The Role of Sound and a Significant Element of Film Production - Essay Example

The Use of Sound in Psycho al affiliation: The Use of Sound in Psycho Successful production of films is a hill task for many people due to different requirements. A striking and popular film must have aggressive characters, great motifs, elementary style and complimentary sound use (Kramer, Leppert & Goldmark, 2007). In as much as other aspects play greater roles, the paper focuses on sound as an important element in any film. The use of sound varies from film to film depending on the genres, intention and type of movie. Some producers use old style sounds and instruments while other applies technologically produced sound techniques and others mix the two to produce a great movie. Depending on the theme, the uses of sound serve different purposes. It can also be used to overlay or preempt an episode; it also serves as a connector to an already happening event or marks a transition. Arguably, sound is an extremely important aspect of film production. As such, the paper focuses on the use of sound in the film Psycho. The instrumental role played by sound takes the legendary position enjoyed by the movie itself. It has an expressive and effective sound effects system that includes music, dialogue and other instruments. Sound in an input to the general film landscape that attempt to re-innovate and energize view. Its main intention is to improve comprehension and ability to pre-empt next scene events. Psycho is an American horror-thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in the 1960s having the main actors as Vera Miles, Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh and John Gavin. In the beginning, a theme of psychological instability remains hidden; however, as the movie continues several scenes of psychological distress appears. The temptation to steal the $40,000 overcomes her conscience making her escape town to Bates motel where she meets her death. Conceivably, Psycho remains one of the best films produced by Hitchcock due to the great cinematic art. Music in the film is influential in conveying tension, dread and transition of events. The primary aim of music in any film is to reveal the spontaneous human elements and virtually human relations. Evidently, the ear has not undergone highly industrialized order or bourgeois rational transformation to handle reality from different commodities, objects or practical activity contrary to the eye (Kramer, Leppert & Goldmark, 2007). Undoubtedly, listening and seeing do not match; therefore, have not kept pace with technological transformation. In many instances, the ear remains a passive organ, which cannot relay the actual message in relation to the active eye that keeps in line with cultural anthropology. The difference between the two sensors requires a connector and acoustic perception that preserves optical perception and pre-individualistic ordain (Hitchcock, 1960). Sound is this aspect of preservation that promotes harmonic-contrapuntal elements or encourages rhythmic articulation that models characters and scenes in the film. Music as an element of sound collects and manages emotions by transforming the dreaminess and indolence of the ear to concentration and effort towards watching the entire film. In the film psycho, application of Hanna Eisler and Theodor Adorno is apparent in various scenes. Hitchcock request for a Jazz sound was replaced by a string orchestra that gave him access to a wide range of tones for the film. For example, the film has instrumental and dynamic specifics that supersede the expectations of a single instrumental group (Hitchcock, 1960). The differentiation serves as an important element in streamlining various motifs that require expression in different styles. Undeniably, the main title of the film presents a challenge to viewers as the introductory tone has a tense and hurling piece. The remarkable start reveals and impending violence that attracts not only the attention of the eye, but most importantly the ear and mind as anticipated by Hanna Eisler and Theodor Adorno. In as much as no serious activity happens that depict the anticipated violence for the first 15-21 minutes, it is evident that sound plays a significant role in capturing and concentrating viewers focus towards a given direction (Kramer, Leppert & Goldmark, 2007). The introductory sounds leave an extraordinary viciousness and lending tension in audience minds who keep on expecting a scene of violence or reprisal attacks. For example, when a police finds Leigh sleeping in the car after stealing from her employer, He is suspicious, and a rising musical tone prevails in the scene. To viewers surprise nothing happens as expected and instead the policeman leaves her to escape without even inspecting her belonging. The disappointing event shows seniority in sound use within the film that leaves viewers with more questions than answers on what to expect throughout the film. Notably, stabbing violin expresses the mood through an Ostinato to control tension generated in the film. Apparently, the repetition of the same musical voice creates a rhythmic development and similarity that keeps viewers expecting different events connected to the previous anticipations (Thomson, 2009). Evidently, the events do not prevail, creating an interesting content of keys to a successful film production. The strong tonality uses the same pitch in most scenes of horror keeping viewers on the loop as to what forms the later scenes. Apart from inducing magnanimous expectations within the film, Hitchcock also uses sound to relieve emotions and bring viewers to a harsh reality. In the shower scene, Amplified bird screeches are apparent accosted with