NOTES:
Time Persists by Matthew Silva
Dialogue:
There is very limited dialogue in this film. The kids say one of two sentences, and the grownups say one or two sentences. Even though the dialogue is limited, the power of their words is done very well. The sounds give the words more influence and authority than they would’ve had before. There are plenty of other sounds, like the rustling of leaves, footsteps, the xylophone, the weapons that they use at the end of the film. The different sounds provide different information. The rustling leaves and cracking of sticks when walked over, give the audience the idea that the film takes place in a forest. The sounds of the xylophone, makes the audience think of children. There wasn’t much dialogue to begin with, it just gave some basic information. There are significant breaks that provide suspense, and allow for the audience to fully take in the scene visually. The children say they’re not ready, but the grownups say “it’s time”. The intensity of the dialogue continues until it ends up with a battle cry and clash of the two side while a single actor is speaking? The cuts are made, when the characters are exchanging words, and then during the silence, when the two sides are standing off. The cuts help to build suspense, and when they change from, different views of the characters it helps to build up the feeling of an upcoming battle or standoff.
Effects:
The sound affects are heard one after another, first the audience hears the leaves rustling and the twigs cracking on the ground. So those two are heard at almost the same time to provide context for the film. Then the xylophone is played, to provide the context of children, even though it may seem a bit off in the middle of the forest. After xylophone is played, the audience sees a bunch of the children playing in the forest, and we see a couple playing hide and seek. The audience sees the girl hiding behind the tree and the boy getting closer and closer. When the camera switches points of view, the audience is looking over the boy’s shoulder. The suspenseful thumps, help to sell the point that even though it’s just a game, that for them it can seem real.
The sounds of the weapons being unsheathed, is prominent in the scene and made more so by the leader yell of “We’re not ready yet!” and then the clang at the end of the film, when the two sides clash, however the sound feels off, it makes the clash seem well, fake, and unbelievable. When swords or weapons clash they make a different sound, this sound makes the scene seem more funny when I believe it was originally supposed to be serious, with a serious message.
Rustling leaves and breaking of twigs provides the audience with the idea of nature and the outdoors, which provides context for the rest of the film. The xylophone helps the audience see the actors as kids, more than the adults they actually are, along with the earlier dialogue. The underlying message of the film is pretty well related with the dialogue and the visual aspects of the film, like the bright kids clothes compared to the adult dark, drab clothes, that constrict and imprison. All of the different parts, the music, the sound effects the dialogue and the actors themselves, give the idea of childhood dying by going into adulthood. I think it also points at the fact that children are often asked to grow up too quickly, they’re forced to get a job and help the family with bills, they have to babysit their siblings while their parents or parent work to keep the roof over their head.
Music:
In the beginning there is a song, with the lyrics “Mama’s going to buy you…” however this is played in a dreary tone, that is quite unsettling, with no words. At the end a different song is played with the same dreary tone, but it sounds like it’s sung by a child from a horror movie.
The music isn’t at the forefront, it’s mostly in the background. In the middle of the film, the music is cut completely it’s just the sound of the kids playing and singing while jumping rope.
The music in the beginning the end is used to make the film have an eerie tone to it, to make it seem like these big bad grownups are trying to take the children away and turn them into something they don’t want to turn into. Drumming during the game of hide and seek, adds suspense and with the eerie music, leaves the audience wondering what’s going to happen next.
Literary and theatrical elements:
The sound design serves the film by helping to bring different parts to the audience’s attention. If it weren’t for the sound of the xylophone, I would’ve been left confused by the adults running around the forest in kids clothing. The music before and after tie in with the tone of dying, of childhood dying and transforming into adulthood. The music gives the tone of eeriness, which goes well with the drab, dark clothing of the adults, it’s almost like a funeral for childhood, and all things that make childhood good. The music is unsettling and helps the audience to feel the fear and possibly anger towards the adults from the point of view of the children. The stereotypical character line up and standoff, often make the audience want to rally with them and fight the “bad guys”. The sounds, sets an eerie tone for the entire film, the xylophone, adds another creepy touch. While many parts like the drums, the song and the other music allows for the audience to settle into a possibly horror movie theme. The adults pretending to play children, sets the movie off, it makes it less believable, and if they meant ot make it funny they succeeded, if they meant for the message to be more serious I think they took the funny part too far.
