Master's Thesis

Masters Thesis
Project Title: An Investigation into the Creative Approaches of

Altering and Defining the Perception of Characters in
Film Through Sound Design.

Student Name: Edmond Nolan

Student ID: 0861537

Course of Study: Master of Arts in Music Technology

Supervisor: Leon McCarthy

Academic Year: 2013/2014

Submitted to the University of Limerick, August, 2014

i
Declaration

Project Title: An Investigation into the Creative Approaches of
Altering and Defining the Perception of Characters in
Film Through Sound Design.

Supervisor: Leon McCarthy

This thesis is presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Master of Arts in Music Technology. It is entirely my own work and
has not been submitted to any other university or higher education
institution, or for any other academic award in this university. Where use has
been made of the work of other people it has been fully acknowledged and
fully referenced.

Signature:___________________________
Edmond Nolan

Date:_______________________________
ii
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank:

My supervisor Leon McCarthy for his guidance, expertise and patience
throughout the length of this project.
The University of Limerick and The Department of Computer Science and
Information Systems for giving me access and usage to the great facilities that
have helped me throughout my five years here at UL.
My family for the support and encouragement they have given me
throughout my nineteen years of education.
I would finally like to thank all my friends and colleagues who have helped
me throughout the last year and the previous four years here at UL.

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Table of Contents
Declaration...i

Acknowledgements...ii

Table of Contents..iii

List of Figuresvi

List of Tables..vi

Abstract..vii

1. Chapter 1: Introduction.....1
1.1. Overview.......1
1.2. Motivation.1
1.3. Objectives...2

2. Chapter 2: Sound Design in Film........4
2.1. Overview...4
2.2. Sound Design4
2.2.1. Dialogue5
2.2.2. Music.5
2.2.3. Sound Effects....6
2.3. Relationship between the Film, Theatre and Audience..7

3. Chapter 3: Sound and Image............9
3.1. Overview...9
3.2. Unifying Images...9
3.3. Added Value ..10
3.4. On and Off Screen Sounds11
3.4.1. On Screen Sounds...11
3.4.2. Off Screen Sounds...11

4. Chapter 4: Defining Scenes........13
4.1. Overview.13
4.2. Dialogue..13
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4.3. Music13
4.4. Sound Effects...16
4.4.1. Background Sound Effects Creating an Atmosphere.16
4.4.2. Background Sound Effects Creating Anxiety 17

5. Chapter 5: Defining Characters.........19
5.1. Overview.19
5.2. Character Identification.19
5.3. Dialogue...20
5.4. Music21
5.5. Sound Effects...22
5.5.1. Exaggerating Sounds..22
5.5.2. Manipulating Sounds .22
5.5.3. Narrative Cueing ...24

6. Chapter 6: Alternate Sound Design Compositions.......25
6.1. Overview.25
6.2. Composition 1: Fight Club25
6.2.1. Brief Synopsis..25
6.2.2. Scene Selection.27
6.2.3. Overview of Intentions...27
6.2.4. Work Done..28
6.2.5. Process.29
6.2.6. Time Points of Edits....31
6.3. Composition 2: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels32
6.3.5. Process.34
6.4. Composition 3: 127 Hours.36
6.4.5. Process.39
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6.5. Composition 4: No Country For Old Men..40
6.5.5. Process.43

7. Analysis..............................................46
7.1. Overview.46
7.2. Composition 1: Fight Club46
7.3. Composition 2: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels47
7.4. Composition 3: 127 Hours.48
7.5. Composition 4: No Country For Old Men..49

8. Impact.................................................51
8.1. Overview.51
8.2. Impact...51

9. References and Bibliography.54

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List of Figures

Figure 6.1. Shocked look on the Characters Face26
Figure 6.2. First Smile on the Characters Face.27
Figure 6.3. A Screenshot of the Fight Club Session.30
Figure 6.4. The Stunned Look on Eddys Face..34
Figure 6.5. Arons Hand Stuck in-between the Boulder and Rock Wall...37
Figure 6.6. Llewelyn Waiting for Chigurh.40

List of Tables
Table 2.1. Music Story Relationship..6
Table 2.2. Sound Energy Transformation...8
Table 4.1. Emotional States According and Acoustical Expressions 14
Table 4.2. Musical Genre Impact on Physical, Mental and Emotional State15

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Abstract

This project is an investigation into the creative sound design techniques that
can define and alter our perception of characters in films. This project looks
into a number of sound design techniques used in films, and how these have
defined and altered characters. The project will use then use a number of
different sound design techniques on existing film scenes, the initial sound
design will be replaced with these new sound design techniques which will
attempt to alter our perception of the character within the film scene.

The author will discuss each of the different sound design techniques and
processes used on the existing film clips. Furthermore, the author will then
analyse and reflect on the sound design compositions that were created by the
author from the authors own personal perspective. From this analysis, a
number of recommendations will be made that could be of value to other
sound designers.

1
Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Overview

This thesis investigates how characters are portrayed in films by just using
different sound design techniques. The thesis researches how the sound
design (dialogue, music and sound effects) for specific scenes and characters
are produced and how we perceive these sounds concerning the scenes and
characters of a film. This thesis discusses a number of different ways that the
sound design can alter our perception of scenes and characters through the
dialogue, music and sound effects. Some available literature describes how
dialogue, music and sound effects function with the accompanying images on
screen. It also examines how these sounds help to narrate the story, how
sound effects can be exaggerated and manipulated for specific scenes and
characters and how the sounds can help to define characters. A number of
small case studies from numerous films will help to describe these different
topics throughout the thesis.
The thesis complements this research and presents a number of short
film clips where the initial sound design is replaced with the authors own
creative sound design. The authors sound design will attempt to alter our
perception of characters from the original sound design. The thesis will then
discuss each of the film clips sound design and will discuss what techniques
were used and why they were used. The final two chapters analyses and
comments on the impact of the compositions and then concludes on how
effective the sound design on these different film clips were from the authors
perspective, what could be done again to further alter and define a character
and how this work can of use to future sound designers.

1.2 Motivation

The motivation behind this project was stemmed from the authors own
interest in working with recording, editing and mixing audio in addition to
working with film. The attraction for working with audio has always been a
significant interest in the authors life as the author studied Music, Media and
Performance Technology for four years prior to this Masters in Music
Technology. The framework and modules taught within the Music
Technology course has enabled the author to explore many aspects of sound
2
and how sound is used to convey emotion, atmosphere and feeling in film
production. Some of the topics that emerged from the MA course included
examining emotions in music and sounds. Some of these topics investigate
specific certain musical genres and the impact these genres can have on our
physical, mental and emotional state. These three states are further explained
later on in this thesis. The author found these topics interesting and decided
to work closely with these topics for this thesis.
The authors interest in film has also contributed to the motivation of
choosing this project and has always had an interest in going to the cinema
and understanding how the film was produced. The author has previously
taken a number of modules on digital video and has worked on projects that
include producing short films.
The authors motivation to work solely on the sound design came about from
watching documentaries of the production of sound design in popular films
on YouTube. These documentaries highlighted the sound design process from
popular films including; Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Wall-E, Batman, Argo,
Saving Private Ryan and many more. The processes that were used in these
films were unique and interesting.
During the first semester of the course the author attended a show-and-tell
seminar with Caoimhe Doyle and Jean McGrath on Foley sound. The two
currently work on the Foley sound for Game of Thrones. The two highlighted
a number of Foley sound techniques that they use for Game of Thrones and
other films. The author found this Seminar immensely interesting and the
idea to use this in the subject area for the thesis was established.
After much thought and consideration it was decided to work on sound
design for film while focusing on how scenes are characters are described and
defined through the sound design.

1.3 Objectives

The main objectives of this project are to investigate the many different ways
that sound design helps to define and alter our own perception of scenes and
characters within a film. The sound design techniques for the different film
clips are based on this investigation. These different sound design techniques
will also be discussed and evaluated in the ending chapters of this thesis.
3
Another objective is to create and produce convincing sound design
productions for films that use dialogue, music and soundtracks, sound effects,
Foley sounds and background effects. This thesis will help to gain the
experience, creativity and knowledge in the field of sound design that will be
beneficial to both the authors existing knowledge and future endeavours
along with contributing knowledge that could be of benefit to other sound
designers.

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Chapter 2: Sound Design in Film

2.1. Overview

This chapter first defines sound design and then discusses the importance of
sound design. The chapter demonstrates what a sound designer should
accomplish within a film. The three main attributes of sound design
(dialogue, music and sound effects) are then defined and discussed. The
chapter concludes with how the sound design works in film by looking at the
relationship between a film, a theatre and an audience.

2.2. Sound Design

It is often considered film is only thought of as a visual experience at most;
this is quite far from the truth. The sound design from a film can be as
complex as the images on screen (Sobchack and Sobchack 1980). George
Lucas previously mentioned before many times that sound design is an
important factor of film production; he has emphasised the fact that sound is
half of the experience of film (Holman 2010).

Sound design is responsible for preparing and arranging any required sounds
so that the screen actions and sound are brought together for the pleasure of
the audience or viewer of a film (Sonnenschein 2001). If the whole sound
design process is produced and mixed correctly, the audience or viewer will
believe every thing they see or hear and they will be completely engulfed into
the world of the story (Viers 2008). With the contribution of sound design the
audience will be told the story in a sub-conscious manner, a metaphor for the
life experience itself (Sonnenschein 2001). The sound designer themselves
should be completely immersed in the story, characters, emotions and
environments of the film (Dakic 2009), (Sonnenschein 2001). The sound
designer also utilises some of tools of sound design, which include music,
psychology, acoustics and drama. From these tools the skill of selecting the
right sound for the right moment becomes straightforward.

