is fed to a magnet past which a tape coated with iron oxide runs at a constant speed. The changes in magnetic flux are recorded onto the tape as an invisible magnetic “picture” of the sound.At first the sound was recorded onto 35-mm film that had a magnetic coating. Today sprocketed 35-mm magnetic tape is used during the editing stages. For onset recording, however, the film industry converted gradually to the same unperforated quarter-inch tape format widely used in broadcasting, the record industry, and even the home. Documentary and independent filmmakers were the first to develop and use the portable, more compact apparatus. Improvements in magnetic recording have paralleled those in the recording industry and include the development of multiple-track recording and Dolby noise reduction.

Double-system recording

Although it is possible to reproduce sound, either optically or magnetically, in the same camera that is photographing a scene (a procedure known as single-system recording), there is greater flexibility if the sound track is recorded by a different person and on a separate unit. The main professional use for single-system recording is in filming news, where there is little time to strive for optimal sound or image quality. Motion-picture sound recording customarily uses a double system in which the sound track remains physically separate from the image until the very last stages of postproduction.

Double-system shooting requires a means of re-matching corresponding sounds and images. The traditional solution is to mark the beginning of each take with a “clapper,” or “clapstick,” a set of wooden jaws about a foot long, snapped together in the picture field. The instant of clacking then is registered on both picture and sound tracks. Each new take number is identified visually by a number on the clapper board and aurally by voice. A newer version of the clapper is a digital slate that uses light-emitting diodes and an audio link to synchronize film and tape.

Precise synchronism must be maintained between camera and recorder so that sound can be kept perfectly matched to the visuals. (Lack of perfect synchronism is most close-up shots in which a speaker’s lips do not match his voice.) On some occasions several cameras shoot a scene simultaneously from different points of view while only one sound recording is made, or several sound records may be taken of a single shot. Thus, to maintain synchronism, all sound and picture versions of a particular scene must be recorded at the same speed; the camera and the recorder cannot fluctuate in speed. One way to achieve this is to drive all cameras and recorders from a common power supply. Alternatively, synchronization may be achieved through the automatic, continual transmission from cameras to recorders of a sync-pulse signal sent by cable or wireless radio. More convenient yet is crystal sync, whereby the speed of both cameras and recorders is controlled through the use of the oscillation of crystals installed in each piece of equipment. The most advanced system uses a time-code generator to emit numbers in “real-time” on both film and tape.

The sound recordist

The main task of the recordist during live recording is to get “clean” dialogue that eliminates background noise and seems to correspond to the space between speaker and camera. Most of the nonsynchronous dialogue, sound effects, and music can be added and adjusted later. During shooting the sound recordist adjusts the sound by setting levels, altering microphone placement, and mixing (combining signals if there is more than one microphone). Major technical and aesthetic shaping is left for the postproduction phase when overhead is lower, the facilities are more sophisticated, and different versions can be created. It is also the job of the sound personnel to record wild sound (important sound effects and nonsynchronous dialogue) and ambient sound (the sound of the location). Ambient sound is added to the sound track during postproduction to maintain continuity between takes. Usually, wild sound and music are also adjusted and added then.

Microphones

Microphones of many different types have been used for sound recording. These may differ in sound quality in directional characteristics, and in convenience of use. Conditions that may dictate the choice of a particular microphone include the presence of minor echoes from objects in the set or reproduction of speech in a small room, as distinct from that in a large hall. Painstaking adjustments are made by careful attention to the choice of microphones, by the arrangement and sound absorbency of walls and furniture on the set, and by the exact positioning of the actors. For recording a conversation indoors, the preferred microphone is sensitive in a particular direction in order to reduce extraneous noises from the side and rear. It is usually suspended from a “boom” just beyond camera range in front of and above the actors so that it can be pivoted toward each actor as he speaks. Microphones can also be mounted on a variety of other stands. A second way to cut down background noise is to use a chest (or lavaliere) microphone hidden under the actor’s clothes

To the left is a timeline which contains all the audio formats used either to produce sound for film, public and studio

A brief overview of sound in cinema

Before cinema had sound they used to write music scores and have live musician play towards the film. After this time the invention of assitate disks helped record sound for films but these products were unstable with high wear and tear also with the high cost to produce, most of the places you would see this format would be in nickoloden theatre.

