Unit 38 Voiceover Evaluation

This assignment required me to create a voiceover to add mood and meaning to a scene of my choice. I chose to create one for a scene from the wire where a character called Omar is tracking down someone who owes him something. I first researched Omar’s character and found out that he doesn’t swear and that he is an orphan, two things which I kept in consideration when I created my voiceover. I used Microsoft Word to write the script. I then went on to record the voiceover using the voice memo app on an iPhone 6. I then combined it with the original video clip and edited them together in GarageBand to later be exported to a .mov file. I recorded my voiceover in an empty classroom. I believe my voiceover added some depth to the character that the scene doesn’t explain in itself. I let the audience know that he was an orphan as well as added some aspects that I created such as his love of western films. I did this because I feel that his duster coat makes him look similar to a modern day cowboy. It also makes the scene slightly lighter than it was originally as it makes the audience think about his more personal side. I made it so that the voiceover is him talking directly to the audience which also makes him seem more relatable to the audience as he is addressing them directly and revealing personal things about himself to them. This makes the audience feel closer to the character. I feel that the research that I performed on the character lead to a voiceover that was more true to the source material whilst also adding some of my own ideas.

Unit 38.1 Sound Analysis

Moving Image Soundtrack Report 

Music

Music is used to set the mood of a scene. It can also be used to signify things to come within the film. In the film Kingsman: The Secret Service there is a scene near the end where they are infiltrating the antagonist’s base that include two separate pieces of music. The first piece of music in this scene runs from the beginning of the scene until about 38s in and is used to build suspense as the two agents are trying to find ways out of seemingly inescapable situations that would almost certainly lead to their deaths. This piece is a sound bridge between the main shots of the main character ‘Eggsy’ surrounded by soldiers in a hallway and another agent ‘Merlin’ in a plane which is about to have missiles launched at it. The second piece of music starts at around 43s and runs until about 1:45s is used whilst the implants are exploding within people’s heads and is synchronised with the sound of the explosions. The first piece of music was an original score for the film but the second piece of music is a very well known composition by Sir Edward Elgar. It is called March No.1 and it is from the Pomp and Circumstance series of marches. This piece of music is probably most commonly associated with American college graduation ceremonies in modern times but it is actually a military march from 1901. This music choice could be used to represent the fight between the good force that is The Kingsman and the evil that is Valentine. The name of the series of marches also comes from an Othello quote describing how war is glorious in all of its ritual and ceremony. This may be representing the glory of stopping evil and saving the world and it's values from said evil. Some people also see it as an unofficial national anthem for Britain so it could also represent the agents fighting for their country. This music is also used as a sound bridge as we cut to different settings around the world to show the scope of implants exploding and the amount of people swayed by Valentine. Another example of film music is the opening scene of the film ‘Children of Men’. There is only one piece of music in the scene starting at 36s and running until around 1:01. It is most likely diegetic sound stemming from the news report on the death of the world’s youngest person. It could, however, be non-diegetic and playing only for the audience to hear to set the mood of the scene. It is used to set the mood of the film because it conveys the sadness that the world if feeling because of infertility problems.

Sound Effects

Sound effects are used to tell the audience what is going on in a scene and can be used to show a setting of a scene. An example of sound effects are in the opening scene of Children of Men. There are multiple sound effects in the scene. Most of the sound effects are that of the cars, buses and motorised rickshaws driving through the street that Theo is on, these start at around 56s in and run through the rest of the scene. There is also an explosion, at 1:28, when the coffee shop that Theo had just left is bombed toward the end of the scene which sets off a synchronous ringing of an alarm and in the ears of Theo as he was very close to the shop when It happened. The ringing is a sound bridge to the next scene where it becomes the noise of a scanner at the entrance to the building in which Theo works. The sound effects of the scene are naturalistic because they are realistic sounds that would be happening in that situation.

Dialogue

Dialogue is used to explain situations and to set the scene of a film or show.It can also be used as an exposition of things too complicated to explain using video alone. An example of this is in the documentary series Louis Theroux: Dark States. This is a programme that uses live interviews and so the dialogue in the programme is live location sound the fact that the conversations are real also means the dialogue is naturalistic. In the 3rd episode 'Murder In Milwaukee’, for example, he interviews the family of a man who was fatally shot by police on location a the scene where the shooting had previously taken place. The actual interview begins at around the 35s mark in the scene before which the dialogue is recorded post production to explain the situation before the interview.