5
Sound design can be broken down into three different stems: dialogue, music
and sound effects (Mller 2008), (Sobchack and Sobchack, 1980). The story of
the film can be told using any one of these three components to express the
emotion of the film. This stated, when these three components are brought
together into one whole, the story is taken to a completely different level
(Viers 2008).

2.2.1. Dialogue
Dialogue in film consists of a spoken or written exchange that contributes to a
film. There are three main types of dialogue; theatrical, textual and emanation.
Theatrical speech is where the characters in the scene are generating the
voices, this speech serves to notify us of the story and expresses feelings and
motivations of the characters (Sobchack and Sobchack 1980)(Chion et al. 1994).
Textual speech serves as the voiceover commentary; this is used to change a
setting or to recall a memory, character or place at any moment (Chion et al.
1994). Emanation speech is speech that is not heard or understood properly,
nor is it linked to the narrative line. It can be incomprehensible and avoids
importance on the meaning of the text (Chion et al. 1994). There can also be
other unconventional types of dialogue that will be discussed later on.

2.2.2. Music

Music plays a significant part in our appreciation of a story line. Music plays
the clear role of arranging the films soundtrack but music in a film is also a
nonverbal language that can divulge many insights to the sound designer
(Kulezic-Wilson 2008). Heard on its own, film scores do not make a significant
of sense as the score is intentionally written to intensify the mood of a scene,
the music tells the audience how to feel (Holman 2010).

Music has a wide variety of functions in film; two of the main functions of
music in film are to create atmospheres and to portray emotions. The central
component of music is to communicate; this can include personal expression
and spiritual messages. Other functions include a social, cultural or
geographical reference, a time or period reference, connecting scenes, creating
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contradictions and numerous more functions. These functions are discussed
later in the thesis.

Music consists of rhythm, melody, harmony, tonal centre, silence, and
contrast. These can all be applied to sound design in different elements.
Comparisons can be made between the components of music theory,
composition, and performance with film-making (Sonnenschein 2001). Table
2.1 below shows some of these relationships:

Table 2.1. Music Story Relationship (Sonnenschein 2001).

2.2.3. Sound Effects
A sound effect is a sound other than speech or music that is artificially
reproduced to create an effect in a dramatic presentation (Viers 2008). There
are three main types of sound effects; hard effects, Foley sound effects,
background effects.
Hard effects are the most common effects, these are sounds than can appear
on and off screen, such as gunshots, door alarms, car horns and punches.
Foley sounds are sounds that are performed in sync with the picture. These
sounds would mostly be footsteps, clothes movements and the movement of
hand props.
Background effects are sounds that do not directly synchronise with the
picture but give a setting a sense of location and surrounding environment to
the viewer, such as forest sounds. Background effects are also known as
ambiences or atmospheres, background effects are discussed in more detail
later in the thesis.
Other sound effects can include electronic effects that are designed through
digital audio workstations (Viers 2008).

Music Story
Melody Character
Harmony Setting
Dissonance Conflict
Rhythm Pace
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2.3. Relationship Between the Film, Theatre and Audience

The table below, which is based on a table by (Sonnenschein 2001), shows
how sound works based on looking at the relationship between the film, the
theatre and the audience. This corresponds to where certain sounds are
coming from, how they are conveyed, and the effect they have on sensation
and perception.
It is often remarked that sound has four different levels of qualities that are
being transmitted to the audience; they are physical, emotional, intellectual,
and moral.
Physical - would be the technical aspects of the sound that are interacting
with our biological functions.
Emotional - would be the emotional recognition and identification with the
characters of the story, which creates an emphatic reaction.
Intellectual would be the aesthetic thoughts that are transmitted in the
context of human interaction.
Moral would be the ethical and spiritual perspectives which are notifying
us to possible choices outside the range of our own personal desires.

These four qualities help to define the responsibility of the sound design in
telling the story of the film. As the character of the film and the audience in
the theatre are transformed, the sound is also transformed.

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FILM SCREENING AUDIENCE

PHYSICAL
Technical,
mechanical,
biological.
Sound sources,
acoustic
environments,
recording, editing,
mixing, transfers.
Sound
playback
systems,
theatre space,
theatre
audience
presence.
Auditory
system,
neurological
functions.

EMOTIONAL
Psychological,
dramatic
Story, characters,
goals, conflicts,
tone of voice,
music, rhythm.
External
audience
reaction (e.g.,
laughter,
screams,
crying)
Laughter, tears,
heartbeat,
empathy for
characters
emotions.

INTELLECTUAL
Structural, aesthetic
Music composition,
verbal ideas.
(Not
applicable)
Heightened,
awareness,
confusion,
mystery,
suspense,
humour.

MORAL
Spiritual, ethical
Unresolved
dilemmas,
ambiguous
relationships,
search for
resolution/unity.
(Not
applicable)
Choice of
identification,
inner
questioning.
Table 2.2. Sound Energy Transformation (Sonnenschein 2001).

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Chapter 3: Sound and Image

3.1. Overview

This chapter discusses how sounds and images work together to compliment
each other. The first part of the chapter discusses how scenes, cuts and still
images can be put together or separated by using just the sound. The chapter
then discusses how sounds can make us look at images differently through
added value. Finally the chapter discusses on and off screen sounds and how
these sounds can be used to help narrate and describe the story.

3.2. Unifying Images

One of the main responsibilities of sound in film is to unify and connect the
stream of images. The sounds of a film help to tie together the different
images and edits. This can be called added value where the sound enhances a
given image as to create a definite effect (Chion et al. 1994). When the sound is
continued across an image cut, we sense the impression of continuity in the
image as well (Sonnenschein 2001). The sound that remains after an image cut
indicates to the audience that while the point of view has changed, the scene
has not changed, the sound overlaps provide a connective tissue for films.
The atmosphere ambience of a scene helps to connect these images, they
provide an anchor for the images meaning that we stay in the same space
(Holman 2010) (Chion et al. 1994). When a gap occurs in either the image or
sound, music acts to fill in this gap without it being a distraction for the
audience. A popular example of unifying images is in Bergmans Persona
(Bergman 1966). This series of shots illustrate a nail going through a hand, it
consists of three separate shots but with the sound added it seems like its the
one shot as the sound links these three shots (Chion et al. 1994).

Similarly, when sounds suddenly stop in the middle of an image, a feeling of
bafflement and anxiety are brought about on the viewer (Sonnenschein 2001)
but when a sound that stops suddenly at an image cut usually means that
there is a change of scene. Making image cuts along with beats in a musical
score often makes the image cuts seem very right (Chion 2009). Prelap edits
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can be used to assist with the transition of scenes in film; this is when sound is
edited in just before the scene-changing image. This warns us and heightens
out sense that the scene is changing and is going onto the next scene (Holman
2010).

Still images do not give reference to a movement in time; sounds can give
these still images a sense of time and life. If a still image showed a quite
neighbourhood, we perceive it as just a still in time but if we add the sound of
a dog barking off screen we can then perceive this image as an image that has
movement in time and in life (Sonnenschein 2001). In Kershners The Empire
Strikes Back (Kershner 1980) a door closing effect was needed as the visuals
were still shots of the door closed followed by a still shot of the door open. A
sound effect of an electronic door was put in over these two still shots,
viewers thought that the door had opened in front of them on screen (Chion
et al. 1994). This is a great example of added value; added value will be
discussed in the next section of this chapter.

Sounds also have an effect on the movement of time with a moving image. An
image without sound seems to run slower than the same image with sound
(Holman 2010). This effect is highlighted in the Wachowski brothers The
Matrix (Wachowski and Wachowski 1999). When they were shooting the
subway fight scene the producers wanted to see the scene just after the shot
was edited, the sound had not yet been done, the producers said the scene
was too long. The sound designer Dane Davis then put the sound effects into
the scene and showed the producers. The producers congratulated the picture
editor saying that he did a great job tightening up the dead time. He hadnt
done anything to the scene, just Dane Davis adding the sound effects.

3.3. Added Value

Added value describes how sound and images compliment and benefit each
other. Added value works mutually between images and sounds. Sound
presents us an image differently to what an image would look like alone, and
an image likewise causes us to hear a sound differently than a sound on its
own (Chion et al. 1994).
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Sometimes the expectation of an image and sound match is not fulfilled, this
is called a false sync point, for example when a gun is pointed at a persons
head and there is then a cut to another image we hear the sound of the shot.
Although we havent seen the shot, we fill in with our minds that this does
exist on screen. In some horror films the sound conveys an image in a more
horrifying way than if the images were shown on their own without audio. A
classic example of this is shown in Robert Aldrichs Kiss Me Deadly (Aldrich
1955), a woman is being tortured but we see none of the actual torture on
screen, only her two naked legs kicking and struggling. We then hear her
loud screams, which portrays to the viewer that she is being tortured.
Another example is in Andrei Tarkovskys Rublov (Tarkovsky 1971), a
prince is being tortured but the action of the torture is being blocked from
view by the back of the torturer. We initially see that the torturer has a ladle
full of boiling oil in his hand, then behind the view he pours the oil down the
princes neck, all we can hear then is the sound of the gargling oil in his throat.

3.4. On and Off Screen Sounds

3.4.1. On Screen sounds
These are sounds that are matched with a source on screen; these can also be
called synchronous sounds. Some examples of these could include lips
syncing during conversation, door slams, footsteps, explosions, sirens, etc.
(Sonnenschein 2001), (Sobchack and Sobchack 1980).

