MUSIC, SOUND & IMAGE IN CHARLIE & CHOCOLATE FACTORY TITLE SEQUENCE

CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY TITLE SEQUENCE

This blog will highlight 3 prominent moments in this title sequence where music and picture really act together and have a strong effect on the audience and explain them in detail and point out how it affects the audience. it will include what the pictures are doing, what the music is doing and how they interact with each other.


POINT 1
Timecode ref 1:46
At this point in the title sequence. the screenshot enters the chimney, changing from exterior to interior. the screen spirals up the chimney and drops down quickly into the darkness. What we can hear is the tempo quickening helping to keep the attention of the audience. This could also build tension as the screen goes into darkness. There are also drums introduced to emphasise a big, dangerous sounding beat. There is more texture to the music as there is more instruments introduced. There are violins playing very quickly and the notes are descending as the shot also descends into the chimney. The drums sound similar to warrior music and sounds intimidating and dangerous and they are quite low pitched. The music supports the pictures here because its a change of environment/scenery so the music also changes to emphasise that. Especially in a way that of the change between exterior to interior. It keeps to audience watching and is mysterious and makes them wan to see what inside the chimney.


POINT 2
Timecode ref 2:29
At this point we see the famous golden ticket for the very first time. A colourful gloved hand (perhaps belonging to wonka) places 5 golden tickets onto five different chocolate bars. The chocolate bars are  dropped down by a parachute. This is quite a close up view of the golden tickets. What we can hear is the volume of the music increasing very slightly and also the pitch gets higher. There is less of a texture to the music here and it makes it seem like an important part of the sequence and makes it seem like a significant part as its the first time you see the golden ticket. There is glockenshpiel playing here which kind of makes it sound like childlike/magical/fairytale sort of story and maybe slightly mysterious and appeals to children. This is a significant part of the opening scene so it must have some good supporting music to emphasise this. The lack of volume and instruments at this point draws the attention away from the music and more to the golden ticket. Also there is no regular pulse/tempo which grabs attention as there is a noticeable change in the music.


POINT 3
Timecode ref 3:17
At this point the boxes of chocolate bars are being loaded onto the vans and driven away for delivery. The vans are parked outside the factory which is very big and looks like kind of military base. It is also snowing and makes it more serious looking which extends the serious factor. Especially with the weather being bad with a gloomy atmosphere and the sky is grey and the streets are foggy and quiet. What we can hear is a snare drum being drum rolled which sounds military like and music for marching and drill. It has very angry sounding music over the top with alot of horns and deep pitched sounds in a minor key. This makes it seem low and serious, and maybe slightly scary. All these make the boxes appear to be embarking on a mission hence the military theme continuing. It is all organised into the boxes being like soldiers in the way that they are being loaded on the vans like an army.

FOLEY

Foley is the reproduction of everyday sound effects which are added in post production to enhance the quality of audio for films, television, video, video games and radio.These reproduced sounds can be anything from the swishing of clothing and footsteps to squeaky doors and breaking glass. The best foley art is so well integrated into a film that it goes unnoticed by the audience. It helps to create a sense of reality within a scene. Without these crucial background noises, movies feel unnaturally quiet and uncomfortable.
(Definition from wikipedia)






The sound of the Imperial Walkers in Star Wars were created by modifying the sound of a machinist's punch press. Added to this for complexity, were the sounds of bicycle chains being dropped on concrete.The sounds created in this scene were rather complex compared to some others such as footsteps on gravel which is simply made by filling a tray with gravel and pushing shoes onto it in time with the image. 

In this fight scene from the film 'Enter The Dragon' a lot of the strikes (punches and kicks), are recreated sounds, recorded in a studio and overdubbed to the film. A lot of the punches to the head are recreated using a cabbage or a lettuce and simply punching it. For a body falling and landing on the ground, they would simply throw a punch bag/boxing bag onto the floor. 

A lot of the Foley artists job is trail and error. They will try a variety of techniques and sounds until they find the most realistic and effective one to go with the movie. 
The mean average annual salary for a foley artist is around £35,000.  

Hyper Realistic Sound

HYPER REALISTIC SOUND

Hyper realistic sound is when you hear a sound in a film that is unrealisticly louder than normal. eg a text message in a crowd. This is used to emphasise important parts from the film. 

In the terminator clip, the kid at the start of the video is breathing very heavily and you can hear it very clearly, more than you would in real life. You can even hear his breathing over the sound of the motorbikes engine going which is unrealistic. This is a good example of hyper realistic sound as it isn't a realistic volume. It also helps to build tension. Especially for the breathing in this clip as it emphasizes it to make it relate to the kids fear and makes it seem like you are there with him.






In the casino royale clip, at the very start, the agent in in the middle of a big crowd and everyone is cheering and shouting. the agent receives a text message and you can still hear his message tone go off even when he is among the crowd of people. This shows that text message is an important and relevant part of the scene otherwise it would seem insignificant and in the background. The producer has purposely made sure its unrealistically loud so as it catches the audiences attention.

Mickey Mousing

MICKEY MOUSING

In animation and film, Mickey Mousing, is a technique that syncs the accompanying music with the actions on screen. eg. playing ascending xylophone as a character runs up the stairs. This is very common in cartoons such as Tom and Jerry and Looney Toons. 


Mickey mousing is used at the start when the dog jumps onto Tom and when he is falling down through the air (descending), there is a woodwind instrument and it goes from a high pitch to a low pitch and stops when the dog hits Tom. This effective because the music imitates the actions that are happening on the screen so it emphasises the movements of the characters. This is mainly used in cartoons such as Tom and Jerrys it gives comedy effect in which case it can be used in any comedy sketches or scenes in films and it would have the same effect.

The same applies to this looney toons clip as Daffy duck throws bugs Bunny back down the rabbit hole. As he I

is falling/descending, there is a sort of woodwind instrument playing from a high pitch to a low pitch (descending notes). Almost exactly the same concept as the first example. 

This mickey mouse clip is another example of mickey mousing from where it originally came from. In this clip the caravan drives along the fence and you hear a xylophone playing at the same time. This time in ascending order perhaps to build excitement. This also adds a comedic effect and makes it more appealing to the younger audiences.