How To Use Sound In Movies To Tell Your Story?

February 17th, 2022  |  by maria

How To Use Sound In Movies To Tell Your Story? -

What are movies and films without sound? You cannot tell a convincing story without using sound in movies.

For every scene in the film, they select the sound that is perfect for the setting. All audios in movies play a crucial role. The sound in movies helps the audience understand the scene and mood of the scene. It also plays a part in making you get the full immersive experience.

Through audio in movies, you get to know about the characters in a lot more detail. You understand what their actions mean. Background music and sound set the atmosphere and you can feel the tension rising in serious situations and peaceful sounds make you feel calm in other scenes.

3 Types Of Sound In Movies And Film

Atmosphere Sounds

To build the atmosphere for any scene in a movie, you need sound. If you have ever been familiarized with the sound design process in movies and film, you would know that to provide sound in movies you have to read the script and understand what the scene requires.

It is crucial for any film, whether it is a documentary or a motion picture, that you make the best use of audio. You can know where the scene is set and what the mood is and then provide sounds that fit it best and create the atmosphere that is required.

Some people think that dialogue and soundtrack are the most important sound elements in any movie. However, that is not the case. There are countless minute sound details that are required to bring a movie scene to life. To build a convincing atmosphere, you have to add numerous sound effects. The process can be compared to adding visual effects in the post-production of movies and films to make them stand out.

The atmospheric sounds in movies are essential to every scene. Even though these sounds are not significant at times, they are appealing to the audience and make the scene feel more realistic. People need to hear them in order to believe that a scene is taking place.

For example, if a scene is taking place in a car, you need sounds of other cars driving by, horns honking, people on the side of the roads, and many other sounds to bring a sense of realism to the setting. 

Action Sounds 

Another type of audio in movies that is crucial to all scenes is action sounds. These are the sounds that are made when a character does any action on screen. For example, if someone is writing something, there needs to be the sound of a pen or pencil against the paper to make the scene feel like it is actually taking place and make it believable for the viewers. The sound of a doorknob turning, footsteps approaching, and much more are all action sounds, also known as foley.

In scenes that involve fights and stunts, there are sounds of punches and grunts from the characters that are involved in the fight. Big action sequences also require the sound of guns, explosions, crashes, and much more. Action sounds can be as minute as the sound of a character holding a glass to as huge as two cars crashing.

Background Score Or Soundtrack

One crucial element of sound that is used in movies and films is the background score or the soundtrack. There have been incredible soundtrack moments in the history of cinema, and people still talk about them today. The music you use in your film can help you tell the story and convey the feelings of the characters.

Not just the songs, but the background scores of movies that have been made over the years have stood out. These compositions contain all the emotions of the scene and can add life to the movie. For example, renowned composer, Hans Zimmer, is famous for creating some of the most chilling compositions that make scenes even more memorable for the audience.

Sound Design In Movies And Films

The sound design of a movie or film is one of the most important aspects. It helps with bringing the scene together and making it look realistic. Not only that, but it is also a tool for storytelling. Just like visual effects or special effects, the sound effects and design of the movie also help convey the message.

It helps us understand the emotions of the characters and feel what they are feeling. The dialogue, soundtrack, background sounds, etc., are all sound elements that play a significant role in the storytelling process. There are some methods and techniques used for the audio in movies and films like ADR and the editing of the sound. Let’s find out some more about what these are.

What Is ADR?

When filming a scene that has dialogues, there are instances where the sound is not clear. It can happen due to various reasons. Either the actor’s voice got muffled or the background noises were too loud to get a clear recording of the dialogue. Moments like these during filming are when you understand the importance of ADR.

ADR, which stands for Automated Dialogue Replacement, is the process where the audio that cannot be saved or used is replaced by the actors by re-recording it in an ADR session. The actor records the dialogue on a clean track and it is later added to the scene and matched with the scene. ADR is helpful, especially when you need to rely on the dialogue for a scene and the audio has been compromised. However, most directors avoid using it because it can be challenging to sync the audio perfectly with the actor saying the dialogue.

Sound Editing

For sound editing, using the software of your choice can help the process. Some people prefer using Adobe Premiere Pro while others prefer Avid Media Composer. Whichever software you decide to use for the sound editing process should provide you with all the features you need and make the process as efficient as possible.

For sound editing, the audio tracks are added in layers and there are multiple tracks created which help the scene feel more real and believable. There are some audio tracks that require mixing before they can be added, and the sound editing software that exists helps with these types of audio tracks. 

Tips And Tricks For Sound In Movies And Films

1.    Record Everything

Even if you are just playing around with sound mixing and atmospheric sounds, you should be recording everything. You never know when you come up with something that can help you bring a scene to life, and it is crucial that you have it recorded so you can use it if you need to.

2.    Order Of Plugins

When you work in sound design, you have to understand the importance of using plugins. The order in which your plugins are placed can have a significant impact on the final result, and you should be paying attention to it. To create various sound effects for movies and films, you end up using multiple plugins on one audio track. You should always consider the order of the plugins that you are using.

3.    Creating Layers With Sound Textures

Layering the audio tracks can have a significant impact on the final sound. You should not be afraid of taking risks and layering different sound textures together to develop something. The different layers can come together to create the perfect atmospheric sounds which can be used in a scene, which is why you should start experimenting.

4.    Record Your Daily Sounds

You never know when a sound you have recorded can come to use. You should record yourself doing even the most mundane tasks like driving your car or making your morning coffee. Having an extensive audio library can help you pull up various sounds whenever you need them and save you a lot of time and effort. 

Final Takeaway

Sound in movies and films help with the storytelling process. The audio in movies can help us understand the characters and scenes, and make us experience the movie in a way that is more realistic for us.

If you liked this article, you should also check out Things To Know About Audio Editing

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