3.4.2. Off Screen Sounds
Off screen sounds are sounds that are not matched visibly with a source on
screen; we can hear these sounds without seeing any source on screen. These
sounds are used to help narrate the story (Holman 2010). Some examples of
off screen sounds would include ambient backgrounds including; thunder,
traffic outside a house, off screen characters talking to on screen characters or
drawing the attention of a character to an off screen event, which motivates
the characters actions (Sonnenschein 2001). These sounds are usually written
into the script (Holman 2010). The sounds allow the sound designer more
freedom in interpreting the scene and can offer the viewer more insight than
12
what would be possible with only onscreen sounds. To interpret that an office
worker is working on an upcoming deadline, exaggerated clock ticking
sounds can be played over the image of the office worker, an example of this
is used in the film Drive (Refn 2011), where the main character is waiting for
a colleague to come back to a car during a heist where he has a five minute
time limit. Other uses of off screen sounds include cost cutting measures, in
the film Boyz n the Hood (Singleton 1991) a certain scene required a
helicopter, which would be a big addition to the budget. The director John
Singleton was able to create a helicopter by using off screen helicopter
sounds and lighting effects (Holman 2010).

Off screen sounds can be broken up into two types of sound. They can be
either active or passive.
Active sounds are sounds that raise questions or curiosity to see what it is or
what is happening, these answers lie off screen. These sounds can also be
called acoustic sounds. These sounds help to drive the film forward and
engage the audiences anticipation. These off screen sounds are used
regularly to introduce objects by having the sound first followed by the
source coming on screen (Sonnenschein 2001) (Chion et al. 1994).
Passive sounds are sounds that create atmospheres and environments. These
sounds help to envelop and stabilise the image without having to look in any
direction for a source, these can be used to create seamless edit cuts. These
sounds give a background to a scene, which allows other sounds to move
freely in space or include close-ups without disorientating the viewer. An
example would include a mix of different city sounds (Chion et al. 1994)
(Sonnenschein 2001). These passive off screen sounds are discussed in more
detail later in the next chapter through background sound effects.

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Chapter 4: Defining Scenes

4.1. Overview

This chapter discusses how the sound design can help to define a scene
primarily through music and background sound effects. The chapter
describes how the sound can help to tell the story and how the sound can
reveal something that the image on screen does not or cannot, for example, an
emotion that is not obvious to the picture or how certain sounds can bring
about a different perception to a scene. The chapter is mainly divided into
how music and background sound effects do this.

4.2. Dialogue

Dialogue is not used extensively to help define a scene as the music and
background effects are primarily used to do this, although there are some
examples of films using dialogue to help explain and define a scene. For
example, processing of a characters voice can be done to make a character
sound like they are in a computer or an unreal world. In Kosinskis Tron:
Legacy (Kosinki 2010), the voices of the characters in the computer world all
have processing carried out on their voice to make them sound like they are
in the computer world.

4.3. Music

The main purpose of music in film is to tell the viewer how to perceive a
scene from moment to moment (Holman 2010). The music takes on a scenes
rhythm, tone and expression, mainly the music engages in cultural codes for
attributes like happiness, sadness and movement, this is shown below in table
4.1. Music is able to draw out emotions and different music genres produce
different emotions and responses, the structure of the music can also help to
define the actual purpose of the composition. Chion describes this as
empathetic music, which comes from the word empathy, the ability to share
the feelings of others (Chion et al. 1994). Music can also express visible apathy
to a scene by progressing in a steady, undaunted and inevitable manner; the
scene takes place against this setting of apathy. The contrast of the scene with
14
this indifferent music has the effect of intensifying the emotion rather than
freezing the emotion, Chion describes this as anempathetic music (Chion et al.
1994). A modern popular example of this is used in the final scene of AMCs
Breaking Bad (Gilligan 2013). In the final scene Walter is shown dying on the
floor while the camera zooms out. Instead of using slow, unenergetic music to
express sadness and mournfulness the music that is used is fast moving,
animated and warm which expresses happiness. This contrast of the scene
and indifferent music seems to intensify the emotion.

Table 4.1 below by Friederich Marpurg from the 18th century shows different
emotional states according to different acoustical expressions (Sonnenschein
2001). Many of his ideas on emotional states are related to the soundtracks
that we hear today.

Table 4.1. Different Emotional States According to Different Acoustical
Expressions (Sonnenschein 2001).

Emotion Expression
Happiness
Fast movement; animated and
triumphant melody; warm tone
colour; more consonant harmony
Sorrow
Slow, languid melody; sighing;
caressing of single words with
exquisite tonal material; prevailing
dissonant harmony
Fear
Tumbling downward progressions,
mainly in the lower register.
Laughter Drawn out, languid tones.
Love
Consonant harmony; soft, flattering
melody in broad movements
Hate Rough harmony and melody
Compassion
Soft, smooth, lamenting melody; slow
movement; repeated figures in the
bass
15

It has been found from music therapy that different genres of music can have
an impact on a listener. Table 4.2 shows the musical genre can have an impact
on a persons physical, mental and emotional state. This table can also be
linked to how these different musical genres can describe different scenes
(Sonnenschein 2001).

Genre Impact
Rock
Aggressive movement, building or
releasing tension.
Heavy Metal, Punk, Rap, Hip-Hop,
Grunge
Animating the nervous system,
rebellious behaviour
Big Band, Pop, Country, Western
Cantered, feeling of goodness,
contained movement.
Latin Salsa, Rhumba, Samba
Sexy, heart pounding, body
stimulating
Romantic (Tchaikovsky, Chopin)
Emotion, warmth, pride, romance,
patriotism
Sacred, Hymns, Gospel, Shamanic
Drumming
Grounding, deep peace, spiritual
awareness, transcend and release
pain
Table 4.2. Musical Genre Impact on a Persons Physical, Mental and
Emotional State (Sonnenschein 2001).

Another example of how music tells the viewer how to feel is by the
emotional sound equation, which says low frequencies portray a sense of
anxiety and threat. A popular example of this music is in the score of Jaws
(Spielberg 1975), the shark is introduced by playing the low four notes
underneath the calm ocean sounds. This introduces the feeling of uneasiness
and anxiety (Holman 2010).

The music in a film heard alone can distance us from the images on screen, as
there is no dialogue or sound effects to synchronise us with the images. This
is one of the reasons why most films start with music and gradually add in
the sound effects, it is used to draw the viewer into the story (Holman 2010).
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4.4. Sound Effects

The sound effects that are primarily used to define scenes are the background
sound effects. These are the background sounds that describe the setting of a
scene. The background sounds put the viewer in that space and envelope
them into the scene (Chion et al. 1994). Background sounds in film are said to
be a soundscape. A soundscape is a combination of sounds that forms an
immersive environment, this term was coined by R. Schafer (Schafer 1993).
There are three main elements to a soundscape; a keynote sound, sound
signal and soundmark.
A Keynote sound is a sound that identifies the place; it identifies the key of a
piece. In nature these would include; wind, water, forests, insects and animals
while an urban setting would include traffic. These sounds can be listened to
unconsciously. A sound signal is a foreground sound that is listened to
consciously; examples would include sirens, whistles and horns. A
soundmark is a sound that establishes a particular place just like a landmark;
a soundmark is a sound that is unique to a specific area.

4.4.1. Background Sounds Effects Creating an Atmosphere
Background sounds can be used to help inform the viewer when and where
scenes are taking place, these sounds can even tell what time of the day it is,
what year or century it is, what part of the world it is, what continent or
country it is and even the age of a house that the scene takes place in is. For
example when indicating how old a building is the sounds can include
creaking and pipe rattling to convey an old house or the sounds could include
electronic beeps and buzzes to convey a new house (Sonnenschein 2001).

Along with these background effects the music of the film can also help to tell
the viewer what part of the world the scene is taking place in. This music is
sometimes used as the score or it can be put into the film as background
music that would be heard on a car radio or heard from performers on the
street. To inform the audience that a scene is taking place in Asia xylophones
and woodblocks are used as musical instruments. In addition, if a scene is
taking place in Paris accordions and harmonicas are used.

17
Other indiscreet sound effects can be used as ambience sounds, these can help
to set the scene of the action (Holman 2010). In the film Boys n the Hood,
(Singleton 1991) there are a number of scenes in a classroom that is in a poor
neighbourhood of Los Angeles. To help convey this, the director John
Singleton remembered that when he attended school the school was in the
flight path of a Los Angeles International Airport, so Singleton added
airplane pass over sound objects to the scene, which conveyed that the school
was in a poor neighbourhood of Los Angeles (Holman 2010).

Initially the sound designer Dane Davis had plans to use the same
background sound effects throughout the matrix world. As the matrix world
was code from a computer and computers have limits with processing, he
wanted the audio to have limits as well. His idea was to use the same footstep
and car horn sound throughout the film along with other sounds looping in
the background going in and out of sync with the scenes, so if a person were
watching the film closely they would be able to tell that the matrix world
wasnt real. Another technique used in The Matrix along with American
Beauty (Mendes 1999) and Fight Club (Fincher 1999) is that when the
characters are in their initial state the sound has little perspective,
directionality or movement and when the characters come into new
discoveries the sound acts in a different way, the sound has a variety of
frequencies, movements and dynamic range (Sonnenschein 2001).

4.4.2 Background Sound Effects Creating Anxiety
Low frequency sounds are added to some films to induce a sense of anxiety to
a scene. The low frequency rumble gives a subliminal feeling that something
isnt right. Ben Burtt describes this as an emotional dictionary, associating
certain sounds with emotions (Holman 2010). The low frequency sound of a
thunderstorm in the distance is usually played under the sounds for a sunny
scene to indicate a sense of anxiety and apprehension. Two popular examples
of this are the four low notes on the score for Jaws (Spielberg 1975),and low
frequency rumble in Apocalypse Now (Coppola 1979) that indicates the B-52
bomb strike.

18
Although the previously mentioned anempathetic effect is mainly created by
music, the effect can also be produced by sound effects. A popular example of
this is when there is a violent death of a character and a certain sound effect
continues, like the sound of a machine. An example of this is used in
Hitchcocks Psycho (Hitchcock 1960) when the woman is murdered and the
sound of the shower is continued after her death. This continued sound
leaves the viewer tense and anxious.