In fight club there is a scene just after word gets around about the club where one of the main characters 'Tyler Durden' is explaining the rules of fight club. this is functional dialogue because it explains exactly what fight club is as well as showing the secretive nature of the club. This scene is also a good example of voiceover as at 1:00 in the scene the other main character referred to only as 'The Narrator' begins a voiceover to further explain the scene and the mentality behind members of the fight club.

Kingsman Scene Sound Analysis

Kingsman: The Secret Service is a 2014 action film. There is a particular scene toward the end of the film where implants, put in certain peoples heads by the villain as a way to keep them safe from the cull that he wants to perform on humanity, are set to explode to help the Kingsman agents escape what would otherwise be certain death and to help save the world from the villain of the film. I will be focusing on the dialogue, sound FX and music of this scene in this analysis.

Dialogue
There is little dialogue in the scene and it is mainly used to explain to the audience what is about to happen in the scene. The rest of the dialogue is the reactions of the main villain 'Valentine' and the Kingsman agents to the events of the scene. The Kingsman agents having a good reaction as it has helped them in their mission to stop Valentine. One of the characters, called Merlin, went as far as to say 'fucking spectacular' after the implants had finished exploding . Valentine and his assistant Giselle having an adverse reaction as it has damaged his plan to keep the most 'useful' people alive whilst the rest of the world is culled. an example of this is Valentine screaming 'No' as he realises what is about to happen.

Sound FX
All of the sound effects in the scene are naturalistic as they are realistic to the scene and would actually be heard in that situation. They are also all diegetic as they all come from sources that are actually in the realm of the film as opposed to added in later for only the audience to hear. The sources of the sound effects are computers, a surface to air missile launcher, guns cocking, exploding implants and exploding heads. There are no ambient sounds in the scene. The sound effects are synchronised to the music in the scene to help with comedic effect as you can also see the heads exploding into clouds of colourful gas instead of gore because the antagonist is extremely squeamish.

Music
There are two separate pieces of music in the scene, both of them being non-diegetic. The first piece of music runs from the beginning of the scene until about 38s in and is used to build suspense as the two agents are trying to find ways out of seemingly inescapable situations that would almost certainly lead to their deaths. This piece is a sound bridge between the main shots of the main character Eggsy surrounded by soldiers in a hallway and another agent Merlin in a plane which is about to have missiles launched at it. The second piece of music starts at around 43s and runs until about 1:45s is used whilst the implants are exploding within peoples heads and is synchronised with the sound of the explosions. The first piece of music was an original score for the film but the second piece of music is a very well know composition by Sir Edward Elgar. It is called March No.1 and it is from the Pomp and Circumstance series of marches. This piece of music is probably most commonly associated with American college graduation ceremonies in modern times but it is actually a military march from 1901. This music choice could be used to represent the fight between the good force that is The Kingsman and the evil that is Valentine. The name of the series of marches also comes from an Othello quote describing how war is glorious in all of its ritual and ceremony. This may be representing the glory of stopping evil and saving the world and it's values from said evil. It is also seen as an unofficial national anthem for Britain by some people so it could also represent the agents fighting for their country. This music is also used as a sound bridge as we cut to different settings around the world to show the scope of implants exploding and the amount of people swayed by Valentine.

Children of Men Opening Scene Sound Analysis

Children of Men is a 2006 Sci-Fi film. The audio of the opening scene sets the mood and setting of the rest of the film. The audio of the film starts before the video to make sure that you are listening because the audio is very important. I will be focusing on the dialogue, sound FX and the music of the scene.

Dialogue

The scene starts out with only dialogue as it sets the scene for the film and explains the state of the world at the time of the film.The government is, for example, deporting all immigrants, Seattle is under siege for its 3rd year and the army has taken over all mosques. There is very little dialogue in the scene. It comes only from the newsreaders on the TV and from the main character ‘Theo’ ordering a coffee. The dialogue from Theo isn’t functional but the dialogue from the newsreaders is as it sets the scene and hints to us that the human race has become infertile because they explain that the youngest person in the world at the time was 18 years old. There are also multiple people crying in the background at the news of the death. Toward the end of the scene there is a bombing which results in lots of screaming from the victims and the witnesses.

Music

There is only one piece of music in the scene and it is most likely diegetic sound stemming from the news report on the death of the world’s youngest person. It could, however, be non-diegetic and playing only for the audience to hear to set the mood of the scene. This is something it would do either way though. The music seems to get a small amount quieter the further Theo gets away from the TV and then as he gets closer to the second TV at the back of the shop he is in it seems to get louder again. The quality of the music is also not very good which could point to it coming through the speakers of the TV rather than playing in the background and therefore it being diegetic sound.

