How are sound and music techniques used in this extract of ‘Hollyoaks’?
In most, if not all, television dramas a scene that aims to set an atmosphere of any kind, happy or sad, needs to consist of music that contributes to this. In this extract of Hollyoaks, the desired mood is a tense and fast pace atmosphere, this is carried out by both when the sound and music is used and where it isn’t. A structured way of describing these techniques is categorising them, in this case the most beneficial would be, sound as one group and music as another.
Immediately in this extract we see Max trying to run, heavily across a leafy floor in the forest, looking for ‘tom’. If we only listened too this clip, we could establish all this information (except the characters name max) this is because of the sounds used. The first technique is the use of amplified sounds. At first this is breathing and heavy footsteps, which gives us the impression that the character is out of, breathe for some reason, (in this case we are led to believe it is because he is looking for a boy, Tom). The second amplified sound is the crunching of the leaves beneath his feet; this is simply used to establish the setting, in a forest. Along side this is the ambient
Noise, used throughout the extract to reinforce that the characters are in a forest, these ambiance sounds are those that would be heard in the woods, birds and trees. Linking the two chosen categories together (sound with music), it is possible to say the sound and music are synchronized to one another as in a number of cases the shouting and sudden trumpets are used in time. This increases, or at first, builds up the tense atmosphere that is felt throughout the scene. Staying with the first group for the time being, the shouting of the name ‘Tom’ is a discrete mode of address as, max shouting his name tells the audience he is looking for Tom without intentionally doing so. A third occurrence of amplified sound is when Max dives into a lake. To exaggerate that he is doing this the splash when he hits the water, and the bubbles when he is in the lake are all made louder, this creates a muffled sound, as the water effect is louder than another at that time.
The second group is music; in this scene the music to start is sudden trumpets, starting off at a slower pace but the increasing when the drama becomes more intense. A technique used in many television dramas is a sound motif. A sound motif is a piece of music or sound that is typically associated with a type of character, in this case when Clare is framed on screen the trumpets are significantly darker as she is our ‘villain’. The motif is introduced not when Clare is firs framed, but when she pulls a certain look with her face, this theme runs throughout the scene. The effects of sound and music are not only useful when they are present, but also when they are not. We see this twice in this extract, firstly when the music cuts out slightly before Max shouts, “Where is he?” (Without a fade), this is to let the characters commence with an exchange of dialogue.
The second occurrence of this is slightly different as it is when the sound effects are cut out and only the music is played, reverting back to the first category, sound, we can identify the build up to this significant change in the scene. First, there is a quick combination of both diegetic and non-diegetic, when we first, hear Tom banging and screaming (non diegetic, then we see the screaming and banging (diegetic) one second after, linked with an eye line match; this sound is again amplified. The second element of the build up towards this dramatic change in the scene is once again the amplified sounds of splashing, and in this case louder more desperate shouting by Max to show his struggle, used to heighten the tension to its fullest amount. When it reaches this peak, all sound effects completely cut out and a new piece of music is introduced, slower and more gentle, the song highlights the movement of Max in the water, this is slow a sense of ‘give up’, however this also creates an ironic atmosphere. The use of a piece of music in a major key initiates a sense of irony among the audiences’ minds.
To conclude, all sound and music techniques used in this extract are used in such a detailed way, any atmosphere that is aimed for can be created, however the sound and music must both be in synchronization with the action in the scene and also with each other, being mixed and cut/faded out when appropriate. All this and more will create a consistent and successful backing track.
Monday, 20 October 2008
Sunday, 12 October 2008
Shameless essay
Shameless series 1, episode 5 (37-41 minutes).
"Explain how (to what effect) camerawork and editing are used in this excerpt."
In this excerpt of Shameless, we studied not only the camera techniques but also the editing. As Shameless is a well-edited piece of TV drama, it was not as easy to point out the editing structures as other dramas.
The excerpt itself was 4:00 minutes long however in this four minutes there was a complex amount of camera techniques, all of which can be grouped into particular categories. The first selection of camera techniques I have grouped are those that see the characters from the audiences point of view (more so than the others), for example the scene itself begins with a long shot of Frank, and follows with the camera Tracking. The use of tracking is the first way the director establishes the character form the audiences’ point of view. Another technique that is used, and can be placed in the same category is the use of when the camera cuts between each character involved in the scene, (after the fight between Frank and his son). This is done to show who, what and why the characters are and doing in this scene. The final characteristic of the camera, in this category is zooming. This occurs in this scene to highlight the importance of ‘Karl’ (in this excerpt), and again is from the audiences’ point of view.
The second category is the camera angles used from the characters point of view; to a certain extent. The first most obvious example of this is when the camera cuts to a point of view shot, of ‘Karl’ whilst he is driving, this shot shows Karl looking at his father ‘Frank’; giving us the impression that there is tension between the character looking, and the character being looked at. The second camera technique that reflects the feeling of the character is when the camera is on a cantered angle. Using this angle, even for just the 2 seconds, gives us as the audience a sense of how the character involved (Frank) is feeling, when he has been knocked to the ground, in this case unsteadiness. Similar techniques, which give the same effect, the point of view of the character, are those such as a ‘worms eye view’. In this excerpt this is used almost as a point of view shot of Frank when he is on the floor, showing the contrast of levels in the actual fight scene. A fish eye lens is also used in this compilation of techniques, to reflect how ‘Karen’ is feeling in this scene (overly stressed) but also to show where she is, hence the use of fish eye to show more of her bedroom.
In this excerpt of Shameless, or any TV drama, the camera angles would not have the same effect if the process of editing did not occur. Shameless is a prime example of ‘good’ editing as whilst deconstructing it, it is hard to notice every cut or transition, it is however possible to identify the obvious and some of the more subtle techniques.
