ENG225 Introduction to Film
April 30, 2015Elf
Title: Elf
Director: Jon Favreau
Released: 2003
Major Actors: Will Ferrell, (Buddy) Zooey Deschanel, (Jovie) James Cann, (Walter) Daniel Tay (Michael)
Dialogue, sound effects, and music are among the three basic categories of sound in a film.
What is dialogue?
- verbal words that are spoken between two or more characters in a scene (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014).
- a sound that is made up for a film
- the sound is not speech or music
What is music?
- harmony that is created by instruments and or voices
The film above is one of my favorite scenes from the movie Elf. The sound that are made in this particular scene incorporate all three of these elements. Dialogue is showed by Buddy and Michael conversing back and fourth on the snowball fight.
Sound effects are HUGE in this specific scene. In the beginning of this scene you hear bells ring. When Buddy is crossing the road and steps in front of a car you hear the driver honk his horn and the tires squeal. The biggest sound effects are when the snowballs are being thrown. When the snowballs are thrown, it sounds like rockets and fireworks being shot off. The faster the snowballs are being thrown, the fast and louder the sound effects of the snowballs are. If you listen closely, you can even here the foot prints of the guys running away and then in the last part you can here the snowball hitting the guy.
In the beginning of this scene when Buddy is sitting waiting for Michael, you can hear some instrumental music in the background. If I wasn't looking for it, I wouldn't have noticed. It blends right in.
The impact of sound on the theme of this scene is right on I feel. This is a happy, cheerful, comical and fun movie that's supposed to bring joy and laughter to your viewing. The sound does just that. The sound makes you feel like you are one of the characters in the movie. The sound effects makes the movie especially this scene feel so real and you can imagine having your own snowball fight where you are at the very moment.
The sound informs the mood wonderfully. While watching this movie you the audience should feel their stomach hurting from laughing so hard. I can't remember a time where I have laughed so much during a movie.
With all three elements of sound put together I could gather that this film's genre is comedy.
One expected sound effect that is in this scene is when the horn is honked and the tires squeal. If you were to run out in front of a vehicle of course the driver is going to honk his horn and the tires will squeal because they are trying to make an abrupt stop. The sound effects that were not expected are the sounds that are made when the snowballs are being thrown. This is a added bonus. If I were to throw a snowball, I can't hear myself throw it. Another expected sound effect is when the guys are walking in the snow and you can hear their footprints. If you walk in the snow and the snow is packed, you can hear yourself walk.
If this specific scene didn't have any sound effects, I think this scene would be pretty boring. Even though the scene itself is funny, the sound effects keep the audience intrigued to keep watching.
References:
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title.
Created by: Jessica Burdick
