Relationship between audio and Picture Stuart

Audio-Picture Relationship analysis

James Cross

The Film clip I have chosen is when Forrest Gump meets Jenny for the first time on the bus in the film Forrest Gump. Here is a link to the film clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvKzyYy6qvY

The clip starts off with Forrest sitting on a bench, talking about how he has forgotten about things that first ever happened to him. Non diegetic sound is very present in this clip. Throughout the clip, the audience can hear a soft violin being played which really makes the audience feel the warmth and happiness felt by Forrest as he meets Jenny for the first time. The non diegetic music is happy and gets more dramatic but not overly dramatic as Jenny says “you can sit here if you want”. The non diegetic music is timed perfectly with Forrest shocked in awe and euphoria as he sees Jenny’s face for the first time. It is an iconic, important part in the film because it really sets the emotion in the scene and I think the director intended to add this music because they wanted the audience to feel the happiness and shock of meeting Jenny for the first time, really feeling Forrest’ emotions. After being rejected by loads of kids for sitting down Jenny is his princess, she accepts him and gives him a chance when all hope seems lost. The viewer feels sorry for Forrest but then very happy that Jenny let him sit down next to her.

There is a strong source of diegetic sound, the sound effect being the bumps from the bus going along the road. I think it creates a sense in the viewers mind of reminding them about how they probably took the bus to school if they lived in the USA and in Britain how everyone is kind of silent and keeps to themselves.

The camera movement ties in very well with the violin music because it starts off with the camera stationary then goes into a zoom in close up shot of Forrest’s face then cuts straight to him as a child with a closeup shot. This short cut and camera movement together with the soft violin really emphasises how happy he was when he first met Jenny.

Natural vs Hyperreal takes big presence in the film. Most of the important dialogue heavy scenes are hyper real and enhanced for the viewers entertainment. In this scene, natural storytelling is big but hyper realism has a small section particularly how Jenny talks in a strong southern hick accent.  

I think the post processing in this scene sounds very natural sounding because I don’t think I could hear much sound effects like reverb or echoing etc.

Here is the TV clip I chose from Planet Earth II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv9hn4IGofM

The clip starts off with a closeup of the iguana and a volume decreasing sound effect then cuts to a shot of a few snakes slithering around and watching slowly at the iguana. There is a lot of non diegetic sound in the scene, an atmospheric pitch increases from a low bellow to a high sort of whistle. This really sets the scene as it builds up the tension loads and the viewers can begin to realise a battle/ fight is about to happen. Pretty much All the shots are very smooth and either panning and tracking or zooming and tracking on the Iguana or the Snakes. This really helps tie the focus on how animals are always moving and how they can be very scary.  

There is also a lot of diegetic sound in the scene as well. The audience most the time can hear the animals moving: the sounds of the snakes slithering about and the patter of the feet of the Iguana. This coupled with the very closeup shots of the animals literally puts the perspective into the audiences head of how quickly the animals move and how they act.

The scene is set at a good pace and the pace of it is mostly set by the music and camera movement. The section before the animal gets chased and the other animal eventually eaten is built up well and lasts for a long time. This really helps build and increase the tension and the use of non diegetic sound as well as diegetic sound being the animals feet patter sets the tone of a chase is about to happen and the animal could die.

I think there is minimal audio post processing in the scene. I can maybe identify a slight hint of reverb or echo on the sound of the animals movement but I don’t think there is anything else as I think the director would have wanted to keep the audio as original and raw as possible so it is the most realistic it can be.