Sound Design HW

The cinematography in The Conversation, is shown from above whereas the sound is captured from below and in the van as shown in the clip.

I think that the distortion is effective with the audience - because you don't really know what is going on until you have seen the ear pieces, microphones and vans. I like the juxtaposition of the sound being captured from below and the cinematography from above in the first few seconds of the scene.

If I were to recreate this I would use white noise instead of the digital distortion heard throughout the extract as I don't think it makes it obvious to the reader what is happening - I would also include a distortion similar to when a microphone gets too close to a speaker when the spies are too close to the couple. I think the white noise would slightly confuse the audience as the image would not be distorted. I would also use more ambient noises such as people talking, breathing, walking in the beginning - I understand that the music is very loud, but I don't think that a busy street would not include people talking while music is being played. I think I would also include sounds of fabric touching fabric and muffling when the couples touch each other or are close to each other to show that one of the pair are wearing a microphone. I would cut the music completely when are protagonist that gets into the van when he does not have on the earphones to hear what is being said, highlighting that he is the protagonist and who the audience should be following, also creating a sense of mystery. I would also not use the piano at the end of the clip, instead replacing it with ambient noises and picking up on some key sounds when passing certain parts in the extract, for example hearing parts of a conversation when passing a group of people.




To improve this extract in Blade Runner, I would exaggerate the sound of the fan rotating above the man, as it is a close object to him, but that is not reflected in the sound. In class we debated as to whether or not the exaggerated heartbeat was diegetic or non-diegetic. I would argue that the heartbeat is diegetic, as it is in the film world. There is also nothing to suggest that it is a heartbeat, it could be the rotating fan above the pair. One of the characters speaks while the heartbeat is exaggerated and the voice slightly echoes, which the character's voice hasn't echoed before and it is only at that point - so if the heartbeat is non diegetic so is that voice, but the other character in the scene can hear the voice - the voice is only echoing to him, which means that he is feeling disorientated and hears specific key sounds that are to him, including his own heartbeat - the close up of this character also shows that we are only concentrating on this character and what he can think, feel and hear. I would make the first gunshot sound more like a gun shot instead of it sounding like something from Star Wars guns.