Screening Report – New Jack City

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.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Sound Mixing in Terminator 2

In the opening scene of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, audiences are dropped into the action rather quickly. The film’s sound plays into this setup both to establish the given circumstances and to quickly paint a picture of what the future holds in the story world. As the film opens, Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Conner gives a voiceover narration that fills in viewers not familiar with the original storyline as to what is responsible for the post apocalyptic future. Just as Sarah Conner’s narration concludes, the film’s first diegetic sound is heard as machines crush the skull-ridden landscape. The specific crunch of the metal combined with the shattering of bone helps establish the two sides of the struggle and which side is in control. Viewers can quickly identify that machines control this desolate future without any prior knowledge of the storyline or original film (Whittington pg. 193).

With my film, Dawn of the Bros, I plan to use different elements of sound as well. Instead of a voiceover narration, I will use music to convey the tone of certain scenes. Along with the music, Foley sound will be vital to establish a detailed final product. Sound effects will be used for footsteps, knocking on doors and physical contact between actors.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Film Screening 1

Spike Lee’s School Daze is a film that relies on the relationship between its editing and sound. It’s editing is primarily continuity based however it mixes some unconventional elements that play to the film’s unique style. One scene that embodies the quirkiness of the film is the salon dance number that works separately from the actual story world. The scene transitions from an argument between the two female factions by a simple dissolve. The editing within the scene is practical continuity editing that helps keep the focus on the dance number. The set design and content helps play to the tone Lee sets for the film, and when the number is over it simply dissolves back to the original story world.

Back within the actual story world things are more conventional. Lee uses elements of shot-reverse shot as many of the scenes focus on conversations between two or three people. Also within the majority of the film are some awkward long shots that remind the viewer that this is one of Spike Lee’s first films. In his closing scene, Larry Fishburne runs what seems to be well over a hundred yards within the frame into the camera. This seems to last too long and takes the focus away from what Lee is trying to accomplish. Overall I think the editing in this film is somewhat lackluster however Lee achieves some success in the creating some interesting looks by his experimental techniques.

Jeff Tyner

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Hello world!

Welcome to blogs.bgsu.edu by COBL. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Sampling in Sound Design

Jeff Tyner

Sampling in Sound Design

Sampling and reusing sounds from previous works was a staple of the film industry since the inception of sound. When  films were churned out at a much faster pace this was a cheap and practical form of acquiring sound. The reusing of these sounds also attributed to a recognizable sound that could be appealing to audiences of the time. This was not a severe problem of the industry before the advent of multi-channel sound systems.

George Lucas’ Star Wars was one of the first films to feature multi-channel sound design and therefore it was more imperative to start from scratch when compiling sounds for the film. Similar to the familiarity that came with consistently sampling sounds, creating the sound for Star Wars from scratch from familiar objects gave the film a more credible sound. Layering different elements and finding the perfect balance to realistically portray the film’s environment is what helped Star Wars become the icon that it is today.

Sound sampling can be a grey area in all forms of media today. It can be a form a stealing and can lead to people making money off something they did not create. Because of Star Wars‘ ability to change the game of sound design it is not as big of a factor in regards to the film industry because now it is much simpler and effective to tailor sound specifically to a certain project than in years past.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment