Film Sound Analysis

According to Giannetti, Understanding Movies (231, 13th ed.), the following questions should be asked when considering how sound is orchestrated in each scene of a film:

1. Is the sound distorted? Why?

2. Is the sound edited down and simplified or dense and complex?

3. Is there any symbolism in the use of sound?

4. Does the film employ repeated motifs?

5. How is silence used?

6. What type of musical score does the film feature? Is the score original or derived from outside sources? What types of instruments are used? How many? A full orchestra? A small combo? A solo instrument?

7. Is music used to underline speech or is it employed only for action scenes? Or not at all?

8. How is language used? Is the dialogue spare and functional? Or "literary" and richly textured? Does everyone speak the standard dialect or are there regional accents? How does dialogue correlate with class?

9. What about the subtext, the emotional implications beneath the dialogue?

10. How do we know what the characters want if they don't talk about it?

11. What about language choice? Any fancy words? Swearing and coarse expressions?

12. Is there a voice-over narrator? Why was he or she chosen to narrate the story? Why not another character?