Soundtrack

Soundtracks in film openings

Se7en
In the opening of the film Se7en, diegetic sounds of the city are used as the character gets ready for work. There are sounds of cars and people, which create a busy atmosphere in the city which contrasts to the silence of the inside of the character's apartment which helps create feelings of isolation and loneliness in the scene. Sounds of keys being picked up, lights being switched off and cups being put in the sink are emphasised which reinforces the loneliness in the scene as they emphasise the silence in the character's apartment. Later in the opening, the diegetic sound of the metronome is used to reinforce ideas about the character to do with order and precision, as well as loneliness. The title sequence uses distorted sounds and music to create a chaotic effect, it includes scraping sounds, screeching and creaking sounds which create a confusing and chaotic mix of sound with a slightly grungy feel. The music and sounds get louder and louder towards the end of the title sequence, as well as faster, building tension.

Layer Cake
This film uses narration at the start, with calm music playing in the background which alters slightly at the start to match the tone of the opening better, it changes to calm electronic music to fit the light tone. The narration is also calm and laid back suggesting a cool, light tone. Nearer to the end of the  opening an energetic light rock piece plays as a car drives down a long road, this is used to get the audience excited and to change the tone from cool and relaxed to excited and energetic, to get the audience engaged and enthusiastic, it helps represents themes such as crime as cool, and possibly even glamorous.

Essex Boys
At the beginning of the opening, silence is used while information is displayed on a black screen, this is to build tension. After this the silence is replaced by only diegetic sounds of a garage door opening, a light turning on and footsteps, which are all emphasised and used to cut through the silence, but also to maintain the tension as there is no non-diegetic sound at this point. The sounds of the garage door screeching open could be representative of certain elements or themes of the opening, such as violence. Non-diegetic music plays when the car is driving, which sounds like electronica and rock, the music could be used to help set the tone of the film and also get the audience more engaged and interested in the film. Other diegetic sounds include emphasised or added punching or hitting sounds, to emphasise the violence in that part of the opening, as well as car sounds, footsteps and shouting.


Our Film

For our film we will need to collect or record diegetic natural sounds such as wind or trees rustling and bird calls to emphasise the location and the isolation of the area. Other sounds we will record or find will be sounds of a phone ringing from a caller and to the receiver, as well as some non-diegetic instrumental sounds or music, so the piece isn't too silent and boring, the music will hopefully get more intense and loud as the opening progresses up until the kidnapping to build tension. Also, sounds such as the antagonist's footsteps, leaves or branches rustling which already exist in the film. Diegetic sounds will be used to create tension in our piece and emphasise actions and the location. Sounds will be collected from various websites, especially music/non-diegetic sounds as well as the sound of a phone ringing (from both sides of the call). Sounds such as the diegetic sounds of the wind will be recorded or emphasised from the footage we already have, whichever creates a better atmosphere and doesn't sound like it cuts every time a shot changes, so we will probably be using recorded sound to make the piece and the edit smoother.