Joe by Sasha Wolf
Dialogue:
There is no dialogue, except for one of the nurses laughing, if that’s considered dialogue. The only sounds are normal sounds like keys, footsteps, drinking, wheels etc. Because there is no dialogue, there is no pacing, it’s not regular, or constant, its nonexistent. The sounds like footsteps, or of a person drinking a liquid, are made louder and brought to the forefront, which is mean to make the viewers uncomfortable. The cuts are based on the actions of the character and the environment around them, not the dialogue, since there is none.
Effects:
I don’t recall there being make sound effects, there are sounds in the film, but they are natural, their volume and presence has been influenced but not the sound themselves. There are many sounds that are significant, for example the slow trudge of the feet, it shows sadness, or hopelessness. The echoing of the footsteps and other sounds around it show how empty, and lackluster it is. The jingling keys, are aggravating to the ear, the way they grind together, and seem to be taunting the people who live in the asylum. These simple noise, footsteps, wheels, keys etc. are all made louder and more prominent in order to get the people to focus on them, these noises tell a story without words. All the sounds in the movie add to the plot, there is no dialogue, so the sounds and the visuals must tell a story. A character’s dialogue could explain where these people are, but with no dialogue, the walls need to look barren, the sounds need to echo to show loneliness and emptiness. The sounds are mad louder to take place of the dialogue, the rubbing of the rag on the man’s shoes, and how much time he spends on it tell the audience that he might have some sort of OCD, or a more serious mental illness. The visuals, the lack of dialogue and the prominent normal sounds, gives the movie an eerie feeling. Part of us want to feel bad for the person, but the quietness unsettles us. People are so use to the sound of people talking or conversing, even if they aren’t part of the conversation. So when this is taken away and the normal sounds are brought forth, we find it unnerving and unsettling. It leads us to our assumption that the man who cleaned his shoes might kill the one who split a white liquid on it. We gather from how uncomfortable we are, and how different these people are, we jump to the conclusion of murder, when in fact it was something else.
Music:
In the beginning of the film, there is this older sounding music that goes along with the black and white setting. The same music plays at the end of the film, as the man with white shoes walks out, sits in the chair and looks directly at the camera. The genre sounds like it might have a harmonica in it, it sounds sort of like a western movie music, but not with the intensity or suspense. In the beginning and the end the music is in the foreground, the other sounds can be heard, like the sound of the man cleaning his shoes. However, the music disappear once the man stands up and starts to walk around, showing the audience his surroundings. In this film, the movie doesn’t have a lot of drama or suspense, the only time the audience might be wary or nervous, is when the man whose shoes got spilt on, found the guy who dirtied his shoes. The music I guess is used to give an ambiance to the film, an older feeling. The music isn’t very upbeat, it seems more droning than anything, which fits the film quite nicely. The area the guy is in is drab, and lonely, the music helps to add to that feeling of melancholy.
Literary and theatrical elements:
The sounds help the film set the scene of a lonely, drab, hopeless asylum. There is no dialogue, just normal sounds people hearing everyday, but far more prominent now that the conversing and socialization of society has faded away. These are the sounds people would hear, if they didn’t speak to one another, or if they didn’t have a TV or a radio. When it comes to our emotions, the sound helps to give a melancholy feeling or sad feeling ot the scene. This man lives in an asylum, his days seem to fade together. He probably has very little control, and he probably can’t do much. The staff don’t seem to even recognize them as people, they’re separated not only from “normal” people but from each other as well. None of the people in the asylum talk to each other, or even seem to really notice one another. These normal sounds, and this music makes us sad for the character, but also possibly relatable. He seems to be going through the motions for most of the film, I’m sure there are days were we as humans feel disconnected from one another, and we feel like we’re going through the motions, and when something bad happens, we care but we also don’t at the same time.
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