Posts Analysis - Assignment Solution

#1 ______________________________________

The initiative post 

“Making Movies” by Sidney Lumet has left me fascinated. Lumet has shared his perceptions on filmmaking, based on his personal encounters. He started making movies in the 50s and talks about Henry Fonda, Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffmann, Marisa Tomei and many other artists in his book. Lumet is an American director, renowned for his remarkable achievements and contribution to filmmaking (Lumet, 1996). His book is perfect guide to business, craft and art of the motion picture. The director reflects upon the significance of the painstaking efforts indispensable for the creation of magic on the screen. His book is a professional memoir that highlights all the hard work required to make a film. 

Lumet draws on from his vast experience of up to 40 years of filmmaking on the movies that he directed, such as The Verdict and Long Day’s Journey into Night. This book is a true guide on filmmaking, in which Lumet has talked about his fascinating experiences with the personalities he got the chance to work with. Every chapter of the book discussed one of the facets of filmmaking. Lumet also talked about the good parts of filmmaking and also the ones that left him frustrated. There were, however, some of the parts in the book that seemed a little outdated. This can be explained by the fact that the book was published sometime in the 90s. He talked about the limitations of photographic film. It is particularly because of the downsides of photographic film that many other decisions related to filmmaking were affected. The world has been digitized since the publishing of the book, hence, the limitations of photographic film are not very significant. There is a lot about this book, and filmmaking, that has intrigued me. Lumet has talked about all the elements of filmmaking that amalgamate for the production of a film. Besides, he has also discussed how these elements are related to one another. He also suggests that filmmaking is impossible without collaboration. Actors, cinematographers, composers and even caterers have important roles to play, and it is through their collaboration that films are created. Filmmaking is not everybody’s cup of tea. For an artistic perception to emerge, the director must interpret the content and material clearly. 

#2 ______________________________________

Prompt - Readings 

Sound Design 

The field of sound design is not only technical but also creative. A sound designer is assigned the duty of keeping the sound of a film or a video in check (Dakić, 2009). After the producer and the director of the film, the sound designer is assigned the duty of coordinating the different exercises of sound personnel. Sound designers are also designated the duty of selecting and placing the microphones. In addition to that, they are also responsible for room acoustics. Plays, films, recordings, or music performances; all are made up of non-compositional components that are covered within sound design. As far as the television programs or the films are concerned, sound designing endorses the story being presented to the audience. The quality of the tone coming out of a particular sound source is affected by the microphones. Different mics may perform distinct functions. For instance, one mic is likely to enhance the crispness of the sound, whereas the other may make it mellow or full-bodied. The story presented in the films may be told directly through the sound, or even indirectly by enhancing its effects. Quite a lot of elements of a film are brought together through the sound. In this process, the sound does not specifically attract attention to itself (Alten, 1994). 

Learning about the three categories of sound also left me intrigued. These are the speech, music and sounds. According to Langer, human response is formed by music. It is a tonal analogue that bears similarity to speed, conflict, arrest, resolution, calm lapses (1953, p. 27). Information is conveyed sonically through speech. How we interpret the spoken words depends on our understanding and mindfulness of the inflection, or the comprehension of the speech consisting of nonverbal sound. For instance, we can comprehend the connotations in sentences like, “Do you see what I mean?” There are a lot of sounds that convey some information. For example, when the floor boards are creaking, they imply how stable they may be. Oxygen has a lower pitch as compared to that of helium, and for this purpose, anesthesiologists rely on the whistle as an indication of the right mixture of gases flowing to the patient. It was rather fascinating to learn about the differences in how speech, sounds, and music are conveyed. However, some of the elements are common to each category of sound.