The Gramaphone disks didnt stay long in cinema but were still used for news show reels. The next big invention was the the magnetic film then with sprocketed holes so the film wouldnt slip this type was used in film from the 1930's-1980's when digital editing started to come into play with the invention of dolby sound which lead to the following where dolby have invested time and money to make sound better in both film production as well as for the audience that go to the cinema these include:

Dolby A noise reduction on tape
Dolby NR/B/C/S consumer based
Dolby SR (1986)
Dolby FM for radio (1971-740
Dolby HX Pro single ended system
Dolby advanced audio (Surround sound)|
Dolby Digital (Surround 5.1)
Dolby Digital EX (6.1 and 7.1)
Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC-3)
Dolby Digital Live (Real-time sound)
Dolby Atmos (2015)

Dolby came about in May 18 1965 in london by Ray Dolby his first patent was in 1969 and his methods were used by Decca Records in 1973. The first film where Dolby was first featured on was A Clockwork Orange (1971). the first time surround sound was used was in 1976 in A Star Is Born where Dolby went from the old style of LCR to LCRS and in less than 10 years over 6,000 cinemas worldwide was fitted to use Dolby's sound development.

When lazer disks were produced in 1994/95 Dolby produced their digital systems and was featured first in Batman Returns (1992) and consumer use via lazer disk in 1995 giving the public great sound quality at home and at the cinema. It wasn't till 2005 when Dolby became a PLC and floated on the New York Stock market.

Music production roles

Lighting job roles

Gaffer
Best boy (lighting)
Lighting technician / Electrics
Key grip
Best boy (grip)
Dolly grip
Grips
Sound Grip

Creative and technical solutions in light and sound

Since film began inventors and innovators have strived to create the perfect look and sound of film as this increases the emotional attachment to film through a reality that looks and sounds real to the human eyes and ears.

There have been may changes in lighting from bulbs to filters and even including how they are used, for instance the era of my film was dominated by the use of tungsten lighting this light is very to the same as we use in our households today the idea like most things in film was brought out theatre’s, photographers and artists which had been using lighting for aesthetic looks long before the film industry.

Tungsten light is not widely used in the film industry anymore but is used as a practical use of light for example illuminating faces from a table in a restaurant or in a cabaret bar, the main reason for not using this type of bulb is purely that only 5% of the bulbs energy was transferred to light and the other 95% of energy was used heating the wire. Although tungsten light is affordable and would probably give enough light for a small scene, these bulbs produce a warm yellow light and would probably reach around 3200 Kelvin (the Kevin scale is how light is measured).

These days with the invention of HMI’s film makes prefer to use this type of light as it gives them a constant source of light at 5500 Kelvin, but can give the effect of a sunny day in the pitch black of night meaning there can be filming around the clock with 5000 watts of light being generated by one light and with the added extra of using reflectors and shutters you can direct the light to were you need it to be.

With the aspect to sound there has been many inventions to tackle this but the main issue has always been with syncing audio and visual together, during the 1950’s era of my film and the part of the world where the film was produced the audio was recorded separately leaving location film to be continuous cutting down costs of location filming. During this era all audio was recorded on a magnetic tape or strip then recorded onto the sound strip of the film which at this time was Kodachrome. But with the digital era it has made editing and producing sound whether it be a song or soundtrack to a film possible to eradicate unwanted background noise with the use of booms with a fur cover over the mic making it easier to record sound at distance as well as different heights but even more impressive with the invention of radio mics which run on a IR sync system to a individual frequency making it possible with the use of a studio mixer to record all actors at once all at the right levels as well as being able to add special audio FX at the same time as recording cutting down the editing time by half and the seamless link with audio and visual to give the on lookers the feel of reality and becoming immersed in the film.

RUSH LIST UNIT 7&9

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Foley sound

Wind – use whole file start to finish of film

Waves – start waves with opening wave clip

SOUND RECORDING

Sound recording is a reproduction of a sound produced either by spoken word, instrumental music or sound effects, which are captured through sound waves on either, mechanical, electrical, electronic or digital inscription. There are two types of sound recording and they are analogue and digital.