To create a sense of organization among the types of editing, it is possible to apply the same categories to the techniques, point of view of audience and point of view of characters. The first occurrence of a simple piece of editing, a cut, is used in sync with the first camera movement, tracking. The editing takes the tracking to a side view of the car that Karl is driving; this allows cut allows us to see what is taking place, our point of view of the situation. This is the first category, the point of view of the audience. Along with this first cut, the second cut to a reverse zoom of all the characters framed, shows us where all the characters are, in this case out side of ‘Sheila’s’ house. After this scene the setting is in Sheila’s’ house, along with Frank and Karen, in this scene an example of editing is the use of a cut away of Karen, this is used, and can be situated into the same category, as the technique allows us as the audience to see Karen is present. The second category used to distinguish the editing techniques is the point of view of the characters. Shameless achieves this extraordinary well, as when watching an episode or even just an excerpt we are able to feel the same emotion as the characters. A prime example of this occurs directly after the fight scene and just before the next scene; this is the transition between them. The transition is a blurred white fade in, and is used to highlight the unconsciousness of Frank (after just being beaten up). A similar effect is used in the fight scene itself, again a blurred effect however not a transition, it is used more as a cut; this is because we are still in the same scene. It is possible to say the purpose of both of these effects is the same, to highlight the unsteadiness of the character. The final piece of editing that is categorized into this category is an eye-line match. This is used in the second half of the extract when we see Frank look at Karen, then the camera pans across to Karen herself whilst she is static, and again when she exits the scene. This is in this category because we see what the character sees; the characters point of view.
In this excerpt of ‘Shameless’ it is possible to identify many different camera shot types and editing techniques, however without working in unison, both would not be any where near as effective as they are when used together.
"Explain how (to what effect) camerawork and editing are used in this excerpt."
In this excerpt of Shameless, we studied not only the camera techniques but also the editing. As Shameless is a well-edited piece of TV drama, it was not as easy to point out the editing structures as other dramas.
The excerpt itself was 4:00 minutes long however in this four minutes there was a complex amount of camera techniques, all of which can be grouped into particular categories. The first selection of camera techniques I have grouped are those that see the characters from the audiences point of view (more so than the others), for example the scene itself begins with a long shot of Frank, and follows with the camera Tracking. The use of tracking is the first way the director establishes the character form the audiences’ point of view. Another technique that is used, and can be placed in the same category is the use of when the camera cuts between each character involved in the scene, (after the fight between Frank and his son). This is done to show who, what and why the characters are and doing in this scene. The final characteristic of the camera, in this category is zooming. This occurs in this scene to highlight the importance of ‘Karl’ (in this excerpt), and again is from the audiences’ point of view.
The second category is the camera angles used from the characters point of view; to a certain extent. The first most obvious example of this is when the camera cuts to a point of view shot, of ‘Karl’ whilst he is driving, this shot shows Karl looking at his father ‘Frank’; giving us the impression that there is tension between the character looking, and the character being looked at. The second camera technique that reflects the feeling of the character is when the camera is on a cantered angle. Using this angle, even for just the 2 seconds, gives us as the audience a sense of how the character involved (Frank) is feeling, when he has been knocked to the ground, in this case unsteadiness. Similar techniques, which give the same effect, the point of view of the character, are those such as a ‘worms eye view’. In this excerpt this is used almost as a point of view shot of Frank when he is on the floor, showing the contrast of levels in the actual fight scene. A fish eye lens is also used in this compilation of techniques, to reflect how ‘Karen’ is feeling in this scene (overly stressed) but also to show where she is, hence the use of fish eye to show more of her bedroom.
In this excerpt of Shameless, or any TV drama, the camera angles would not have the same effect if the process of editing did not occur. Shameless is a prime example of ‘good’ editing as whilst deconstructing it, it is hard to notice every cut or transition, it is however possible to identify the obvious and some of the more subtle techniques.
To create a sense of organization among the types of editing, it is possible to apply the same categories to the techniques, point of view of audience and point of view of characters. The first occurrence of a simple piece of editing, a cut, is used in sync with the first camera movement, tracking. The editing takes the tracking to a side view of the car that Karl is driving; this allows cut allows us to see what is taking place, our point of view of the situation. This is the first category, the point of view of the audience. Along with this first cut, the second cut to a reverse zoom of all the characters framed, shows us where all the characters are, in this case out side of ‘Sheila’s’ house. After this scene the setting is in Sheila’s’ house, along with Frank and Karen, in this scene an example of editing is the use of a cut away of Karen, this is used, and can be situated into the same category, as the technique allows us as the audience to see Karen is present. The second category used to distinguish the editing techniques is the point of view of the characters. Shameless achieves this extraordinary well, as when watching an episode or even just an excerpt we are able to feel the same emotion as the characters. A prime example of this occurs directly after the fight scene and just before the next scene; this is the transition between them. The transition is a blurred white fade in, and is used to highlight the unconsciousness of Frank (after just being beaten up). A similar effect is used in the fight scene itself, again a blurred effect however not a transition, it is used more as a cut; this is because we are still in the same scene. It is possible to say the purpose of both of these effects is the same, to highlight the unsteadiness of the character. The final piece of editing that is categorized into this category is an eye-line match. This is used in the second half of the extract when we see Frank look at Karen, then the camera pans across to Karen herself whilst she is static, and again when she exits the scene. This is in this category because we see what the character sees; the characters point of view.
In this excerpt of ‘Shameless’ it is possible to identify many different camera shot types and editing techniques, however without working in unison, both would not be any where near as effective as they are when used together.
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