Each form of categories of sound are individually important to any film. The dialogue allows the audience to follow the story and to hear details needed to follow the plot of the story. For example, in Titanic, when Jack saved Rose from jumping off the deck, he told her how painful it would be to jump in the cold water, “like being stabbed by a thousand knives”. This statement would prove to be important, in effect, to assist the audience to emotionally connect to the sinking, of the ship, into the freezing ocean. Sound is used, in essence, to portray the feeling that the director or cinematographer would like the audience to feel. In the Titanic movie clip, the screams of the passengers sounded a little muffled. It was intended to illustrate how tremendous the ocean was and how their screams just faded into the massiveness of the arctic ocean. In the clip, the music was extremely important to set the mood of the night of April 12, 1912. Later in the evening, as the ship sank, it took over two hours, the small band played on the deck as the ship was sinking. The particular music selected, as in any movie, will achieve the feeling of sadness, distress, happiness or love, whatever the mood the director wishes to extend to the audience. In Titanic, the music was very slow and calm in an attempt to calm the panic, which only made the event more distressing to imagine.
In the film, the music of the third class citizens was very uplifting and joyous. It was indicating that although these people did not have many material items, they were happy with their lives and each other as friends and family. The music in the room upstairs, with the first class citizens, was quite different. It was classical which gave an air of arrogance, as the upper class sniped at each other, appearing to be less happy with their lives.
The sounds in Titanic would change as the inter-twined genre’s were presented. In the scene, when Jack and Rose stood at the front of the ship with their arms extended, feeling like they were flying away together, tender music would add to the mood. In the sinking scene, the music was very dramatic and ominous accenting the devastation.
I have not seen the entire movie in a long time and would love to see it again. But I remember the effects of sound were fitting to the scene. For example, every time Rose and Jack were together, alone, it was fun, happy music. However, when they were with other people, because of their secret relationship, it was always more serious or classical. It always set the tone, for the their mood, when they were together, whether alone or with other people.
The ending would be so much less dramatic, if there were no muffled screams or the cracking of the ship splintering and breaking in half. The ominous music as the ship was crashing to the ocean would have left the audience with less of a connection, as far as, emotionally feeling the panic.
salter02 