The earliest sound recorder was the phonautograph which was invented by a French inventor called Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville in 1857, then in 1877 the phonograph cylinder was invented by Charles Cros.

The first practical sound recorder was the mechanical phonograph cylinder by Thomas Edison in 1878, this format was used until around 1910 when it was replaced by the phonograph disk or as we know it these days as records, the normal rate for a record was 78rpm this format ran up to as late as the 1960's and compared to the cylinder it was easier to transport and to store. The standard format of 33rpm and 45rpm didn't come about till 1948 and 1949 when Colombia records and RCA victor started producing LP's and the 7" singles.

As we know sound didn’t entre film till the 1920's with "the talkies", these films lead us on to another great invention in sound and that is magnetic tape this is the format that film sound was recorded on as late as 2005 and still to this day other film industries such as Bollywood still adopt this technique.

Magnetic tape came in to use in 1930's by German audio engineers who rediscovered AC biasing, the tape which was used in modern film from 1950's-1990's is the apex 200. the reason for the tape being so successful in cinematic production was the ease of editing than for disk-to-disk also with its high audio quality and the invention of eight track it helped create comprehensive logging on all recording.

With technology moving faster and faster the digital age now plays a big part in sound recording from radio mic's to being able to mix sound levels on set for different actors and record straight from a multi track mixer.

Critical things to consider when you are on the job for Location Recording

The first thing you should be monitoring is the space itself, when you show up to a location, listen carefully what is going on in the location where the shooting is going to happen and judge whether it is an active space and tune your equipment based on the atmospheric sound.
The next thing is the sound hazards that potentially happen, things like telephones, door chimes, air conditioners etc. Any devices which are making unwanted sound in the location has to be unplugged or turned off.
The third thing is to listen for fabric rustling or a sound which is being created when the artist moves, get rid of it by asking for change.
All sounds other than dialogue (Atmosphere, Footsteps, Effects etc) are created during the post production via process called “FOLEY”. Avoid those things that are hindrance in picking up the dialogue / conversation clearly.
Another thing is the floor, will footsteps interfere with the sound? Each floor has a different sound. The sound from the floor especially the thumbing noise might get recorded

Bad Sound Cannot be fixed

First of all, you have to keep in mind that you have to use the right kind of equipment and in a professional way to receive high quality sound.
Microphone placement is crucial, there is no point is having a great microphone unless you know how to use it.
Don’t rely on microphone attached to camera as the sound quality tend to low and it definitely picks up the camera sounds too.
To record high-quality location, sound the right type of microphone must be used. The more directional the microphone, the greater the extent to which it selectively picks up sounds from its front end, and the higher the signal-to-noise ratio will be.
Make sure the boom operator does not move his/her hands along the boom pole during takes, as the sound will be conducted by the pole to the mic and will produce unacceptable noise.
Aluminium booms are cheaper than carbon fibre.
Carbon fibre pole recommended if you are working on long projects or working in extreme temperature conditions.
Shorter boom poles are good when being used in interiors and longer boom poles are used for wide shots, long walk-n-talks etc.
Variety of shock mounts are available in the market, from the standard rubber-band mount to a pistol-grip shock mounts choose the best suited one to reducing handling noise.
The sound of air and wind blowing across the microphone when it is captured along with the actual sound, it is quite difficult to remove it during the post production stage use a wind screen to reduce or eliminate the wind noise.

Hear the sound as raw and as real as possible

For a Location sound recorder, a head-phone is quite inevitable and should always wear a pair of headphones to determine the ideal placement of the boom mic.

When using hyper cardioid or shotgun mics a slight change in placement can significantly impact the sound being recorded so the location recorder has to been keen listening to the sound which is being recorded via headphone.
Close-back headphones is recommended to block out the ambient sound on set.
Avoid using noise-cancelling headphones.
Try not to use bass-enhancing or other EQ-altering headphones

Your location recording can be affected by adverse climatic condition, demons in the gear etc which can waste you a single day.

full feedback - installtion feedback 3/4/19

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Above is feed back I received from my install at collage on 3 April 2019

To the left are the results of my film being posted online using a viewing poll

Below is my DIRECTORS COMMENTRY

directors commentry - Unknown Artist

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Why Is Lighting So Important?

