I was tasked with choosing out of 3 scenes from 3 different movies (Lord of the Rings, Matrix Reloaded and Star Wars Rogue One) and remove the original audio from the scene and find multiple sound effects to add in and re create the audio for the scene ourselves. I chose to use the scene from The Lord of the Rings as in all honesty I thought it would be easier to do because of how easy it would be to find the sound effects instead of having to find sound effects for Star Wars as an example. However I wish I did use Star Wars a Rogue One as my choice of scene as I could have used more creativity in my choice of sound effects.
The Process
Before I even began editing I watched the original scene over a few times to find what sounds were needed for example the rain and thunder, orc’s roaring, marching, baby crying and many more, I got all of the sounds I used from freesound.org.
After downloading a variety of sounds I opened up Premiere Pro, imported the Lord of the Rings scene and the sound effects. I added the lord of the rings clip into the timeline where I then deleted the original audio and started to add the sound effects I had downloaded.
How I added the certain sounds at the right moments was really just down to certain things happening in the scene, lip syncing and just creative decision.
During the production I used sounds such as
- Thunder (For the lightning.)
- Rain (Self explanatory.)
- Footsteps (For the orcs marching towards the castle walls.)
- Creature growls and roars (I used these sounds for the orcs but also combined the sounds to make them more orc like.)
- A loud thud/bang (I used this sound to create the noise of the orcs banging their spears and feet on the ground.)
- Metal clanging (This sound was for the orc who was smashing his arm against his armour.)
- Baby crying (I used this sound for the baby crying in the background.)
- Fire (This fire was used in the same scene I used the baby crying as there is a fire lighting the scene.)
Mood and Meaning
Some of my sounds created a mood and depth to the scene. For example the footsteps created a sense of impending doom especially when you can hear it from a far as we can see the elves staring at the Orcs. Also with the pounding on the floor creates a sense of strong tension and rises as the pace of it rises and the Orcs snarl.
Diegetic and Non – Diegetic
Diegestic sounds are sounds where the sources of the sounds are visible on the screen and are sometimes implied to be in the present action showed. Examples of Diegestic sounds are:
- Character Voices.
- Sounds made by objects in the story.
- Music represented as coming from instruments in the story space.
Diegetic sound can either be on screen or off screen depending on whatever the source is and that is within the frame or outside of it.
Diegetic sound is also known as “Actual Sound.”
Non – Diegetic sound however is where the sounds used are not visible on screen or implied in the action present. These sounds consists of:
- Narrators commentary.
- Sound effects which is added for the dramatic effect.
- Mood Music.
The sounds are seen as coming from outside of the story space.
Another term for Non – Diegetic sounds are “Commentary Sounds.”
When it comes to ‘did my sounds enhance the visuals’ I can only answer it by saying that why does anyone add sounds into scenes. Sound brings a scene to life by making you believe that what you are watching is real in a sense. For example, the scene is in a park and there is a beautiful with birds singing and a couple sitting in a park, however there is a very busy street behind the camera. So during the editing they remove the audio clip and add in birds chirping, gentle stream of water, a gentle breeze and people quietly talking in the distance to make the scene more peaceful and relaxed than if you kept in the sounds of cars speeding behind the camera. Another example can be with a punch, actors can not actually hit other actors so they combine different sounds to make the audience feel how strong the hit is and have a sense of how it hurts. So to answer the question does the sounds I used enhance the visuals? Yes all sounds do.
During this production I improved on timing sounds and ‘following the beat’ so to speak and in general I feel that I have improved in sound design and have a greater appreciation for it as it is a difficult thing to do.
I did miss out some sounds, for example when Aragorn draws his sword out of his sheathe I did add a sound effect which corresponded with him unsheathing his sword. Also again like I said before I wish I did Star Wars instead as I would have been able to use more creativity in my work and test myself on what I could create.
Final Video:
I'm a 90's Child... 