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5. Defining Characters

5.1. Overview

This chapter discusses how the sound design can help to define a character
mainly through dialogue and sound effects. This chapter first discusses how
we can identify and perceive characters in films. The chapter then describes
how dialogue can be altered to define characters. The chapter then discusses
how sound effects can help to define and reveal characters strengths,
intentions and even help to reveal hidden storylines that cannot be revealed
through the image.

5.2. Character Identification

Characters can sound different from each other to the audience through their
actions. Characters can also sound different if we can get into their head and
hear what they hear. In Sonnenscheins book Sound Design (Sonnenschein
2001), he lists out four different ways in which we can identify and perceive
characters. These are listed below:
Objective Audience Perspective: This is when the audience hears the sounds
that the character makes beyond the dialogue; we hear the sounds from an
outside point of view. Some of these sounds can include communication of
the voice range, coughs and sighing, finger tapping and punches, tiptoeing
and stomping. These all express something about the character at that
moment in time.
Subjective Character Experience: This is when the audience hears the sounds
that the character is hearing; this experience is like being in the characters
head. This allows the audience to have an intense bond with the experience;
this experience is strengthened if the scene shown is different and distinct
from any other scene in the film. Having the image on screen of what the
character is actually seeing strengthens this association. A popular example of
this subjective character experience is shown in the film Saving Private Ryan
(Spielberg 1998) which Gary Rydstrom does the sound design. When Tom
Hanks character Captain Miller is suffering hearing loss from shell shock
20
during the beach scene, the outside world sounds are silenced. Occasionally
therere some distorted bits of outside sound but the majority of the sound is
just like when a seashell is held against an ear, this gives the impression that
we are inside his head listening to what he can hear.
Other popular examples of this subjective experience are when films deal
with drug experiences or hallucinations. When the characters do the drugs
more and more of the real world sounds would disappear depending on how
high the character is, sounds would then focus in on certain objects that the
character would be looking at, like a spoon bubbling or the tightening of a
belt.
Non-Literal Sound: These sounds in a film would be sound other than the
dialogue; these sounds would be music, sound effects, ambience and
background noise, etc. Music would be the most common non-literal sound
that would be used to highlight a characters personality or emotion.
However, sound effects and ambience are now used more often to highlight
this.
Emotional Association: This is when characters can be interpreted by the
objects and environments in which they act. The related sounds of the
happiest scenes can be well known things from day-to-day life like the sound
of kids playing and laughing in the background. Another example could be
ambient scenes that would use sounds of the ocean or streams trickling in the
background. A popular example of emotional association is in Star Wars
(Lucas 1977), which Ben Burtt does the sound design; Darth Vaders lighsaber
is pitched to a minor key, while Obiwan Kenobis is pitched to a C major.
These different keys give Darth Vader an uneasy anxious sound and Obiwan
Kenobi a brave fearless sound.
5.3. Dialogue
Earlier on in the thesis it was discussed that there are three main types of
dialogue; theatrical, textual and emanation, there can also be other
unconventional types used when communicating information between
characters. One such type of dialogue is called elimination. Elimination is
when characters are seen talking to each other on screen but the viewer
cannot hear what they are talking about. Usually even if the characters were
far away or on a busy street or in a crowd, we would hear their conversation
21
as being very close and intelligible (Holman 2010) but with elimination the
scene could show the characters talking behind a window, in a crowd, far
away or whispering. This type of dialogue is used to add anxiety and secrecy
to the story as the viewer has to imagine what is being said (Sonnenschein
2001).
Voice analysis has been shown to give clues on a characters emotional state.
Being able to hear that a characters voice is missing particular frequencies and
that other frequencies are boosted can give clues to what emotional state the
character is in. Usually to indicate that a character is depressed or exhausted,
the character is given a hollow voice, nothing but the fundamental
frequencies (Sonnenschein 2001). In Kosinskis Tron: Legacy (Kosinki 2010),
the voices of each the characters in the computer world are processed in
different ways depending on the hierarchy of computer to human. The more
human a character was the less processed the voice would be. In Batman
Begins (Nolan 2005) The Scarecrows voice is processed to give a low dark
sound. This makes his voice sound frightening.

5.4. Music

Most music in film is primarily used to help to define the scenes and draw out
the emotions of those scenes through the music. Some films also have music
for specific characters. This is similar to having a theme song for a character,
when the character is introduced initially the music will be playing, later in
the film the same piece of music can be re played which helps us to re call our
memories of the character. This is similar to the how the shark in Jaws
(Spielberg 1975) can be recalled through the same four note low frequency
melody. An example of this is used throughout Guy Richies film Snatch
(Richie 2000), each time we hear the same piece of Russian music the
character Boris is introduced into the scene, another example is Madonnas
Lucky Star for the character Bullet Tooth Tony.

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5.5. Sound Effects

When a sound effect is needed for an event, impact or motion on screen, a
single sound effect will usually not give the full effect of the event. Individual
sounds for a specific event can be built on top of each other, which creates a
sound object (Sonnenschein 2001). Through thorough dissection of the script
and characters, sound objects can be produced. These sound objects can help
to define characters and compliment the production design, which
strengthens the story. This is one of the main reasons why the sound designer
should be totally immersed in the film and has an in-depth knowledge of the
story, characters, emotions and environments of the film. These sound objects
are used to exaggerate and manipulate characters sounds.

5.5.1. Exaggerating sounds
Sound effects that are used in films are mostly all exaggerations of reality,
most of these sounds include the sounds of clothing moving on the character,
footsteps, punches, falls, etc. In real life a punch does not even make that
much of a sound, even if its a strong punch that could knock someone out
but in film the sound of a punch is always loud and noticeable. The sound is
practically required, as the viewer would not believe that the punches are real.
The short image of an actual punch by its self would not be recorded into the
memory of the viewer but with a clearly defined sound, the sound has the
advantage of printing its form and tone directly into consciousness. It is an
audio-visual point in which everything comes together and from which all
radiates (Chion et al. 1994). Another reason for this is that there are normally
so many competing sounds at one moment in time, so for a sound to be heard
through the others it has to be over emphatically stated (Holman 2010). In the
Wachowski Brothers The Matrix (Wachowski and Wachowski 1999) the fight
sounds were intentionally over exaggerated and intensified to expand the
reality of the matrix as the matrix was the fake computer world.

5.5.2. Manipulating sounds
Larger sounds can give the impression of bigger punches even if the original
image is a weak punch. This is used to make some characters sound stronger
than others when fighting. More sounds are added in to make stronger
23
punches, a common technique is to hang a pig carcass and strike the carcass
with sledge hammers or baseball bats, other sounds of crushing vegetables
would also be added in to signify broken bones or bruising (Sonnenschein
2001)(Viers 2008). Similar techniques can be used on guns, the louder a gun
sound is the more powerful we perceive it as. In Tarantinos Death Proof
(Tarantino 2007) the main characters car was given an extra loud muscle car
sound to give them impression of a very powerful car even though the car
itself was not a powerful car.

Other techniques similar to this can be used on the assassination of an
individual. A cold silent assassination would have quite and subtle sounds
like a dry thump and the quite sound of the body sliding down against a wall.
The same image could be used but using different sounds, the assassination
could be made more violent. Sounds like bones being hit and broken along
with blood splattering and a thump of the body hitting the floor would make
the scene seem more violent (Sonnenschein 2001).

The personality of a crowd could also be manipulated by using sound design.
The sounds that occur with the image of a crowd could be quiet different
depending on what is requested. Quiet whispering with low murmuring
sounds give the opposite effect of whistling, shouting and hooting. Crowds
can also be made larger by mixing in foreground voices and applying a
dynamic with the depth of the crowd (Sonnenschein 2001).

Other sound effects can be subconsciously mixed into a scene, for example if a
scene is showing a seductive woman rubbing up against her partner in an
affectionate way, a low level cat purr would be mixed in with the sound.
Another example would be an overeater stuffing his food down would have a
low level sound of delighted pig snuffles (Sonnenschein 2001). An example of
this is in American Beauty (Mendes 1999) where the main character is being
flirted with by the girl he is in love with, low frequency purring sounds are
mixed in to the sound. Another example is in the film Blow (Demme 2001)
where one of the characters is being thrown against a wall, the sound of a car
crash is added in just as the character hits the wall.

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5.5.3. Narrative Cueing
In some films a certain sound effect can be set up and unfold throughout a
film so that the sound effect identifies to a particular character, this is called
narrative cueing. Narrative cueing helps to define a certain character. This is
similar to how some piece of music can recall a character throughout a film.
An example of this could be footsteps that identify the walker, even if theyre
not on screen, another example could be a heart beating which could identify
the subjective sensation and emotion of the character throughout a film.
Examples of narrative cueing would be Chigurhs footsteps in the Coen
Brothers No Country for Old Men (Coen and Coen 2007), through the film
we hear Chigurhs footsteps louder than any other characters, some parts of
the film zoom into his feet to emphasise the importance of his feet throughout
the film. A similar example is used in Singers The Usual Suspects (Singer
1995) where Kint has a limp and drags one foot along the ground, throughout
the film there is a sense of compassion for Kint because of this until we later
find out that he is the one the police should of been after. Another similar
example is in Channel 4s Utopia (Kelly 2014) series, Ians heavy breath is
emphasised throughout the show, as Ian is the bad guy, this breathe gives a
sinister, menacing element to his character.