Lighting is important in video and film production because cameras do not respond to lights in the same way that the human eye does. The finite detail and lighting contrasts a human eye can see are incredibly developed, and cameras cannot process or pick up on this as well. Additional lighting is necessary to make the definition of a video or film’s definition of a comparable quality to what the human eye sees naturally. The correct lighting can determine the mood of the scene and can evoke a more dramatic or subtle palette for the film. If you are perhaps new to video and film production, the first learning curve is understanding why lighting within production is so key. Regardless of content, any video created, filmed, shared and watched will have had an element of thought and design behind the lighting. The more advanced the video and film production, the more advanced the lighting behind it.

Understanding the basics

There are various aspects to consider when approaching a video or film project. Considerations such as location, usage of ambient light, changing conditions, shadows and natural light all play their part in affecting a shot. An ideal starting point when setting up lighting for any shot is a key light, fill light and backlight. These will collectively give a basis on which to work with. This has been a much- used technique over time in cinematography, and is a good place to start to understand the fundamentals of effective lighting.

Understanding the space that you are working with

When you begin a film or video project, an understanding of the space you are working with is vital to ensure the lighting set up and placement is fitting with the environment. This may require a certain amount of thought and planning. Various situations will require different lighting; be that an interview, or a close-up shot, a shot in an outside area, or with multiple subjects involved, for example. The natural light available is important to consider if you are working directly outdoors, or in a studio, or space with limited light from windows. These considerations are the building blocks in adjusting the space to create fitting and appropriate light to work with.

The Effects of Lighting Production Over Time

Our understanding and affiliation with lighting in video and film production has become more advanced over time. Technology has ensured pursuits in lighting production have developed and adapted fittingly to the pace and demand of the video and film industry. Lighting equipment has become more compact, diverse, and designed to tailor for specific genres and types of video and film. The lighting needed for an intense one on one interview, for example, will contrast dramatically from that needed to provide the suitable lighting for a dramatic long shot taken outside at night time. The variety of equipment available, and the capabilities of this equipment, have made effective lighting and cinematography more easy and accessible than ever before.

How technology advancements have been beneficial

Regarding our understanding of how to best use lighting with video and film production, it has understandably become easier as the products used have become more user-friendly, compact, and adaptable. The more compact a product, the easier it will be to transport and use. There can be an incredible amount of equipment involved in lighting production, and this equipment is often heavy, fragile, and at times, difficult to transport. However, over time, products have become lighter, more compact and advanced, which has meant that, for video or film shots that are on the move, it has become much easier and less time consuming regarding the lighting set up. Features such as silent operation, battery packs, and add-on features that can be attached to a camera has meant that high performance, energy saving products are available, while still ensuring high-quality results regarding the shot created. If you’d like to know more about video lighting, or if you’re new to photography and want to expand into video filming, there are various resources and websites available to kick-start the process.

The benefits of good lighting

Although at times, the planning and implementation involved in video or film production can seem unnecessarily long and complicated, it is beneficial in the long run. The more time spent ensuring the lighting is right first time around will mean less time in the editing room. The quality of shot and overall appearance of your video or film can be implicated if the lighting is not right, or does not compare to the other elements of your finished product. On a set, lighting can be the most time consuming, and at times, frustrating element, but it is worth giving it the suitable consideration – making changes during filming will always be easier than in post-production, with limited changes possible.

Accessible products

Product accessibility in the mass-market means irrespective of budget; lighting equipment is readily available. With an understanding of the fundamentals of the process and the right consideration, a video or film project can seem less daunting and more possible, achieving the high-quality results that you will be aiming from the outset.

When approaching a new project, a strong understanding of the various elements involved is essential. Video and film production involves patience and preparation, and lighting is an aspect that cannot be overlooked. With appropriate thought, consideration, and understanding, you can be well on your way to a finished product that is effective and memorable, and a project that you can be proud of.

