Announcements Thursday: Sound and midterm review Mid-term next Tuesday --review in sections

Sound Technology and Sound and Film

Sound with Picture Is sound secondary or supportive to vision in cinema? It is less consciously perceived--yet it is a very powerful factor. Our ears do a great deal of selective filtering. So sound in cinema must be consciously controlled: recorded, edited and mixed in a very intentional manner.

Functions of Sound Another register of experience: complexity. Affecting how we experience what we see. Structuring or extend cinematic space. Strengthen continuity, smoothing over edits. As a cue—associated with a character, etc. Information (voice, but also effects, ambient) Spatial or temporal orientation (location, environment, time of day, historical period) Predictive (warning; off-screen or imminent) Conveying mood or character’s emotions Setting the pace of scene

Sound Stems 1. Sound effects 2. Voice 3. Music 4. Ambient sound (5.) Silence

The Conversation, by Francis Ford Coppola, 1974 Sound and space

The Graduate, Mike Nichols, 1961

M, Fritz Lang, Selective use of sound and silence

Sound and the Story DIEGETIC = from the world of the film: voices of characters, sounds made by objects in the story, music represented as coming from instruments in the story space ( = source music). May be on screen or off screen INTERNAL DIAGETIC = thoughts of characters on screen Non-Diegetic = outside of the film: narrator's commentary, sound effects which is added for the dramatic effect, mood music

Playtime, Jacques Tati,1967 Perception/confusion and the representation of sound Foley effects Playing with relationship of Sound to Image

Delicatessen, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, 1991 Rhythm and Motion

Hiroshima Mon Amour, Alain Resnais,1959, 86 min. Modern use of sound

Daughters of the Dust, Julie Dash, 1991 Narration of unborn child Dialogue spoken in the Gullah language

Qualities of Sound Volume Pitch Timbre Rhythm Fidelity between sound and image

Frequency and Amplitude Slow moving wave - low frequency, low pitch Fast moving wave - high frequency, high pitch Wave with great disturbance of molecules - greater volume

Altman The Material Heterogeneity of Recorded Sound (its complex make up)

Altman and Sound Sound is vibration in a medium over time. Most of what we call sounds are complex events of multiple sounds The sound envelope Attack Sustain Decay What is / where is the medium?

Altman and Sound Since sound reception differs from moment of sound production, sounds is necessarily spatial nature. Variables: space, distance, directionality, reverberance Moment of creating sound (carries spatial signature) Moment of recording sound (technical stamp) Moment of playing sound (amplifying / reproducing) Moment(s) of reception (subjectivity, cocktail party effect)

Altman (cont.) Altman discusses the difference between audio as representation vs. reproduction Representations are never reproductions: they are always symbols and things in themselves Becoming more conscious of the resonance between the two We are already extremely attuned to this difference and this is central to communication

Altman (cont.) Communication is about patterning (signal and noise, modulation, difference and sameness, identity and difference) You already are, if unconsciously, extremely engaged and attuned to subtle variations in sound and the ambiguity between representation and materiality—this is fundamental to communication. By becoming more conscious of this—more reflexive— you can be productive in new ways.

Types of Audio Recording Equipment Analog Digital

Audio Recording Techniques Boom or Lavaliere

Audio Recording Choices Digital or analog Pick up pattern for microphone Type of microphone / transducer Stereo, mono Multi-channel recording Field or studio

Microphone Choices Hand held, Boom, Lavaliere Mic, Pick up pattern for microphone: Directional / cardiod Super-cardioid or shotgun Omni-directional Type of microphone / transducer: condenser or dynamic Stereo, mono Field or studio

Microphones Directionality / Pick up pattern: Omni, Uni, Cardiod, Hyper cardiod, shotgun

Microphones Convert molecular disturbances into electrical energy. Transducer: Convert molecular disturbances into electrical energy.

Dynamic Mic Magnet and coil of wire converts sound waves into electrical energy. Rugged, can tolerate high temperature changes and humidity.

Condenser Microphone Requires battery or power from external source. Requires battery or power from external source. Two plates with voltage between them. Two plates with voltage between them. One plate acts like a diaphragm, vibrates thus changing the voltage. One plate acts like a diaphragm, vibrates thus changing the voltage.

Condenser Microphone Output audio signal is weak - requires amplification Output audio signal is weak - requires amplification Power can come from a battery or through the cable = Phantom Power Power can come from a battery or through the cable = Phantom Power Can be very small - lavaliere microphones Can be very small - lavaliere microphones Sensitive to high and low frequency sounds Sensitive to high and low frequency sounds