25
Chapter 6: Alternate Sound Design Compositions
6.1. Overview
This chapter uses the research from the previous three chapters on how
scenes and characters are defined in films and the author will attempt to use
this information to alter our perception of characters in the chosen film clips.
This chapter consists of a discussion on the four different compositions that
were carried out on four different film clips. Firstly the author will give a brief
synopsis for the chosen film scene, then the author will discuss why the scene
was chosen, overview of the authors intentions, work done and the processes
used.
The compositions will be available at this this link:
https://vimeo.com/user30101479/videos

6.2. Composition 1 Fight Club

The first scene that was chosen to redesign is a short scene from the film
Fight Club, which was released in 1999. The film was based on a novel
written by Chuck Palahniuk (Palahniuk 1996), which was released in 1996.
David Fincher directed the film with Ren Klyce taking on the sound design
(Fincher 1999). The chosen scene is around twenty-four minutes into the film
and lasts for just over two minutes.

6.2.1. Brief Synopsis
The main character, which has no screen name, arrives back to his
apartment in a taxi after being away for a couple of days on a work
trip.
When the character comes nearer to his apartment building he starts to
notice all the sirens from the police cars and fire brigades.
Once he gets out of the taxi he looks up to his apartment to see that his
windows have been blown out and that his apartment is engulfed in
flames. He then turns away from his apartment and appears to have a
shocked look on his face. Fig 6.1 shows the characters face.
26
He then proceeds to walk into the apartment lobby where he passes
some of his belongings on the ground that are still smoking from the
fire. He is then greeted by the receptionist who tells him that there is
nothing left in his apartment and that he is not allowed to go up there.
He then walks out of the reception to where his belongings are on the
ground; he then notices a piece of paper on the ground with Marla
Singers phone number. This is the moment he puts a smile back on his
face since he has seen his apartment on fire. This is shown in Figure
6.2.
As he walks towards a payphone his voice narrates over the scene of
one possible theory that the police have told him of how his apartment
blew up.
Once he gets to the pay phone he dials in Marlas number, Marla
answers the phone in a way that suggests that she was either just
asleep or otherwise engaged. He doesnt say anything on the phone to
her and hangs up the phone thinking it was a bad idea to ring her.

Fig 6.1. Shocked look on the characters face (Fincher 1999).

27

Fig 6.2. The First Smile on the Characters Face (Fincher 1999).

6.2.2. Scene Selection
The decision to choose to redesign the sound design for this scene was down
to a number of reasons:
One of the main reasons is that when the character sees his apartment
on fire he has a look of shock on his face; the sound design does not
change when the character goes into this shock.
Another reason is when the receptionist tells the character that theres
nothing up there and when he asks him if he had anybody to call, the
character acts as if he is not listening to him or he can not hear him
properly even though we can clearly hear and understand the
receptionist.
The music that is playing during the cut away scenes into his
apartment has quite a quick tempo and aggressive sound for a tragic
event like a house fire.

6.2.3. Overview of Intentions
For this scene there were a number of intentions that were drawn out, these
intentions are listed below:
One of the main intentions for the scene was to appear to put the
character into shock through the sound design after he sees his
apartment on fire. This will be attempted by putting the character into
a subjective character experience, which was discussed in Chapter 5.
This subjective character experience will be similar to when Captain
28
Miller goes into shell shock in Saving Private Ryan (Spielberg 1998).
The character will partially lose a sense of his hearing.
Another intention for this scene is to focus on the characters footsteps
throughout the scene. This will attempt to help distinguish when the
character is in shock by having different sounding footsteps, this will
be an example of narrative cueing, which was also discussed in
Chapter 5.
When the character starts to notice the sirens near his apartment, a low
frequency rumble is intended to be used; this background sound
should build tension in the scene and add an uneasy feeling to the
character. This low frequency rumble was discussed in Chapter 4.
One of the last intentions for the scene is to add in music which
attempts to help put the character into shock through high ear piercing
frequencies and to make the music during the cut away scenes into his
apartment more slow and languid which should attempt to convey a
sense of sorrow.

6.2.4. Work Done
One of the main differences between the original sound design and this
alternate sound design is that when the character sees that his
apartment is on fire, the look of shock on his face is emphasised by the
sound. This shock is emphasised by the sound switching into a
subjective character experience, which is similar to the previously
mentioned beach scene in Saving Private Ryan (Spielberg 1998). The
characters feet start to drag and a limp in his walk are also added in to
the sound effects, these are added in to add sympathy to the character,
which is similar to the footsteps previously mentioned in No Country
for Old Men (Coen and Coen 2007) and The Usual Suspects Singer
1995).
Music is also added into the scene when he is in shock; the music is
changed to a high frequency piercing dark tone with an underlying
low frequency tone. This music also takes the character out of shock
once he finds Marlas phone number amongst the rubble. The music is
also changed during the cut away scenes to sustained slow, languid
expression, which conveys a sense of sorrow onto the scene.
29
6.2.5. Process
After this scene had been chosen to carry out an alternate sound design on,
the film was watched from start to finish as to not miss any hidden meanings
or messages that might be in the scene. The scene was then watched
numerous times while having the audio turned off. All the different actions
and objects on screen that would make a noise were wrote down. After the
scene had been watched numerous times a big list of the different actions and
objects were noted. The original sound design was then listened to to see
what objects if any were missed out on, the only parts of the original sound
then that was needed was the dialogue and narration in the scene.
The list of sound effects and sounds needed was drawn up and sounds that
needed to be recorded were marked off, these sounds included some Foley
sounds of car doors and footsteps and other sounds of car interior and
exterior sounds. Other sounds that were needed include the dialogue of the
receptionist and of Marla on the phone. The characters voice narrating was
also needed.
The sounds for the car door, car interior and exterior along with the sounds of
the footsteps were recorded using a shotgun microphone. The footsteps were
recorded in sync while watching the film scene on a nearby monitor. The
voices of the two characters and narrator were also recorded using a
microphone. The other sounds like the street sounds, sirens, police radios,
payphone, fire and explosion sounds were all added in from different sound
effects libraries.

The background sounds of the sirens and city traffic were added in first and
these sounds were looped. The sound effects were then all brought into Logic
Pro where each sound was placed at a specific time with regard to the action
of the sound on screen. Some of the footsteps Foley sounds recorded were
slightly out of sync with the actions on screen so these footsteps were but up
into individual sounds and placed to where the sound and image synced up.
To give an impression of a limp, one set of steps was put slightly out of
rhythm with the other foot. For some of the footsteps low frequency thuds
were added in, these thuds had to be matched with each footstep.

30
For the subjective experience, each sound that is playing during the
experience was put through a low pass filter and a reverb plug in. These
effects helped to muffle the sounds and help us to hear what the character
might be hearing in his own head. The low frequency thuds for his footsteps
are also introduced during the subjective experience.
The dialogue for the receptionist was put through similar filters as the other
background sounds and sound effects but the had less effects used as the
intelligibility of the voice would have been lost.
The music that is used for the subjective experience consists of a low
frequency rumble and a piercing high pitch frequency; these sounds also help
to convey the shocked experience.

These sounds were then all edited, panned and mixed in Logic Pro. The
session consisted of forty-six different tracks. Equalisers, compressors and
reverb were added to specific tracks depending on how far away the sound
would be from the screen. A compressor and limiter were then placed on the
master track. The Logic Pro session can be seen below in Fig 6.3.

Fig 6.3. A Screenshot of the Fight Club Session.

31
6.2.6. Time Points of Edits

00:15;00 - Footsteps are louder than original, this helps to contrast
the difference in walking from before seeing the fire to
afterwards when his footsteps drag.

00:27;00 - Looking up at his apartment on fire.
- Sound switches to a subjective character experience, all of
the sounds we hear are the sounds that he is hearing
- As he goes into shock all of the outside sounds are
muffled with reverb added, these sounds include the
footsteps, sirens, fire-fighters movements, water hoses,
people talking in apartment lobby and apartment
receptionist, there is also a low frequency rumble which
gives the subliminal feeling that something is wrong.
- Dramatic high pitch music, which is similar to an ear
ringing.

00:33;00 - When he walks his feet drag on the ground to further
emphasise the shock.
- Low frequency thuds are also added which add to the
subjective character experience.

00:49;00 - Receptionist dialogue is muffled with added reverb, this
signifies that the character is not listening to him.

01:13;00 - Music builds up until he reads note, the note signifies
that he has found someone to call.
- He comes out of shock so audio comes back to normal.

01:24;00 - Music is more sympathetic than original clip, the music
makes the fire seem like it was more than a tragedy.

32
6.3. Composition 2 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

The second scene that was chosen to redesign is a short scene from the film
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which was released in 1998. The film
was wrote and directed by Guy Ritchie with Matthew Collinge taking on the
sound design (Ritchie 1998). The chosen scene is around twenty-eight minutes
into the film and lasts for about two and a half minutes.

One of the main characters Eddy has entered into play a game of
100,000 buy-in three-card brag with a powerful crime lord Harry
with money that he has saved up along with money he has borrowed
form his friends. During the game just before this scene we find out
that the game is rigged with a camera pointed at Eddys cards.
Eddy has a pair of sixes and bluffs away in the card game by betting
big. Harry is told this through a tapping device on his foot.
Harry aware that he has a better hand calls Eddys bets and raises him.
Eddy does not have enough money to continue calling Harrys raises
so Harry offers to loan Eddy the money. Eddy agrees.
Harry explains that should Eddy lose, he has one week to pay him
back the 500,000 loan. Eddy agrees.
Harry then slowly turns over his cards one by one to reveal he has a
pair of sevens. The sight of the pair of sevens stuns Eddy.
Eddy then turns over his cards and reveals his pair of sixes, which
confirms that Eddy has lost the game.
Eddy then picks up his jacket and walks out of the card game by
himself with a stunned look on his face. Once he comes outside he
immediately gets sick.
As he walks down the street he is greeted by Harrys bodyguard Barry
who tells him that for everyday that passes without payment he will
take a finger from his and his friends hands and once they run out
Barry will take Eddys fathers bar. Eddy gets sick again at the thought
of this.

