Purposes of editing sound

-To compress sound to fit a specific timeframe.

-To edit audio to reach and remain within legal sound levels, in order to be aired.
-Remove unusable of ineffective footage.
-To alter the meaning of a specific scene by manipulation of audio visuals.
-Rearranging chronological order
-To enhance ideas of place emphasis on a subject by the use of sound effects of
visual effects
Bowling for Columbine (2002) - Tyrannical Governments Scene
The interview from this extract within Bowling for Columbine is a clear example of how it is using unethical techniques
to put across a biased point of view, showing an interview that is not in chronological order to present information in
the way moore wants. For example when james is expressing the need for guns in order for one to protect himself,
suggesting the government are not trustworthy and it is our right to overthrow it’ michael asks ‘why not use gandhi's
way?’. This is expressed through soundbites, as if Moore is just spitting out this discussion rather than being
questioned on it, and the use of editing the sound in this way makes nichol’s appear unhinged and therefore as the
audience we begin to distrust him. By retaining ambience, it is enabling moore to make the edit manipulative because
he is able to edit the chronological order of the interview to his own subjective which is to present james nichols as
guilty because he is unhinged and makes several suggestions that implicate his involvement in the case he was once
acquitted of. Moore wants to put across in the documentary that there should more gun restrictions and therefore is
using Nichol’s to argue his point,that this ‘unhinged’ man owns a gun should not and does so by editing him in a way
that presents him as slightly odd but putting together the footage in a way that makes the audience think he is
suspicious as well as suggesting that there wasn't; enough evidence to arrest him but that he could be guilty.
Chronological alteration

In the Bowling for Columbine documentary , Marilyn Manson is interviewed in an attempt to try and receive a direct answer as to
how he views the recent events and if any of the mainstreams media that represents Marilyn as a potential influencer or direct
cause as to the actions performed by the Columbine shooters holds any merit. Marilyn goes on to explain how the common
misconception of Marilyn being a direct inspiration of the tragedy that occured at Columbine when in fact the media and many
other sources of higher authoritative figures hold more of a direct influence on society by means of invoking fear into the public,
forcing them to obey / consume. This segment of the documentary does not contain the full interview as raw, the editing of this
sequence has been directly altered with intent to further push the agenda that Moore envisioned. The nature of the scenario, in
which people are looking for the true culprits behind the columbine massacre, politicians, high status figures, movie makers and
so on find a way to present to the people their agenda, one in which is presented in such a manner that they can convince the
general population that there is no way to deny the unequivocal ‘proof’ that is how these crazy influencers are to blame for the
tragedies that take place. This is in reference to Moore’s malicious intent behind editing this interview in such a manner to
pander towards his own agenda and trying to paint marilyn in an exceptionally bad manner to make i seem like he’s to blame.
 Editing to remove repetitive of unwanted audio
This interview featuring Robin Williams is one of which that features a lot of what would be perceived by the public as excess or
unnecessary information.This interview segment is an hour long, many different renditions will come out of this production with certain
highlights of sectors during this interview that condense a particular topic of subject into a short video that is easier for mainstream public
consumption. Some people may not have the time to sit down and observe an hours worth of content in an interview for something they
don't know if they are one hundred percent invested in. By editing content on purpose in order to shave off or reduce excess content is a
commonly used practise within the industry in order to manifest user interest in such a manner that is much more effective than allowing a
full, hour long, relatively unedited segment run its natural course on attempting to develop user interest.

Content such as interviews and any other longform production is the most notably targeted pieces of media that are affected by removing
significant segments of audio due to their nature, in which they are obviously very voluminous in terms of the amount of raw content they
have, and thus they are the prime subject for cutting of audio, however this is not the only form of media that is commonly edited in such a
format. Any production that contain any form of dialogue between individuals is already available to have its audio cut, from relevance of
the answers, legality of sound issues, particular censorship requirements or just plain unwanted content, answers or responses, the
practise is used regardless of format, its goal is to simply raise the overall quality of the production in order to produce a better experience
for everyone.
Editing to meet a time frame
This episode of emmerdale, the given footage is purposefully
split and edited into, usually, two , ten to thirteen minute
segments, allowing for the section to be aired on television.
This restriction of content is due to having to meet the average
quota of 30 minute segments on air, with the inclusion of
advertisements to be ran between each segment, thus
requiring some cutting of product to be able to include all
relevant / necessary content from the show whilst being able to
meet the quota of airtime with ads considered. All television
series edit their episodes into relatively short ‘bite sized’ time
frames to fit whatever contract of agreement they have with
their broadcasting company to show their show show on air.
Any consumer to be able to watch the series without needing to
invent an immense amount of time.
6 minutes of advertisements

