Soundtrack Worksheet

Viewers will listen to soundtracks from films and television programmes in all kind of ways in this day and age. The reason being because of how technology has improved over the years with the likes of on the go mobile streaming, cinemas and piracy and their is many more. Possibly the best way to enjoy a film and the soundtrack is at the cinema. Cinema's are built in a specific way so that sound can reach the viewer how the director wanted it to come across to them. This is because of the high quailty sound system and their placing. The walls are padded and curtained in away that sound doesnt bounce off to effect the sound given for the film. The next best thing is getting whats called a home cinema kit. It comes with a sub-woofer to create more bass and is placed around the room so sound can be heard from all angles. But unlike a cinema a room will never be set up quite as well as a cinema to create the sound better. Mobile streaming is a great way to watch films on the go. But the environment around you can take a large effect on this for instance traffic and the public which can ruin viewing experience for you and the soundtrack will not come across correctly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpLtXIlkyYA

Above is a 3 minute battle scene from the film Troy starring Brad Pitt. Throughout this clip their are loads of different uses of sound, some live audio some recorded. These sounds are also known as diegetic and non-diegetic. Diegetic sound is in the clip we can hear it and so can the characters. Non-diegetic is sound the audience can hear but not the characters in the film, this is normally done to add feeling through a soundtrack for example.

In the opening seconds of this clip we hear non-diegetic sound playing over the scene. The soundtrack we hear is made using software or live bands. This particular soundtrack is orchestral and is added to create intensity and drama to the scene and build up to the battle. If this music was different for example a violin playing it could confuse the audience as it doesnt add the effect the director is looking for. 

We hear the grunts of all the soldiers in the boat. This can be post-production recorded outside like foley, by getting recording equipment and then gathering a large crowd of people and simply recording the crowd cheering out to give it the real effect of there being loads of people at once. or it can be recorded live on scene but their is the chance it could go wrong and not sound how the director wants. If the crowd was to sound to loud or too many it can come across as comedic to the audience.

Throughout most parts of the scenes are horse's galloping and of course their gallop stands out the most. This noise is normally created in post production in a live studio using tools for example find shoes and making a galloping noise against a certain terrain, then this can be edited to sound as loud as the director intends it to be. If the noise was done differently for example galloping tap shoes on a wooden floor it wouldn't sound correct and can ruin the scene and stop ruin the realism to the audience.