33
One of the main reasons is that when Eddy sees that Harry has turned
over his cards to play a pair of sevens Eddy has an increasing stunned
look on his face for each card that Harry has turned over. The camera
focuses on his stunned face and then the audio of the scene is taken
over by The Stooges I Wanna Be Your Dog which is an aggressive,
fast moving rock song for a person losing 500,000.
Another reason is that when Eddy meets Barry outside Eddy has a
disorientated look on his face that he cannot understand the situation
and is not listening properly to Barry even though we can clearly hear
Barry.

One of the main intentions for the scene was to emphasise the shocked
look on Eddys face. This is shown in figure 6.4. This will be attempted
by taking out nearly all of the audio from when he finds out he has lost
the game to the end of the scene. This is done as usually when a person
goes into shock like this time seems to slow down. Taking out the
sound in the scene will attempt to make his walk out of the game
longer. This is similar to when the matrix was shown without sound,
which was discussed in Chapter 3.
Another intention is to have Eddy in a subjective character experience
similar to what was achieved with the previous composition but in a
different drawn out way. The sounds that will be added will be
minimal; some low frequency sounds will be added along with
heartbeats.
34

Fig 6.4. The stunned look on Eddys Face.

6.3.4. Work Done
alternate sound design is that when Eddy realises he has lost the card
game along with owing half a million pounds to Harry, the stunned
look on his face is emphasised by the lack of sound, which makes the
time go by slower, and also adds a sense of loneliness. The sound of his
heart beating also suggests that he is in his own world and that his
mind nowhere near the real world.
Barrys dialogue is also edited to emphasise that Eddy is in his own
world. Barrys words are muffled which makes the situation harder to
understand for Eddy.
Some background sound effects are also added in when Eddy is
outside, the sounds of a distant siren suggests a sense of worry and
distress.

6.3.5. Process
After this scene had been chosen to work on, the film was watched from start
to finish to fully understand the bad situation Eddy has gotten himself into.
The scene was then watched numerous times while noting down any actions
and objects that would make any sound along with the special sound effects
that were used throughout the scene.
As most of the sound in this scene would be silent, only a small number of
sound effects were noted down to be recorded, these included sounds of
35
cards been placed down one by one, slight hand movements, footsteps,
coughing and the sound of splattering water for when Eddy gets sick. The
other sounds needed would be taken from sound effects libraries, these
included sirens, background street sounds, heartbeats and breathing.

The start of the scenes audio was left untouched until Harry starts to turn
over his cards. Low frequency thuds were added in with the recorded card
sounds to emphasise the importance of the cards being turned over. The
breathing and heartbeat sounds were added in then after which have reverb
added onto the sounds. The street background sounds were then added in
and Barrys voice is put through a low pass filter.

The sounds were then all mixed in Logic Pro. The session consisted of about
twenty different tracks. Equalisers, compressors and reverb were also added
to specific tracks depending on where in the scene the actions were. A
compressor and limiter were then added onto the master track.


00:15;00 - Original audio from scene starts to fade away.

00:18;00 - Harry places his cards down.
- Hand movements and card sounds with low frequency
effects are edited in.
- Low frequency rumbles are added in as camera zooms
into Eddys face, which adds a sense of anxiety.
- Slight high frequency piercing tone as he sees all of Harry
cards and camera starts to zoom out.

00:55;00 - Eddy gets up to leave the table.
- Heartbeats and breathing sounds are edited in.
- Eddy walks out, small number of sounds play to
emphasise the shock.

36
01:35;00 - Eddy arrives outside.
- Background sounds and sirens are add in the distance
but still very quiet.
- Eddy walks a few steps and then gets sick

01:55;00 - Eddy meets Barry.
- Barrys dialogue is muffled with added reverb, this
signifies that Eddy is still not out of shock.
- Eddy gets sick once again and the scene ends.

6.4. Composition 3 127 Hours

The third scene that was selected to redesign is a short scene from the film
127 Hours. This film was released in 2010. The film is a true story based on
the memoir of mountain climber Aron Ralston where Ralston became trapped
for 127 hours by a boulder in an isolated spot of the Blue John Canyon, Utah,
in 2003. The film was directed by Danny Boyle with Glenn Freemantle taking
on the sound design (Boyle 2010). The selected scene is just over sixteen
minutes into the film and the scene is just under two and a half minutes long.

The main character Aron is canyoneering through the Blue John
Canyon alone where he meets two girls Kristi and Megan. He becomes
friendly with these girls and helps them through some of the canyon.
They then part ways and Aron carries on by himself.
During his trek he comes across a narrow passage where there is a
suspended boulder wedged between the walls of the rock. On his way
down the passage he slips and falls into the canyon, while he slips he
grabs onto the boulder, which jolts the boulder loose. The boulder is
then sent following him down into the canyon where the boulder
wedges itself his right arm against the wall of the rock, trapping him.
This is shown in figure 6.5.
37
Aron then attempts to move the boulder off his hand by trying to lift it
and then trying to shove the boulder by shouldering the boulder. He
tries to move it for a few minutes but the boulder does not move an
inch.
Aron then calls for help shouting on Kristi and Megans name but the
extreme isolation of his location means that nobody can hear him shout
for help.

Fig 6.5. Arons Hand Stuck In-between the Boulder and Rock Wall.

One of the main reasons that this film was selected as it has little
dialogue; this scene was selected as it is an important scene where
Aron goes from being carefree to being stuck in a canyon by a boulder.
The scene does not tend to have a contrast between these two states.
Another reason is that when Aron is trying to move the boulder from
his hand he is using up a considerate amount of energy to try and
move this boulder. This turns out to be valuable energy that Aron will
need, the sound design already in place does not seem to emphasise on
the energy that Aron is using on trying to remove this boulder.
38
One of the main intentions is to have a contrast of sound from when
Aron is free roaming around the canyon to when he falls and is
isolated down the bottom of a canyon. Some music will be used when
he is roaming around and the sudden stop of the music should help to
contrast the two states. This is similar to how scenes in the real world
consisted of a wide range of movement and dynamics and when in the
matrix world the sounds had little directionality or movement, this is
discussed further in Chapter 4.
Another main intention is to emphasise the sounds of Aron trying to
move the boulder by exaggerating the sounds of him shouldering and
trying to left the boulder from this hand, these exaggerated sounds are
discussed in Chapter 5.
Another intention is to add a sense of grim fate to the scene. This will
be attempted by adding in sounds of vultures in the background,
which is similar to the effect of using sound effects to convey a sense
on emotion, which was discussed towards the end of Chapter 3.

6.4.4. Work Done
alternate sound design is the contrast of sound from when Aron is
roaming around the canyon to when he falls. Fast-animated music is
used while he is roaming around and this music suddenly stops once
he falls.
The sounds of Aron trying to lift and shoulder the boulder are
emphasised by adding low frequency thuds along with making some
of the Foley sounds louder.
Some background sound effects are also added in when Aron is stuck
in the canyon, the sounds of distant vultures suggest a sense of distress
and doom.

39
6.4.5. Process
After this scene had been chosen to work on, the scene was watched
numerous times while noting down each different sound object and action.
The list of sounds needed was drawn up and the sounds that needed to be
recorded were marked off, these sounds mostly included Foley sounds of
footsteps and his climbing gear clanging. Other sounds that were used from
sound effect libraries include background sounds, straining sounds and a
screaming hawk sample.

The footsteps were recorded in sync on a dusty path while watching the scene
on a laptop screen. The sound from a backpack was also recorded while
watching the scene; some climbing gear clanging was also recorded at this
time. The groaning and screaming sounds were taken from the original sound
design. When Aron starts to shoulder the boulder low frequency thuds are
added which attempt to give more of an impact and force to this.

The sounds were then all edited, panned and mixed in Logic Pro. The session
consisted of twenty nine tracks. Equalisers and compressors were also added
to specific tracks. A compressor and limiter were then added onto the master
track.


00:00;00 - A desert background sound is added to the scene.
- Fast animated music from his earphones are added.
- Foley sounds of Arons steps and climbing along with
sounds from his backpack.

00:19;00 - Aron falls and the music player breaks, the music has
been slowed down and then stops.
- Sounds of falling rocks and pebbles are added.

00:40;00 - The sound of a screaming hawk is added to give a sense
of doom to the scene.

40
01:09;00 - Rope straining sounds are added in to emphasise the
amount of energy Aron is putting in to move the boulder.

02:00;00 - Low Frequency thuds are added when Aron starts to
shoulder the boulder.
- Other Foley sounds are made louder to emphasise the
energy Aron is putting in to move the boulder.

6.5. Composition 4 No Country For Old Men

The final scene that was chosen to redesign is a short scene form the film No
Country For Old Men, which was released in 2007. The film was based on a
novel written by Cormac McCarthy, which was released in 2005. The Joel and
Ethan Coen directed the film with Craig Berkey taking on the sound design
(Coen and Coen 2007). The chosen scene is just about an hour into the film
and the scene is about three minutes long.

