|Need of Sound in Films |
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|Sound is used in a film to add emotion and rhythm. Sound makes the film even better. The rhythm, melody, harmony and instrumentation of the music|
|can strongly affect the viewer’s emotional reactions. Sound engages a distinct sense which can lead to “synchronization of senses” making a |
|single rhythm or expression unify both image and sound. The effects of sound are often largely subtle and often are noted by only our |
|subconscious minds. Sound effects can set the whole mood for a movie. Not only sound effects are used in every film but also simple melodies so |
|as to make the film more sentimental, cheerful, and frightening. A meaningful sound track is often as complicated as the image on the screen. A |
|good movie can make the viewer forget they're watching a movie. But if the sound is bad, it takes us right out of the experience and reminds that|
|not only the sound, but the scenery and acting is all make believe. So, the more senses of human body are used, the better because it makes it |
|real. |
|Secondly, film sound can direct our attention quite specifically within the image. For example, our attention on the foreground and not the |
|background. The soundtrack can clarify image events, contradict them, or even render them ambiguous. In all cases, the sound track enters into an|
|active relation with the image track. Thirdly, sound cues us to form expectations. For example, a door creaking would make us expect someone or |
|something has entered the room. The use of sound can creatively cheat or redirect the viewer’s expectations. In addition, sound gives a new value|
|to silence. For example, a quiet passage in a film can create almost unbearable tension, forcing the viewer to concentrate on the screen and wait|
|in anticipation for whatever sound will emerge. Lastly, sound is full of many creative possibilities as editing. The filmmaker can mix any sonic |
|phenomena into a whole. There are infinite visual possibilities, which are joined with infinite acoustic possibilities to create a meaning. |
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|The creation of the sound track is similar to and demands as much choice and control as the editing of the image track. Sometimes the sound track|
|is conceived before the image track. Sound guides the viewer’s attention. Normally, this means clarifying and simplifying the sound track so that|
|important material stands out. The entire sound track is composed of three essential ingredients: |
|The human voice |
|Sound effects |
|Music |
|These three ingredients must be mixed and balanced so as to produce the necessary emphases to create desired effects. |
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|The human voice (dialogue): Dialogue authenticates the speaker as an individual or a real person rather than the imaginary creation of a |
|storyteller. Dialogue is used to tell the story and 
express feelings and motivations of characters as well. It is usually recorded and |
|reproduced for maximum clarity. Important lines should not have to compete with music or background noise. |
|Sound effects (synchronous and asynchronous sounds): These are the Diegetic sounds (from inside the diegesis) in films i.e. the sound that both |
|the audience and the characters can hear. |
|Synchronous sounds are the sounds which are synchronized or matched with what is viewed. Synchronous sounds contribute to the realism of film and|
|also help to create a particular atmosphere. |
|Asynchronous sound effects are not matched with a visible source of the sound on screen. Such sounds are included so as to provide an appropriate|
|emotional nuance, and they may also add to the realism of the film. |
|Music (background music): These are the Non-diegetic sounds i.e. the sound that only the audience can hear. Background music is used to add |
|emotion and rhythm to a film. It provides a tone or an emotional attitude towards the story and/or the characters depicted. Music can dominate |
|dance scenes, transitions, or very emotional moments with no dialogue. In addition, background music often foreshadows a change in mood. |
|Background music may aid viewer understanding by linking scenes. For example, a particular musical theme associated with an individual character |
|or situation may be repeated at various points in a film in order to remind the audience of salient motifs or ideas. |
|The three aspects of sound we perceive are: Loudness, Pitch and Timbre. These interact to define the overall sonic texture of a film and enable |
|us to distinguish the various sounds in film. For example, these qualities enable us to recognize different characters' voices. |
|In creating a sound track, the filmmaker must select sounds that will fulfill a particular function. Usually, the filmmaker will provide a |
|clearer, simpler sound world than that of everyday life. This helps the audience to focus on only the sound which is important and not needless |
|background noise. By choosing certain sounds, the filmmaker guides our perception of the image and the action. This is to shift the viewer’s |
|attention to what is narratively or visually important. Today, film sound is normally reprocessed to produce exactly the qualities desired. A dry|
|recording of the sound will be changed electronically to produce the desired effect. For example, the voice of someone on a telephone will be |
|digitally filtered to make it more tinny and muffled. |
|Guiding the viewer’s attention, depends on selecting and reworking sounds. It also depends on mixing, or combining them. The sound track is not a|
|set of discrete sound units but an ongoing stream of auditory information. Today, a dozen or more separate tracks may be mixed in layers. A mixer|
|can precisely control the volume, duration, and tone quality of each sound. The mix can be quite dense, like in a busy airport or very sparse |
|with an occasional sound emerging against a quiet background. These choices reflect the mood of the film the filmmaker aims to achieve. Layers of|
|Audio are used to create the right mood. The choice and combination of sound materials can also create patterns and motifs that run through the |
|film as a whole. Filmmakers may select preexisting music to accompany the images or compose new music for the film. |
|The choice of sound system in theaters is just as important, and there are several different types of digital sound systems in modern movie |
|theaters. Some, like the Digital Theater Systems (DTS) model, use a combination of different sound coding media, wherein the actual sound is |
|recorded separately from the film on a CD, but cues for synchronization are stored on the film itself. Other systems, like the popular Dolby |
|Digital, encode sound information between the sprocket holes on the film. There are others like THX, and the most recent Aura-3D. |