Two segments of 10-13 Total 30 minutes of air time

minutes (12 in this case)
John Grierson’s, ‘Drifters’
Drifters by grierson is a great example when considering the nature of sound
and factual content and need to use different materials to keep the scene
realistic and not abusing foley. The pioneers of sound started in the early
stages of film production whereby sound was handmade and this film shows
the same stance. The film has given the audience a narrative and a range of
moving images, combined with sounds to show meaning behind each scene.
this constructive editing emphasises the rhythmic juxtaposition of images, the
emotions and meaning they carry with them due to their associated audiovisual
content.

Due to the time in which ‘Drifters’ was produced, the implementation of Foley
was not a readily available method of for usage within Drifters, and thus the
usage of music was used in replacement for sound effects. Drifters features
many different audio ‘cues’ that are used to symbolise or add additional
meaning to the scene or shot, such as the crechendo when steam is fired out of
top of the boat, or the music that is present when the fishermen head down to
the coast, consistently ramping up as the men approach closer and closer,
raring with climactic energy as they progress closer and closer, faster and
faster.
Tattooed Tears
The documentary has an innate focus on the authenticity of
representing the type of institutions and the how the prisoners feel
within. The desire to be free is highlighted by the extensive denial of
inmates being provided such desires.

Choosing not to do Foley, getting raw audio from banging on

inmates cell door further emphasises the upheld goal to provide the
utmost representation of authenticity. By choosing to use a foley to
produce sound they are actively altering the original authenticity of
the recorded visuals and thus slightly degrading the intended
maximum factuality.

There are mostly only diegetic sounds used to develop a narrative

that the audience can follow more in depth and understand how
‘real’ the documentary they're watching actually is, authenticity is the
way to go when looking to present people with the truth, which was
the approach in Tattooed Tears.
Jamie Oliver’s , Nourishment for young children interview
Is it factual or fictional: Factual content.

What is the structure that news programmes have to follow?

● The news programmes require to be relatively even when presenting both sides of a story and of course will have an underlying bias but will try to convey each
perspectives in a relatively even manner
● The interview segment between Jamie and the news representative is going to be somewhat skewed towards the agenda that the news want to advance however
remain equal in terms of response time and hearing out different arguments/perspectives.

Why must the news follow this?

News programmes must follow these guidelines in order to assure the public that they information they present to the public is not altered or changed with malicious intent. By
following these guidelines it allows the public to develop a sense of trust or reliability with the news organisation that allows them to further influence a wider audience among
other things - whilst consistently informing the public about the current events happening within the community.

Why hasn't this interview been cut?

To ensure that both sides are heard out in a rational and clear representation, to cut the interview may completely change one of Jamie’s points and potentially end up
conveying a point or idea that he didn't even intent to when having the interview take place. The point of this interview is the accurately show Jamie’s stance on the current
school lunch system and how it can benefit, of how he sees it, harm the children in schools

Are the questions broad or narrow?

The questions are broad, this allows Jamie to expand on his own individually ranked priorities in order to allow the The main topic of the interview is whether the choice to invest
a large sum of money into a portion of children from a young age in nourishment is a capable and tangible decision and if it’s worth doing so. Based on this, the questions
revolving around the topic are simply telling Jamie that there are compromises that must be made and the budget required to achieve his ideas are not logical in a realistic
setting.
Janine pushes Barry off a cliff.
ADR (Automated Dialog Replacement) would have been implemented into this scene,
audio tracks of wind present and dialogue between the two that have been balanced
between each other would have been otherwise unachievable. The scene filmed in a far
range of mountains is accompanied by an immense amount of background noise, which
does provide atmospheric addition to the scene but also ruins the dialogue, as mentioned
before. To retain the original raw audio from your shooting location is done in order to
provide a deeper level of authenticity or immersion within the production, however, can
lead to some other parts of the production compromised, in this case, the dialogue between
characters.