One of the main characters Llewelyn comes across the aftermath of a
drug deal gone wrong. There are several dead men and dogs lying
around. Llewelyn then finds a bag full of money, we later find out
there is two million dollars in the bag. Llewelyn takes this bag home.
The other main character Chigurh is a hitman who has been hired to
recover the cash. Chigurh has an electronic receiver that can locate
where the cash is as there is a hidden transponder hidden in the cash.
Llewelyn books into a hotel in a neighbouring county, as he fears he is
being followed. He tells the receptionist to let him know immediately if
anyone comes in looking for him.
While looking through the cash Llewelyn finds the transponder and
then hears a chair moving down by the reception area, Llewelyn
phones the reception to see if the receptionist is still there, but there is
no answer. He is then concerned that Chigurh has found him.
41
Llewelyn takes out his shotgun and turns off the light in his room. He
then sits down on his bed with the shotgun pointed towards the door.
He listens out for any movement outside.
Llewelyn then hears footsteps and the beeping noise of the receiver
that Chigurh has. He can then see Chigurhs feet at the door from the
shadows of his feet. Llewelyn then cocks his shotgun so it is ready to
fire. As he does this Chigurh turns off the lights in hall.
Chigurh then blows the lock of the door off and Llewelyn fires his
shotgun before hopping out the window in the room, Chigurh fires
back and chases him.

One of the main reasons is that when we see that Llewelyn is
waiting for Chigurh, he does not seem as scared as one might think,
albeit he is a brave man but this is not conveyed with the sound,
Llewelyn sits there in a calm manner. This is shown in figure 6.6.
Another reason that this scene is selected is when Llewelyn sits
there in absolute silence listening for Chigurh nearly all the sounds
that are there are mixed to very low levels. When Llewelyn looks at
the transponder, the flashing LED light does not have any sound
linked to the flash.

42

Fig 6.6. Llewelyn Waiting For Chigurh.

One of the main intentions for this scene is to try and make Llewelyn
seem like he is frightened of Chigurh. This will be attempted by using
low frequency heartbeats that seem to be in sync with the transponder.
Heavy breathing will also be used in the scene. Stopping some sounds
in the middle of the scene when Chigurh turns off the light should help
to create some anxiety, this is similar to the effect of stopping sounds in
the middle of a scene to create anxiety, which was discussed in
Chapter 3.
Another intention is to emphasise the fact that Llewelyn is sitting there
in absolute silence listening for sounds that Chigurh might make. To
emphasise this fact a number of sound effects in the scene will be
exaggerated including having the transponder generate a small noise
each time it flashes along with having any movement he makes being
exceptionally louder. These exaggerated sounds are discussed in
Chapter 5.
Another intention is to have the sound build up to the moment of
when Chigurh blows the lock out of the door. This should attempt to
43
create suspense for the viewer and then when Chigurh blows out the
lock this tension will be released.

6.5.4. Work Done
alternate sound design is the addition of Llewelyns heartbeats and
heavy breathing into the sound design. The addition of these sounds
suggest that he is scared and nervous.
Another big difference are the sounds that Llewelyn makes when he is
sitting on the bed and walking around the room along with the sounds
of the flashing light on the transponder and the sounds Chigurhs
makes downstairs are all emphasised as Llewelyn is sitting in silence
listening for Chigurhs, the smallest sound that could be made is made
louder than usual to emphasis this.
The Foley sounds used along with the heartbeats and breathing get
louder and louder as Chigurh comes towards the door. The tempo of
the heartbeats also increases. These sounds build up until Chigurh
blows the lock out of the door.

6.5.5. Process
After the scene had been chosen to work on, the film was watched from start
to finish. The scene was then watched numerous times while noting down
each action and object that could be making sound along with the sound
special effects that were used on the scene. The sounds that were to be
recorded were marked off; these sounds included the footsteps on the creaky
floor, squeaking bed sounds and light switch sounds. Some other sounds that
were used were taken from sound effect libraries, these included background
street sounds, gun shot sounds, beeping sounds and heartbeats.

The footsteps were recorded on an old wooden floor, part of the sounds
recorded were in sync with the scene with other parts been edited into the
scene later on. The squeaking bed sounds were also recorded in sync with the
scene along with clothes movements. The background sounds were added in
with along with slowly introducing the heartbeat and breathing sounds. The
44
last part of the scene from when the lock in the door is blown out is from the
original sound design.

The sounds were then all edited, panned and mixed in Logic Pro. The session
consisted of thirty one tracks. Equalisers, compressors and reverb were also
added to specific tracks depending on where in the scene the actions were
taking place. A compressor and limiter were then added onto the master
track.


00:00;00 - A quiet street background sound is added to the scene.
- Beeping sounds for the transponder are edited in.

00:02;00 - Furniture sounds down the hall alarm Llewelyn.

00:09;00 - Bed squeaking sounds are added as Lleweyn moves
slightly on the bed.

00:19;00 - Llewelyn reaches out for the phone, movement sounds
are added to emphasise the silence in the room

00:26;00 - Llewelyn rings the reception, the reception phone is
heard ringing down the hall.

00:44;00 - More movement sounds are added along with bed
squeaking and floorboard squeaking sounds are added as
Llewelyn puts down the phone.

01:01;00 - Floorboard squeaking sounds are emphasised to
emphasise the quietness of the room.

45
01:20;00 - Llewelyn hears other disturbances down the hall and
grabs his gun, the heartbeat and breathing sounds are
introduced here but gradually get louder until the end of
the scene.

01:30;00 - Chigurhs footsteps are introduced but they gradually get
louder from this point.

01:45;00 - The sound from Chigurhs transponder is introduced, this
also gets gradually louder.

02:30;00 - Chigurhs turns off the light in the hallway and all sounds
are muted apart from Llewelyns heartbeat and breathing
sounds, which helps to express his fear.

02:50;00 - The original sound design is brought back in as Chigurh
blows in the lock for the door.

46
Chapter 7: Analysis
7.1. Overview

This chapter analyses the techniques and approaches that were used on the
previous compositions from the authors own point of view. Each composition
is discussed individually where some of the good points and bad points are
drawn out from each composition and how the composition could have been
improved.

7.2. Composition 1 Fight Club

This scene took the longest time out of all the scenes to complete, mainly
because this was the first scene attempted and the scene had the most sound
effects and sound objects. The scene has the biggest variety of sounds from all
of the scenes, the sounds included anything from car interior sounds to phone
line sounds. As it was the first scene ever attempted by the author there were
a few mistakes made at the start. These were more minor mistakes like not
having sounds organised properly or having the wrong labels on certain
sounds. The scene also took longer than expected as it was not clear before
how many individual sounds have to be put together and edited to seem to
blend in with the image on screen. The process was found to be rather tedious
at the start but as more hours were spent and the experience grew the process
seemed to get easier and easier.

Overall the sound design worked well at emphasising the shock of the main
character after finding his apartment on fire. The moment he sees that his
apartment is on fire and looks away from his apartment his face seems to go
into shock, the audio then has a high frequency pitch which seems to go well
with the look on his face, the low frequency rumbles also help to strengthen
the feeling of anxiety in the scene. The subjective character experience really
seems to work very well at putting the character into shock; we can feel like
we are in the characters head hearing exactly what he hears.
47
The music for the cut away scenes does help to convey a sense of sorrow for
the character but it would have been a more appealing piece of music if there
were more time available to spend on composing the music.

The scene was a great scene to use as a first sound design attempt, the big
variety of sounds throughout the two minute scene helped to gain a good
practical knowledge of sound design quickly.

7.3. Composition 2 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

The sound design for this scene took a great deal less time to complete than
the previous Fight Club scene. Although the scene is longer there are less
sound effects as the character is in only two different settings, inside the
boxing hall and outside the boxing hall on the street. Another reason the
scene took less time to complete was because of the technique that was used.
The minimal use of sounds when Eddy is walking out from the card game to
the street signifies less tedious placing of sound effects to the actions on
screen. As this was the second sound design scene attempted this attempt was
a great deal more organised than the previous, because of this it was quick
and easy to go from step to step on this composition.

Overall the sound design for this scene worked well. The low frequency
thuds mixed with the card sounds give a real impact of the importance of the
cards that Harry is turning over. The drawn out low frequency rumble gives a
feeling of nervousness to the scene. The main reason the scene seemed to
work so well is because of the minimal use of sound for when Eddy is
walking out of the card game. This walk outside seems to make his walk
outside seem longer and lonelier. The lack of sounds emphasise the fact that
he is in stunned state of mind, he is in his own world and is not taking any
notice of the outside world.
The subjective character experience that is used on Eddy when he is outside
also seems to work at emphasising his stunned state. The muffled and hard to
comprehend dialogue from Barry also seems to work at emphasising that
Eddy cant come to terms with losing the card game and being in half a
48
million pounds debt to a crime lord. An extra sense of sorrow is felt for Eddy
against the original sound design.

This was a good second scene to attempt as there was more freedom to
experiment with techniques. The technique used is completely different to
what was used in the original sound design where the music was almost
indifferent to the scene. The contrast of music and scene does also seem to
intensify the emotion but the lonely walk he has to take out of the building
seems to go by a great deal quicker than that of a stunned person. The
transition from when Eddy sees all of Harrys cards laid out on the table to
when he gets up and walks away took a few attempts as the first few attempts
did not seem to transition well. If more time was available that time would be
spend on getting this transition perfectly right as it is such a key part in the
scene.

7.4. Composition 3 127 Hours

The sound design for this scene took some time to complete but the time
spent on this scene was less than the first Fight Club scene as there was a set
amount of time devoted to this scene. The majority of this scene used Foley
sounds so most of the time was spent on recording and editing those Foley
sounds. This was the first scene that was completed where the majority of
sounds used were Foley sounds that the author recorded. The Foley sounds
for this scene were straightforward to record as the majority of the sounds
were of footsteps and of climbing gear clanging from a backpack. The editing
of these sounds along with other sound effects library sounds did take a
number of hours but the whole process seemed to be a lot more organised
than the previous two scenes.