Sound is always present, even silence is the presence of the absence of sound. So it comes to no surprise that film has accepted sound has a constantly present companion as well. Most people will focus on the beauty of cinematography, editing or directing. But sound, noise and music in a film influence our perception of a film just as much as images do. Films like The Conversation(Francis Ford Coppola, 1974), The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmark, 2007) or Gozo(Miranda Bowen, 2015) proof the importance of sound in film: May that be in terms of narration, aesthetics or emotional response.

The advancement of our technology has made it possible that sounds is not merely a symptom of contemporary filmmaking but it is part of the creative process. Sound in film and its various inventive expressions has it roots at the end of the 1920s, when sound in film was invented. In the USA, sound came about in 1926 while in European countries such as Germany and France sound in film emerged around 1928/1929. Warner Brothers were the first company to invent a sound-on-disc system called Vitaphone. By 1929, Germany had invented a sound-on-film system called Tobis Klangfilm. Crosland’s and Hollingshead’s The Jazz Singer (1927) reflected this milestone in film technology. The latter proved that sound in film was possible and could become a profitable business. Suddenly sound encouraged cinematography and actors were not longer recognised by their faces but by their voices. By 1930 almost every cinema in the USA was wired for sound; Germany followed in 1933 and France in 1935. Cinema was no longer a multimedia show with live orchestra or performances. Besides shaping the structure of the film industry in both America and Europe, sound became a hot property – economically, politically – the latter which has been abused the by Nazis during the 30s and 40s – and socially.

While we take sound in film and its use in matters of aesthetic, narrative, socio-economical or political expression for granted, films towards the end of the 1920s and 1930s lay the foundation for such reflection. The sound invention reflected on-going debates on technology, modernity and its phenomenon of metropolitan cities.

So, if you want to brush up on your film history and get to know the roots of inventive and creative use of sound in film, these are the films you should have a look at. They will show that was an auditive power, which developed a universal language.

How Does Music Help to Shape a Film? If we step back and think about it, music is one of the most peculiar conventions in movies. No one questions that music should be a part of movies because we’ve all grown used to the idea that, in a movie, when two people kiss, we should hear music in the background. Or when the platoon attacks the beach, a symphony should provide the inspiration behind their assault. Of course, no one has a soundtrack accompanying their real lives. But in movies we not only accept this convention, we demand it. Music can be used for a number of effects in a movie. The most obvious way music scores are used is to guide the emotional response of the audience. They provide clues, or, in most cases, huge signposts, that tell audiences how the flm maker wants them to react to a given scene. Some directors play against our expectations and use music in ways we might not expect. Stanley Kubrick shocked audiences when he used “Singin’ in the Rain” as the backdrop to a horrible rape scene in A Clockwork Orange (1971). Music can also provide an overture for a movie when it’s used as the backdrop for the opening credits. The brassy theme music composed by John Williams for Star Wars is one famous and often-parodied example. In some instances, directors use music to foreshadow upcoming events. In horror movies, for example, the score is often used to build up tension and suspense just before the monster attacks one of its victims. Finally, music can be used to shape the ethnic or cultural context of a lm. How Does the Spoken Word Help to Shape a Film? In addition to giving voice to the characters in a movie, two of the more interesting ways the spoken word can shape a movie are through voice-overs and by providing subtext to a scene. Voice-overs are typically used in documentary films, although they occasionally turn up in fiction films such as the original Blade Runner (1982), to provide background to a story or to help move a story from one set of events to another.Used well, voice-overs can be unobtrusive. Used poorly, voice-overs can often seem like “the voice of god”, bringing forth wisdom audiences are supposed to accept unquestioningly. For this reason, some filmmakers refuse to use voice-overs in their films to let audiences have more freedom in determining what the meaning of the lm is. We all know from our own personal conversations that there is often a subtext to the words we hear. Subtext means there is an implicit meaning standing behind the language we actually hear. In lm, actors use this element of language to shape a scene without actually saying what they mean. Similarly, some actors are known for their distinctive voices which have helped define the characters they play. Marilyn Monroe is remembered for her high-pitched breathy voice, which gave a slightly ditzy feel to many of her characters, while John Malkovich has a distant, aloof, and direct manner of speech which helps to give a sinister edge to many of his best on-screen performances.