fast sound motion (Hitchcock, 1960). The extraordinary amplification produces a harsh sound for the scene that depicts a strange event. As such viewers are able to restrain the emotional impact that happens in the scene where Leigh is stabbed to death. Conceivably, the inclusion of bird voices in the murder scene telegraphs different messages to the audience that further makes the movie captivating. Interestingly, many people can deduce that it was Norman, the stuffed bird collector who dies instead of the actual victim. The confusions remain one of the important roles of sound in any film as it motivates aggressiveness and effort to learn and understand diverse scenes. In this light, Hanna Eisler and Theodor Adorno view of music remains relevant and applicable in various scenes of Psycho. Evidently, it gratifies emotions, unearths underlying frustrations, and welcomes audiences to the downing reality. This makes sound an inevitable component of film production that should have priority. Based on a prologue by Kassabian (2001), sound application in films is critical hence does not call for unnecessary tagging. Good use of sound must observe assimilating identification, composed score, and historically familiar positions. Apart from the ordinary role of entertainment, any film should be able to identify different formations of sexuality, gender, race, and ethnicity. These are important aspect of any film that if not taken into consideration, use of sound can distort the actual meaning and intention of the film. It, therefore, is important to ensure that application of sound makes a compiled articulation that creates a continuous assimilation in changing pressures in the landscape of movie production. In the contemporary world, for instance, a pondering mass media has emerged creating an entire new landscape of generation X, which is spontaneously turning to generation Y. They have broad paths of critical (Thomson, 2009) imagination that presents a challenge to narratological, semiotic, and psychoanalytic composers. Amidst the diverse differences, understanding is essential between music and pictures in any film. Whether serialism, atonality or aleatory absolute coherence in inevitable considering the music is ideologically induced according to Susan McClary. The difference is mainly apparent in different Mozart Piano concerts where customized rules guide the whole process. Above all, a specific meaning of production is not a leisure activity in the film as all transverse across different cultural borders (Kramer, Leppert & Goldmark, 2007). The feeling is vibrated by film composer Irwin Bazelon, who connects listeners mind to a programmatically implicit sound environment. As such music offers a communication sound system that contends habit of listeners, generates consistency, and induces verbal as well as graphic form. The great illusion is Psycho attempts to reveal the great importance of sound in this respect (Hitchcock, 1960). A close look at the movie reveals an individual in the verge of experimenting whether to use sound or not. When compared to Rear Window (1954) and Franz Waxman’s for Rebecca (1940) psycho denotes the producer as a person who was in the verge of anticipating a sound result. For example, the use of birds in the movie attracts a limited conventional score but offers a platform for sound use. Naturally, the emphatic impact of the sounds leaves no print in printing an image to the viewers as it causes confusion rather than connecting the mind to the intention. Seemingly, Hitchcock mistrusted music during the production of Psycho; however, Bernard Herman concocted a violin and cello masterwork that sinuously thrived throughout the film. Without the music, Psycho could have presented a different landscape film of little significance top audience (Kassabian, 2001). The film, therefore, is a unique case of music application that frantically unearths the important role played by music. The incision between musical voices advances to psychologically thrilling voices that assist in fostering the main motifs of the film. In this regard, music becomes an important element of use in Hitchcock’s film that does not only makes it interesting, but also shows the important role played by sound to connect viewers perception and producer’s reality. As echoed by Kassabian (2001) the use of music and other studio effects in films shapes an important tag in relation to theoretical and technological manipulation. For example, sound encodes scenic grandeur, leisure or romances, which are important ideological elements during movie production. Additionally, the absolute abstraction induced by sound as evidence in the shower scene in Psycho denotes the possibility of emarginated visualization in an attempt to produce a coherent film (Hitchcock, 1960). The decision to use any sound element in a film remains a factor of many things. For example, it is important to draw a difference between diegetic and non-diegetic sound techniques. The segregation helps in avoiding common mistakes and unnecessary overlay of music genres. It also minimizes ambiguity and destabilization in separate realms that dictate the possibility of a successful film. Combination of a music and film merely obscure understanding; however, the transgression and inversion of music leads to strange films. These uncertain concepts make diegesis an explicitly artificial initiative meant to match any film with the surrounding environment music (Kassabian, 2001). The experience proliferates films to club songs and extravaganza landscapes that attempt to illuminate the anticipated theme. Visual grounding of sound limits complex ability to locate music hence initiating a complimentary approach. Psycho is a