The sound design for this scene seemed to work well enough. Overall the
contrast seemed to be achieved and Arons strength emphasises through this
sound design. The music at the start works well at being energetic and upbeat
and this helps to convey the contrast between before and after Aron falls. The
lonely silence after he falls has a big difference to the upbeat music from
before. The low frequency thuds mixed with the backpack and clanging
49
sounds seem to give his shouldering a bigger impact, an impact that shows
how much energy Aron is putting into his efforts to move the shoulder. The
rope straining sounds also seem to work at emphasising the energy and effort
put in by Aron when he tries to move and lift the boulder from his hand. The
screaming hawk sounds also seem to work at both showing Arons loneliness
and expressing a sense of doom in Arons situation.

7.5. Composition 4 No Country For Old Men

The Foley sounds in this scene took the longest to record out of all the scenes.
This is mainly because of the emphasis on each sound that Llewelyn makes
while he is in the room, these sounds include his footsteps on the creaking
floor, his movements on the squeaking bed and the movements of his clothes.
The Foley sounds required numerous takes to be somewhat in sync with the
scene. Other Foley sounds then had to be cut up and edited into the scene to
make them in sync with the scene. Other Foley sounds for Chigurh required
quite a bit of editing and automation for panning, reverb and equalising. This
scene did not require any music throughout the scene so more time was
available to be spent on the Foley sounds. As this was the last sound design
scene to be completed the process seemed to be a lot easier than the other
scenes.

Overall the sound design worked well at emphasising a sense of fear and
nervousness for Llewelyn as he sits in the hotel room and waits for Chigurh.
The exaggerated sounds of Llewelyns movements and of the objects in the
room help to emphasise Llewelyns fear as he is listening out for Chigurh,
each small movement makes sound, even the sound of his shirt makes a
sound when Llewelyn stretches out to pick up the phone and to turn off the
bed side lamp. The gradual sounds of Llewelyns heartbeat and breathing
intensifying through the scene also helps to add to the sense of fear and
nervousness throughout the scene. The heartbeats also gradually speed up
throughout the scene; the heartbeats start at 100bpm and gradually become
quicker until 120bpm. This increasing heartbeat rate also works at
intensifying Llewelyns fear.
50
The silence that is used in the scene after Chigurh switches off the hall light
also seems to work well at intensifying the fear in the scene. This silence is
similar to the silence that also used in the alternate sound design for Lock,
Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which was discussed earlier. This silence
helped to make those few seconds of darkness that bit longer and lonelier.

This was a good last scene to attempt as the scene used a great deal of both
recording and editing. The scene had the toughest Foley sounds to record but
as this was the last scene to be completed more time was available to both
record and edit these sounds.

51
Chapter 8: Impact
8.1. Overview
This chapter discusses how some of the information extracted from the
previous chapter on analysing the compositions and the paper in general can
be of benefit to other sound designers for future use.
8.2. Impact

Although trying to find scenes that would enable an artist to alter the
perception of a character was tough, most of the selected scenes have award
winning sound designers working on them so the selection of scenes sound
design would have been well arranged and edited already.

The Fight Club composition and the Lock, Stock and Two Smoking barrels
compositions are similar compositions in one way; in both the compositions
the main characters both come into shock and are stunned by their different
tragedies. The shocked look on their faces on screen opens up the creativity of
experimenting with sound design here. The two compositions were treated
differently though, the Fight Club scene focused on the subjective character
experience while the Lock, Stock scene focused on stripping away most of the
audio. If more time were available it would be interesting to see how the
scenes would turn out if the techniques were switched on the compositions.
These two different techniques can show future sound designers that these
two techniques work well at emphasising the shock on a characters face
although the techniques do require some extra time, the end result of the
compositions work better and are worth the extra work.

The 127 Hours composition and the No Country For Old Men composition
are also similar compositions in another way in that both compositions are
relatively quiet are the characters are on their own, because of this the
compositions are in a way related to the Lock, Stock composition that
emphasises this silence and loneliness. The exaggerated sounds used in both
of these help to convey this silence and loneliness. The lack of music in these
52
three scenes also helps to emphasise the loneliness. It was also felt that the
Foley sounds that were used in both compositions made as if the viewer was
in the room with the characters or even in the characters shoes at feeling both
isolated and scared.

The heartbeats that were used in both Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
and No Country For Old Men were used in different ways to bring on a sense
of fear. In No Country For Old Men the heartbeat was gradually introduced
and the beat also got gradually quicker as time went on while the heartbeat in
Lock Stock stayed at the same tempo. It was felt that the increased rate of
heartbeats helped to add to the sense of fear more so than just having a
regular heartbeat.

Overall the different techniques used on these four different compositions
will be beneficial to future artists. The different techniques used show how
the senses of shock, isolation, anxiety, fearfulness, happiness etc. can all be
portrayed by using different sound design techniques. Future sound designs
can read back on why certain sounds were used in the composition and what
affect these sounds can have on the viewer.

This paper helps to give a guide on how to define scenes and characters and
how through sound design these characters can be altered to seem more sad,
happy, scared, excited, shocked, etc. The paper definitely opens up how much
work and planning can go into a scenes sound design and that every sound is
edited and mixed in such a way that that individual sound can define a
character. Although in this paper there was a big list of films referenced for
techniques they have used, a lot more films could have been added into the
paper, as there are so many films with award winning sound designers. But
this paper gathers a good quantity of these of these films and sorts out how
scenes and characters are defined through the dialogue, music and sound
effects. This guide can be a helpful tool in trying to figure out how to
emphasise certain emotions through either the dialogue, music or sound
effects. This guide can also be useful to amateur sound designers who are
looking for a place to start at helping to emphasise a sad or happy moment in
a film.
53
Lastly this guide would also be useful to directors who were not completely
happy with the way the actors emotions are conveyed on just the image
alone, this guide gives the director a reference to how to convey an actors
emotions in a more intensive way.

54
Chapter 9: References and Bibliography

Books and Papers:

Chion, M. (2009) Film, a sound art, Columbia University Press: New York.

Chion, M., Gorbman, C., Murch, W. (1994) Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen,
Columbia University Press: New York.

Dakic, V. (2009) Sound Design for Film and Television, GRIN Verlag.

Holman, T. (2010) Sound for Film and Television, Focal Press: Burlington, MA.

Mller, B. (2008) Sound Design: The Development of Sound Design for Hollywood
Films and Its Impact on Modern Cinema, Diplomarbeiten Agentur.

Palahniuk, C. (2005) Fight Club: A Novel, W. W. Norton: New York, NY.

Schafer, R.M. (1993) The Soundscape: Our Sonic Environment and the Tuning of
the World, Inner Traditions / Bear & Co.

Sobchack, T., Sobchack, V.C. (1980) An Introduction to Film, Little, Brown.

Sonnenschein, D. (2001) Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and
Sound Effects in Cinema, Michael Wiese Productions.

Viers, R. (2008) The Sound Effects Bible: How to Create and Record Hollywood Style
Sound Effects, Michael Wiese Productions: Studio City, CA.

Films:

Aldrich, R. (1955) Kiss Me Deadly [film], Beverly Hills: United Artists.

Boyle, D. (2010) 127 Hours [film], London: Film4 Productions.

Bergman, I. (1966) Personna [film], Beverly Hills: MGM.

Coen, J., Coen, E. (2007) No Country for Old Men [film], Beverly Hills: Miramax
Films.

Coppola, F. (1979) Apocalypse Now [film], Beverly Hills: Zoetrope Studios.

Demme, T. (2001) Blow [film], Beverly Hills: New Line Cinema.
55

Fincher, D. (1999) Fight Club [film], Beverly Hills: 20th Century Fox.

Gilligan, V. (2013) Breaking Bad [DVD], Beverly Hills: Sony Pictures
Television.

Hitchcock, A. (1960) Psycho [film], Beverly Hills: Universal Pictures.

Kelly, D. (2014) Utopia [DVD], London: Kudos Film and Television.

Kershner, I. (1980) The Empire Strikes Back [film], Beverly Hills: 20th Century
Fox.
Kosinki, J. (2010) Tron: Legacy [film], Beverly Hills: Walt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures.

Lucas, G. (1977) Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope [film], Beverly Hills: 20th
Century Fox.

Mendes, S. (1999) American Beauty [film], Beverly Hills: DreamWorks Pictures.

Nolan, C. (2005) Batman Begins [film], Beverly Hills: Warner Brothers Pictures.

Refn, N. (2011) Drive [film], Beverly Hills: FilmDistrict.

Ritchie, G. (1998) Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels [film], London:
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment.

Ritchie, G. (2000) Snatch [film], London: Columbia Pictures.

Singleton, J. (1991) Boyz n the Hood [film], Beverly Hills: Columbia Pictures.

Singer, B. (1995) The Usual Suspects [film], Beverley Hills: Spelling Films
International.

Spielberg, S. (1975) Jaws [film], Beverly Hills: Universal Pictures.

Spielberg, S. (1998) Saving Private Ryan [film], Beverly Hills: Paramount
Pictures.

Tarantino, Q. (2007) Death Proof [film], Beverly Hills: Troublemaker Studios

Tarkovsky, A. (1971) Rublov [film], Moscow: Mosfilm.

Wahowskis, A., Wahowskis, L. (1999) The Matrix [film], Beverly Hills: Warner
Brothers Pictures.

56
Bibliography:

Alkin, E.G.M., Corporation, B.B. (1973) Sound with Vision: Sound Techniques for
Television and Film.

Collins, K. (2008) Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and
Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design, MIT Press.

Harper, G., Doughty, R. (2009) Sound and Music in Film and Visual Media: An
Overview, Continuum.

Mott, R.L. (1990) Sound Effects: Radio, TV, and Film, Focal Press.

Rose, J. (2014) Audio Postproduction for Film and Video, Taylor & Francis.

Rose, J. (2014) Producing Great Sound for Film and Video, Taylor & Francis.

Wyatt, H., Amyes, T. (2005) Audio Post Production for Television and Film: An
Introduction to Technology and Techniques, Taylor & Francis.

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