Sunday, October 14, 2012

DYM: Film Opening Sound Analysis

The film opening I have chosen is from Scott Pilgrim vs The World starring Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim and directed by Edgar Wright:
http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/scott-pilgrim-vs-the-world/
Dialogue:
- The film starts off with a voiceover that matches the text seen on screen, and adds pathos and dramatic tension, which is then undermined by the fact he is announcing that Scott Pilgrim is dating a high schooler, which sets up the genre as comedy.
-The voiceover is repeated in a sarcastic girl's voice, which is followed by a male's voice asking 'Is she hot?'. This introduces these two characters immediately, and the audience can instantly gage the relationship between Scott and his various friends
-Their conversation introduces us to the character of Knives Chau before we've met her, so we want to meet her, and when she arrives she is expected. It also provides humour for instance when Scott says 'We have meaningful conversation about yearbook club'
-The first thing Knives says is a giggle then a nervous 'Hi' which introoduces her as quite young and a bit innoncent/silly
-When Young Neil says that he plays 'Zelda, tetris' this introduces him to us a lonely gamer.
-When Scott says 'Lets start with Launch pad McQuack' this informs the audience that nthis will be a quirky and unusual film
-Kim Pine yells 'We are sex bo-bomb one two three four' then the music starts, telling us the name of their band and starting the actual titles sequence.
-The opening finishes with a LS then a CU of Knives Chau saying 'You guys are so amazing'

Music:
-The Universal Theme music is played in an electronic way, making it sound like an old-fashioned video game and matching reductionist 8-bit rendering of the Universal logo
-Electronic game music is used to make the characters seem like nerds, or to add extra surrealism, making it feel like the characters are in a video game
-The cheery electronic music stops when he opens to the to Knives Chau
-There is very quiet background music that sounds like video game background music
-The song is "We Are Sex Bob-Omb" by Beck and it is allegro and forte, creating excitement and anticipation in the audience

SFX:
-Wind blowing during the shot of the outside of the house
-Bird tweets whilst the camera pans past the tree
-Door bell
-Most of the indoor sound have been recorded by folley artists, like the crunching toast and the squash being poured
-There is a quiet electronic whistle sound when the information about the characters pops up
-There is a two not sound like you find in video games
-Another video game sound is a little tune that plays while you wait or the game is reloading as he tells them that he's chinese
-There are outdoor sounds when he opens the door, including the creak of a swing and cars passing by

Sound and Video Editing:
-At first we only see Scott's back and hear his voice, which builds up enigma about him
-A few of the sounds such as the doorbell, and when he sings 'Yeah Yeah' are also titles, giving the sequence a comic book feel.
-The sound bridge between the shot of the house and the interior master shot makes it clear that they are inside
-While characters are speaking we usually see a CU or a MCU so we know its them and can see their emotions
-The sounds of the band tuning their instruments remind us that they're there and what they're doing while Knives and Young Neil are talking
-The lighting shaped graphics that surround the band while they play indicate how good they are, in a superheroic way. The lightning shapes throb with the beat of the music and then suddenly transform into the film's title. They only appear while the music is playing, which brightens up the otherwise dreary surroundings.
-The fast and upbeat tempo of the song matches the frenzied and bright titles made of scratched celluloid.
-During the part of the song where the guitar is strongest, drawings of guitars are present behind the text

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