Assignment Task 4 - Merit/ Destinction Work

18th March Deadline!

• Write up notes
• Grammar and spelling correct
• Analyses 'Cage Scene' from Jaws
• 500 Words Minimum
• Use technical terminology (see sheet)
• Analise every point you make
• Include your thoughts and opinions
• Explain your points. Use examples
• Back up points with evidence.

1.  Amplitude - Volume of the sound
2. Melody - Tune (notes make a tune for the scene)
3. Light Motif - Entrance song to a character
4. Score - The music (written by a composer) in a scene. Like a soundtrack.
5. Instrumental - Instruments used in the melody/ light motif.
6. Parallel - when the music moves along with the images you see.
7. Dissonance - Minor or major sounds that don't go well together. Uneasy feeling.
8. Entice the Imagination - Using the use of silence to keep people on their feet. Cliff hangers also do this.
9. Digetic - Things you can hear in the scene. Things the characters can hear as well as the audeince.
10. Non Digetic - Sound/ music the audience can hear but the characters can't. Mood music.
11. Fight or Flight - You stay and fight or you run away. (Look whats happening or don't look)

Jaws Notes

• Light motif to signify the shark approaching. build up of sound- amplitude. Building up tension.
• Use of silence to emphasis the fear factor. Deep breathing- you know something's going to happen but you don't know what. uneasy feeling.
• Minor and Major sounds (Dissonant) when the shark appears. Fight or flight moment. 
• Fast paced music and loud sound during the scene. Get's the audience sitting on the edge of their seats.
• Enticing the imagination - will the shark come back? what will the shark do next? where is the shark going to come from?
• Light motif tells us that Jaw's is a bad character. His entrance suggests he is going to do something bad.
• Jaws theme (music) is made for the film - The score (all music in the scene)
• String instruments are used to create the dissonance sound. Cello's, Bass, violins etc.
• The score is parallel to the video (mirrors the action of the scene)

I have been looking at the "Hooper in the Cage - Jaws (8/10) Movie CLIP (1975) HD" scene on Youtube in the Jaws film. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW7Q7UySxRA I will be talking about the wide range of techniques such as the use of sound or lack of sound used in the clip.

In the Jaws clip, Jaws (the shark) is playing with Hooper who is cage diving. Jaws makes a very dramatic entrance and smashes into Hooper's cage. Hooper then looses his shark spear and attempts to recover it from the sea floor, as an audience we then know that Hooper isn't protected by the cage and the Jaws leitmotif tells us the shark is still around.

(19 seconds - 45 seconds) The Character's light motif is, in this context, used to signify the shark (aka Jaws) is approaching. The leitmotif tells us that Jaws is a bad character. His entrance suggests he is going to do something bad. This leitmotif consists of a build up in the volume of sound which is known as amplitude. As a composer, you want to build up tension in the scene so the audience knows what kind of character Jaws is, this is also especially useful because there is no dialogue in this scene. The lack of score is used to emphases the fear factor too. Silence is enticing the imagination. For example; will the shark come back? What will the shark do next? Where is the shark going to come from? The audience concentrates on Hooper's deep breathing, you know something's going to happen but you don't know what. This gives you an uneasy feeling.

(1.10 minutes - 1.20 minutes) Clashing minor and major sounds (dissonance) are used when the shark appears and together with an increase in amplitude, is a key component in this scene because it is used to give the audience a fight or flight feeling, it engages them into the scene. An example is when Jaws smashes into the cage, it makes the audience feel as if they are there. The use of fast paced music and loud sound during the scene is also another way to create a reaction from the audience. It gets them sitting on the edge of their seats. It engages them so they feel empathy towards a character. An example is when Hooper swims out the cage to retrieve his spear, we feel sympathy for him but also we are scared that he'll get attacked by Jaws.

The Jaws music soundtrack made for the film, is the score. For example, all the music is written by a composer. This means that from 1.31 - 1.38 minutes in the clip, the music has to express that the character has no control of the situation, the music has to be made to replace the lack of dialogue. The type of soundtrack in the scene is created by the use of string instruments as these create the dissonance sound. For example, cellos, Bass, violins etc. It is very important that the score is parallel to the video clip because the lack of sound mean the audience relies on the melody and sound effects to create the atmosphere and a sense of realism into the scene.

In my opinion, I think that the video clip wouldn't be very engaging to the audience if you only had production audio. Although you would have all the natural sounds of the sea and the shark attacking noise. You would be missing the dramatic effects and the sense of not knowing whats going to happen. The leitmotif and dissonant sounds completes the clip so the audience are emotionally linked with the characters. You wouldn't be able to achieve that effect without the mixture of sound techniques.