The usage of ADR within this scene is apparent and could make some viewers aware to the
fact that the dialogue was re-recorded, potentially ruining their immersive experience which
may take away from the value of the show, however, being able to actually hear the content
onscreen is one hundred percent required as otherwise the content on screen would be
completely useless. Watching a visual presentation that is supposed to be accompanied
without audio, without audio, is simply going to look like a jumbled, unorganised mess, thus
the usage of ADR has been included during this scene - the good outweigh the bad. The
choices made in reference to this scene is most likely the reason that ADR is used within
any other production too, simply weighing up the pros and cons against each other to figure
out what would provide the best experience for the viewers.
Editing for censorship
Censorship is used in many different programs and media for
the main purpose of moderating the content to be fit for the
demographic audience at hand.

A good example to represent the intent of censorship is the

usage of it within television game shows, any inappropriate
content that may be unsuitable for children, an impressionable
and sensitive audience, will be censored if the program wants to
uphold or be represented towards that specific audience.

There are different formats of censorship which may have a

seperate intention behind its inclusion, for instance, particular
programs may censor certain aspects for comedic effect during
a segment that maybe parodying another program or show, but
the most common and widely represented purpose for
censorship is to restrict content that may be offensive,
controversial, incorrect or unsuitable for airing.
Adding impact / emphasis through audio + sound
effects
In this scene of eastenders, the atmosphere is tense. When the conversation starts to ramp up, the music does as well,
following the narrative of what is happening on screen to further emphasise and reflect the emotional revelations from the
characters. By adding music / sound effects into a scene that relates to the audio you can achieve a much heavier,
impactful and meaningful edit due to the higher level of understanding about how serious a situation may be. This method is
similar to how an action scene required more upbeat music than another, this is simply just altered to better enhance this
scenarios emotional response, one in which is definitely more sympathetic as opposed to an exciting and blood pumping
reaction that may occur during an action scene. There is a thudding of thumping sound that is present within the scene,
obviously the editors opted to choose a more heavy hitting, voluminous sound as opposed to a relatively lighthearted of soft
‘twang’ like sound. By choosing to include this thudding within the scene it directly shows what kind of reaction the audience
should feel due to the innate ‘negativity’ that a sound like a ‘thud’ usually has connotated with it. The choice to include an
almost onomatopoeic word gives great influence as to how the characters on scene are feeling, linking all back to aim to
add impact / emphasis through audio.
Editing for legality of sound
In reference from personal editing experience, the following screenshots were from a raw
production in which I edited and compiled into a small scene about breaking bad news to a
couple. This raw footage in particular was way far off the limits in regards to relating to the
legality of sound recording and publishing within the UK’s standards for itself. Due to the
illegality regarding the sound within the footage, I had to undergo the process of individually
editing each clip that I compiled to the UK’s standard sound requirements, reaching a certain
level of quality and volume so that it would be able to be published without breaking any laws.

It is requirement for all published content that is aired within UK broadcasting lines that the
volume of audio whilst rendered and compiled together does not exceed 12 decibels and is of
audible quality. This means every show on air within the UK must adhere to the requirement
as it is essential to have your program approved to be broadcasted across the country. If your
program does not adhere to the legality requirements based around sound then you simply
won't have your show aired, balancing of audio is one of the most essential and required
checks that you perform when developing your program.
Editing for fictional content: Eastenders, Kat and Zoe
Due to this program being fiction, yet upholding it within a non fiction setting,
the use of transitioning diegetic and nondiegetic sounds that frequently switch
between the scene allow the audience to stay immersed within the world,
relating it directly to their own and being able to stay within the moment of the
scene, emphasizing the events taking place to a new degree. By utilising
diegetic and nondiegetic audio the scene is kept lifelike yet can also allow for
the addition of audio that can enhance the scene even more so, to raise
tension within the shot whilst still keep the audience in a state of understanding
that this is very much real and not deviating too far from reality. The music
within the scene specifically plays a large role in being present, but not
overbearingly obvious, taking away from the content at hand, instead the music
plays off the content and fades into and out of our hearing, placing emphasis
on the current events at hand, whilst mixing in with non diegetic sounds such
as the included wind, relating back to the reality of the situation and making
sure not to deviate too far into fiction. The editing for fictional content can go
quite far with different genres and experimental techniques, but by achieving a
nice balance, as shown here can be quite the reflection of less is more,
especially when developing a fictional production in a non-fiction environment
(implementation of a mix of diegetic and nondiegetic audio).