Sound FX

There are multiple sound effects in the scene. Most of the sound effects are that of the cars, buses and motorised rickshaws driving through the street that Theo is on. There is also an explosion when the coffee shop that Theo had just left is bombed toward the end of the scene which sets of a synchronous ringing of an alarm and in the ears of Theo as he was very close to the shop when It happened. The ringing is a sound bridge to the next scene where it becomes the noise of a scanner at the entrance to the building in which Theo works. The sound effects of the scene are naturalistic because they are realistic sounds that would be happening in that situation.

Unit 22 Single Camera - Drama Analysis

Unit 22 Single Camera - Drama Analysis

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is a 2003 feature film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film Stars Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu and Vivica A Fox as the main protagonist and main/secondary antagonists of this volume respectively.  It is a crime drama with multiple action sequences as is expected with a Quentin Tarantino film. The film follows Beatrix Kiddo AKA The Bride (Uma Thurman) as she seeks revenge on her former assassin colleagues after they attack her wedding rehearsal and put her into a coma for 4 years. This happens because she left David Carradine’s character ‘The Snake Charmer’ for another man. There are multiple flashbacks to the attack at the church throughout the film. The film follows a non-linear style as the events in the film take place out of chronological order. This film has an open ending because it was made to lead into volume 2 of the story, which happens in a second film. The film follows a non-realist narrative as the majority of the events aren’t plausible Beatrix is the hero of the story and Vivica A Fox and Lucy Liu are the two antagonists of this film with David Carradine being the main antagonist of the film series. The theme of the film is revenge as it centres around Beatrix getting revenge on those who have wronged her in the past. One of the most well known audio and visual elements of the film is the soundtrack and extreme close up on Beatrix’s eyes when she sees the antagonists for the first time before she fights them.

Game of Thrones is an on-going serial drama that first broadcast in 2011 and is currently in-between it’s 7^th and 8^th seasons. The current main stars of the series are Emilia Clarke, Kit Harrington, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams. The series is a fantasy drama and is set in a place called Westeros. The plot revolves around different families and individuals fighting for their claim to the throne of Westeros all whilst a much bigger evil that could spell the end of the world as they know it gradually closes in on them. There are a few flashbacks in the series seen through the eyes of a character called Bran who can see into the past, overall the series follows a linear path however. The fact that it is a fantasy show set in a fake land means that the show follows a non-realist narrative. The character that is seen as the hero of the series is Kit Harrington’s character ‘Jon Snow’ as he has the best morals. There have been a few characters that were considered villains such as ‘Ramsay Bolton’ who was played by Iwan Rheon and ‘Joffrey Baratheon’ who was played by Jack Gleeson. The show focuses more however on the fact that no one is completely good or evil and that it is a grey area. The theme of the show is a power struggle between people. Music is a large part of the show with the theme song probably being the most recognisable piece of music in the show even among people who do not watch the show. One of the most visually interesting scenes for me personally was in the current season where a dragon attacked a supply wagon train and the soldier guarding it. This scene used practical effects in the flames destroying the train and even setting a few stuntmen dressed as soldiers on fire temporarily to show them burning during the attack. They also used CGI to create the dragon and to show it flying through the air with one of the characters riding it and controlling it.

Black Mirror is an on-going drama television series that first broadcast in 2011 and is currently in-between it’s 3^rd and 4^th seasons. There is no main cast as every episode is it’s own individual story. There has however been some well know actors who have had pats in different episodes such as Jon Hamm, Hayley Atwell, Bryce Dallas Howard and Daniel Kaluuya. The series is a sci-fi drama and as each episode follows a separate story it is set in many different places and times. Each episode is generally about the dark side of our lives and the technology that we as humans have become so attached to. Some episodes follow a realist narrative and others follow a non-realist narrative. An example of a realist one is where a member of the royal family is kidnapped and the prime minister has to decide to give into the demands of the kidnappers and ruin his reputation by undergoing an extremely embarrassing and violating task. An example of a non-realist one is where when you die you have the choice of letting your consciousness die or being uploaded to a virtual reality simulation to live forever. The main character of the episode is normally the hero of the story but not every episode has a villain. Each episode follows a different theme but they are all about how life isn’t all happy and that it is hard and that humans aren’t inherently good. The series doesn’t place much focus on the audio elements and instead focuses on the story. One of the most well known episodes is called ‘San Junipero’ and viewers generally praise the cinematography in the episode especially that of the scenes that are set in a nightclub during the 80’s so there is a lot of bright colours and neon lights.