AS Film - Sound in Film lecture 19/10/12

In today's session  we considered the importance of sound to how 'meaning' is constructed in film.

Sound is sometimes sidelined in analysis or production of film, perhaps due us being very much a 'visual-dominant' culture. However, this medium is vital in projecting emotion, feeling, narrative development and a hundred and one other essential reasons for the success of a director's vision.

In your own productions you might have concentrated more on the visuals, and perhaps left sound to be something which is simply 'there'. Many potentially good student films are let down by poor sound recording, such as ambient background sound or dialogue levels. Sometimes the choice of music can also either make or break a film.

So, whether you are producing or analysing a film, pay attention to the sound in order to discover additional meaning.

Today we discussed as case studies how dialogue was used in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and the use of source music in Danny Boyle's Trainspotting

Here are today's sequences...

Pulp Fiction - Directed by Quentin Tarantino (1994)
1. Royale with Cheese

Vincent (John Travolta) and Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) discuss the merits of taking drugs and eating cheeseburgers in Europe compared to America. All this on the way to retrieving a valuable briefcase belonging to their gangster boss from four very naive young men.

2. Cheeseburger breakfast

Jules questions the young men as to, firstly, the whereabouts of the briefcase, then how much they have disrespected the crime boss. Vincent broods in the background, waiting for the inevitable to happen, as Jules becomes steadily more angry and unpredicatable. The biblical quote spoken by Jules was, in fact, made up by Tarantino, and does not appear anywhere in The Bible

3. Divine intervention

Jules and Vincent survive a hail of bullets from one of the gang, hiding in another room. Jules is convinced that this is a sign from God to retire from his life of crime and murder.

4. "I shot Marvin..."

As Jules further contemplates the 'miracle' which he is convinced has occured, Vincent asks Marvin, whom is on the back seat of Jules' car, his opinion. Unfortunately Vincent's gun goes off by accident, leaving a very bloody mess in the car and a very upset Jules.

5. "A shot of adrenaline"

In a later sequence, Vincent needs the help of a drug dealing friend to save the life of his boss's wife, Mia (Uma Thurman), who has overdosed on some cocaine. The tension of the scene is underscored by the frantic dialogue of Jules and ultimately calmed by the line "That was fucking trippy!", said by the drug dealer's very stoned girlfriend.



Trainspotting - directed by Danny Boyle (1996)
One of the most influential British films ever made, dealing with the harsh realities of heroin addiction in Scotland. Notable for its story-telling, cinematic techniques and its excellent use of musical soundtrack.

Boyle used a variety of source music, ranging from opera, punk, ambient and the contemporary club styles of the mid-1990s, most notably the emergence of trance and trip hop.

1. Choose Life
In this opening sequence Boyle introduces two of the main characters, Renton and Spud, being chased by the police and security guards after shop-lifting to pay for their addiction. To the thumping beat of Iggy Pop's Lust for Life we see Rentn alternatively living something approaching normality (playing football), on the run for some petty thieving, and taking a score of heroin in a grotty room. All the while, his mantra of 'Choose Life' is battling with the beat of the music.

2. The Worst Toilet in Scotland
To the soundtrack of Brian Eno's ambient Deep Blue Day, Boyle shows us the reality and fantasy of heroin addiction when Renton is desperate to find a toilet once the constipation caused by the drugs wears off. You can even smell that toilet!

3. Hospital and Cold Turkey
After a visit to his dealer, Mother Superior, Renton slips into yet another heroin-induced coma. As he floats between hallucination and reality, the sound of Lou Reed's ode to his own addiction to the drug, Perfect Day, accompanies his journey to hospital and yet another shot of adrenaline to bring him round. The silence between himself and his long-suffering parents speaks louder than words. As he undergoes 'cold turkey' to wean him off the drug, Renton experiences a series of terrifying hallucinations, including his friend Tommy, who finally gave in to the temptation of heroin addiction due to Renton's influence and his assertion that it was "better than sex". The hideous image of the dead baby crawling towards him on the ceiling is acting as Renton's guilt of its neglect when it was alive. Boyle matches this disturbing sequence with a contemporary thumping techno/house track Dark and Long from Underworld.

 4. Choose Life (reprise)
The film's final sequence shows Renton making off with the money made from Begbie's drug deal,leaving his psychotic friend to wreck the hotel room. He leaves some money for his best friend, Spud, before making off into the sunny London streets, vowing to choose all the things he criticised at the start of the film. The tune, Born Slippy, by Underworld, plays over these final moments and became the most associated and popular track from Danny Boyle's film.

The complete track can be found below.