Jeff Tyner
Film II
Prof. Castillo
December 4, 2011
Sound Design in New Jack City
Mario Van Peebles big screen debut featured a gritty interpretation of the drug-ridden, crime filled streets of New York City in New Jack City (Van Peebles, 1991). Although an independent film with only an $8.5 million budget, this film has both the look and feel of a mainstream Hollywood film. Sound plays a large role in the finished product but can sometimes feel dated in combination with the visual aspects.
One of the first things a viewer will notice about New Jack City is the influence of music in the finished product. The opening shots of the film cut back and forth between shots of the imposing skyline and the drug filled streets and slums. Combined with the montage is an original song also titled “New Jack City.” When the montage ends and the song concludes, the screen shows the actual musicians around a fire barrel singing the song. This is significant because it makes what would normally be non-diegetic sound function as diegetic sound that is actually taking place in the world of the film. This reoccurs throughout the film and functions as a transition between scenes and locations.
A major component of any crime film is how gunfire is presented and what it sounds like. The naturalistic sound flows well throughout most of the film, but the gunfire is awkward in this film and can be a distraction. For the time it was made it is not that bad, but for viewers who see it today it can also feel very dated. The overall quality of the gunfire and how it is mixed into the other sounds make it seem unnatural and therefore some viewers can lose focus. There are also some moments when there is not enough attention to detail. For example, when Judd Nelson’s Nick Peretti first encounters Ice-T’s Scotty Appleton, Peretti shoots a smiley face into a flat target. The gun sounds are loud, but the quality is not bad by any means. However, when the camera cuts to Peretti on the couch his pistol has a silencer attached. While that might not be the biggest deal to some viewers, it is something that I cannot overlook.
One of the most memorable scenes in the entire film is when Wesley Snipes’ Nino Brown gets shot following his court trial. The scene sets up very traditional, as Nino Brown is read his sentence and leaves the courtroom with his swagger intact as he has clearly beat the system. Then an elderly man meets him as Brown exits the building and pulls out a gun. This is where both the audio and visual components change dramatically and shift into slow motion. As the camera captures the emotion on the face of both Brown and the elderly assailant, the sound slows down with it to make it seam somewhat surreal. This is different from the rest of the film, which is very natural, and even makes an effort to merge the musical soundtrack into the story world. But with this scene, the sound is not natural. This helps keep the focus on the shear look of surprise on Brown’s face as he falls over the railings to his death. The sound work here, because it is different from the rest of the film, plays a vital role in what the viewer is supposed to see.