mixture if diegetic and non-diegetic approaches of sound tactics. This is because it makes use of instruments and natural sound of birds, which are not loud, but communicates (Thomson, 2009). Evidently, the use of sound is a private sphere in film production, but some producers opt to conclude other people in the choice of appropriate sounds. Certainly, the idea to consult Bernard Herman during the production of Psycho yielded fruit in realizing the psychological effectiveness. Psycho is an emotionally thrilling film due to the transition of different sounds. The application of sound has kept it relevant and superior to other horror movies that apply modern technological devices. Psycho enveloping effect mainly comes from the diegetic sound accosting the cinema continuity and visual synchronization (Hitchcock, 1960). The impossible embodiment brings on board a ghost voice that depicts basic music use. The shifts in spiral morality make sound a definite choice for powerful rhythmic play. In this light, the differentiating reflection in the film shows the great extent sound assists film producers in re-energizing the enthusiasm during the production stage. The merit of sound greatly manifests in the general use of music in the film. Modern movies have meta-diegetic subjectivity of characters, which allows them to use different stereo backdrops and increase horrified situations (Kassabian, 2001). Despite being a film casted in the past, Psycho envelopes among the modern films considering the differentiated sound use and fades. Arguably, the sound design and music subjectivity at the introduction act as a bridging mechanism that clearly creates a theoretical position of belief. The precise emotional belief articulates sound as a matter of subjective space that mainly manifests through a spiritual dead person who can kill. Psycho has a perfect match of dialogue with film imagery. At the introduction, sound images accosted with frightening images initiates a nail-biting atmosphere but shivers through dialogue between Leigh and her boyfriend on the subject of marriage. Dialogue also reveals the split-personality disorder a man harnesses after the death of his mother (Thomson, 2009). Undeniably, a feeling without dialogue leaves no impression of what happens or what is to happen. It is through the dialogue between Leigh and the boyfriends that the apparent lack of money comes into the limelight. They have great plans to marry but the boyfriend cannot afford the cost. Therefore, viewers are able to absorb the general feeling and explain reason for the next events. Another instance, where dialogue plays an important role is the scene before Leigh murder. She has a conversation with Norman Bates on various subjects, however, when they talk about Norman’s mother an itchy relationship prevails. In this respect, dialogue attempts to reveal the underlying theme of psychological effects and beliefs. Norman believes his mother is still alive when actually he keeps a preserved body that kills people. Furthermore, dialogue is used to manifest Norman’s stammering and evasiveness that ultimately unlocks the mystery behind the disappearance of several people (Kramer, Leppert & Goldmark, 2007). Therefore, dialogue plays an inherent role in revealing hidden characters, which operate under anonymity for a major part of the film. In addition, sound dialogues assists in identification of fictional locations within the film that assists in furthering the film landscape. It also breaks down the film into different sessions of screenplay of appropriate setting and situation that creates aesthetic appeals to viewers. It is evident that the film Psycho gains momentum in scene where Leigh has conversations with different people (Hitchcock, 1960). For example, her conversation with the policeman leaves viewers with different questions of competency and persuasive ability. In this respect, dialogue plays an important role of landscaping the film into the actual motif of psychological instability. In conclusion, films have different forms of sounds ranging from music, instrumental application, and dialogue. Evidently, the ear has limited bourgeois, rational transformation to handle reality from different objects or practical activity contrary to the eye. Sound expresses, animate, and develop the power of a narrative through action. Ordinarily, listening and seeing does not match, therefore, any film without music aspects fail to reach great threshold. The role of sound in any film is magnanimous and immensely contributes towards the successful reception. In the film Psycho, the use of sound manifests in different scenes. Apparently, music in form of Ostinato dominates the film right from the beginning controlling the rise and fall of emotions. Music in the film also creates suspense that leaves viewers with many questions rather than answers. Considerably, the film has a compelling use of diegetic and non-diegetic techniques inform of changing music and bird sounds. Last but importantly, dialogue used in the film profiles characters, pre-empts events and assists in identification of relating theoretical and technological importance. Therefore, sound is a significant element of film production, which has become part of every movie. References Hitchcock, A. (Director). (1960). Psycho : Shamley Productions. Kassabian, Arahid (2001). Hearing Film. Tracking identifications in contemporary Hollyhood film music. New York, NY: Routledge. Kramer, L., Leppert, R. D., & Goldmark, D. (2007). Beyond the soundtrack: Representing music in cinema. Berkeley: University of California Press. Thomson, D. (2009). The moment of Psycho: How Alfred Hitchcock taught America to love murder. New York, NY: Basic Books. Read More