UNIT 24: SOUND EDITING

LAA
REASONS WHY YOU MIGHT EDIT
SOUND
 To compress and summaries a sound recording to fit a specific
scene
 To eliminate flawed, repetitive, superfluous or irrelevant material
from a recorded clip
 To enable recorded speech to remain legal
 Ensure any inappropriate language is not in the final edit
 To change the chronological order of series of sound or speech
 To create an impact by adding sound effects and/or music
between pieces of recorded speech
 TO COMPRESS AND SUMMARIES A
SOUND RECORDING TO FIT A SPECIFIC
SCENE

• To compress or summarize an audio file to fit into a specific

space. Sound can be compressed or trimmed down in size to be
synchronized. An example of this is when the sound fades out
into an Ad break. The sound then resumes after the ad break this
is how sound can be summarized and compressed into a specific
place. The example I have used is from family guy and the sound
gets faded to indicate an ad break. This is how sound
is compressed or summarized to fit into an allocated space like
on cable tv where ads must be there, and the show has to make
room for the breaks like fading the sound.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1gKkkRI1rA
TO ELIMINATE FLAWED, REPETITIVE, SUPERFLUOUS
OR IRRELEVANT MATERIAL FROM A RECORDED
CLIP
• The interview with David Foster Wallace is unedited and is extremely long. Within
the interview, there are many breaks and pauses suggesting that the interview is
not running seamless therefore making it less dynamic and enjoyable to listen to.
The interview has many things being said which can be deemed as irrelevant
therefore, it does not need to be heard by the audience or viewer. Furthermore,
this can make the interview dull and uninteresting. To make the interview more
appealing, it would need to be edited and cut only displaying the engaging part
of the interview. This would produce many benefits such as engaging viewers, so
they do not get distracted when watching it. Another benefit would be that it
would allow the audience to actually learn something from what is being said. So,
in other words, it gives audience more knowledge or an insight in the interviewer's
life.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGLzWdT7vGc
TO ENABLE RECORDED SPEECH TO
REMAIN LEGAL
• Audio should not be too loud because it will not be safe for the audience to
listen to. Safe audio levels are an essential part of sound editing, because
they have to stay at a certain level to make it legal to show to an audience.
If the audio breaks any of these limits, it becomes illegal to broadcast.

• In this example in A Quiet Place, the sound is very quiet, but it is the minimum
sound that is acceptable and can be broadcasted to viewers. The quality
and volume of audio is just there in the clip for the viewers to listen to enjoy.
However, the sound should be edited to make it clearer and louder so that is
easier for the viewers to hear and understand.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CmmKmlXD9I
ENSURE ANY INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE
IS NOT IN THE EDIT
• Bleeping has been used for many years as a means of censoring TV
programs to remove content not deemed suitable for daytime viewing
and personal information for privacy.

• This censors out all explicit/inappropriate language that may be said by an

actor or host in any sort of media. Censoring is almost always used as an
insult, and there is much debate over what censorship is and when it
is okay. American dad is broadcasted at 9PM on the channel FOX when it
is not daytime is suitable for the viewers to watch.

• Here, is an example of a censored bleep used in an American Dad. Starts

00:20
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YL3QwXc9hY
TO CHANGE THE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
OF SERIES OF SOUND OR SPEECH
• Sound is edited to alter the order of what really happened and to manipulate
the film to make the viewer feel a certain way. It is seen as immoral editing, as it
does not give the viewer a truthful view of what is being discussed. It can be
very hard to tell when something is revealed not how it happens, because
when someone's speaking is cut off halfway through a paragraph, we don't
know the full meaning of what they're speaking, so they're not going to
continue to clarify their point of view further.

• In this example, sound is manipulated by the edit to make his point come
across much stronger and influence the audience and how they may now
view the situation.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDJ1neEiZTk
TO CREATE AN IMPACT BY ADDING SOUND EFFECTS
AND/OR MUSIC BETWEEN PIECES OF RECORDED SPEECH

• In this scene of snow piercer, they add sound effect before

the impactful sentence 'DON'T OPEN!' between pieces
of recorded speech. This is equivalent to a
question mark however; it is punctuated just like a video
• Adding a sound effect a certain type of mood and give the
audience an idea of what is going on around the characters. For
example, there is a sense of tension and anxiety before the actor
says 'DON’T OPEN'
• Starts 1:34
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX5PwfEMBM0
HOW YOU MIGHT EDIT 'FACTUAL' SOUND?
 Applying creative editing skills to produce dramatic sound that is
acceptable to the director.
 Editing appropriate clips, links, background sound to enhance
the dramatic effect on the audience, e.g. in a drama, soap,
play.
 Apply the necessary level of creative storytelling to facilitate the
narrative.
 Retaining ambient background to recordings and editing in spot
effect to match directors' needs.
 Editing relevant sound clips for use of transitions between scenes.
 Editing voice actor dialogue for overdubbing specific scenes.
EDITING FICTIONAL CONTENT
• It is very crucial to edit the factual content for a range of reasons, including the
impact on the audience and how the sound relays the meaning of the show. Sound
levels can also influence the emotions of the audience, something that is important
when it comes to presenting truthful content, since the goal is not only to educate the
audience but yet allowing them to consider what's going on and affect how they feel
about it.
• It's essential to consider that the sound used can be diverted from the intended
content. If the viewer is distracted by what you're trying to teach them, they won't get
the message, and the effort you put into the rest of the performance will go
overlooked, and the desired outcome won't be achieved.
• When editing fictional content it is very important to make a convincing and natural
sound. If the sound is artificial, the viewer will doubt the content and draw their
attention to the fact that it is being filmed.
GREY GARDENS
• This American documentary is a representation of reality. This due to the
fact that all the sound is left natural to display the reality as it is a
documentary. All the sound editing is ethical, so this suggests that
nothing has been changed or altered with other than a very mellow
sound in the background. A mellow sound within the documentary has
been edited in because it provides ambient sound. Furthermore, Grey
Gardens allows ambient sound to be present within the documentary.
For example, there is man speaking with an ambient noise in
the background such as crickets chirping and the wind blowing on the
bushes. This makes it effective because it further adds to the realism
and representation of reality that was mention earlier.

• There is many of cuts throughout the documentary due to the fact that
lots of people are trying to be established. We understand what people
have to say about the subject and their thoughts and feelings, and we
know that what they are saying is true and factual, and not played
around with, because speech is not suddenly cut, and people are being
left to finish their sentences.
LIFE THAT GLOWS

• In 'life that glows' as an audience we can hear both non diegetic and diegetic sound.
There is lots of ambient, tranquil sounds however, you can still hear the narrator
speaking while music is being played in the background. The music in the background
is essential as it gives off the same feeling to the audience as the ambient noise, the
scenery and they flow perfectly together to create a calming environment rather than
it being silent and feeling somewhat formalistic to the viewer. Moreover, there is many
layers of sound to entice the viewers such as the narration, ambient noise and
background music. All of these sounds has been edited in because it attracts the
audience to believe it more natural therefore making it effective as the film maker
wants us to focus on the aquatics in the sea whilst listening to the vivid narration.

• Furthermore, the narration in plays a major part in this program, it is vital to the
audience as they need to understand what David Attenborough is saying and what
they are watching. This means that the quality of sound must be clear and exceptional
otherwise, it will defeat the purpose of narration. Therefore, making very easy for all the
viewers to understand.
ROBIN WILLIAM INTERVIEW

• Throughout this interview, as an audience we do not see many cuts between

the interviewer and the interviewee. This could suggest that the editing is ethical
as it is one straight sequence. Furthermore, whilst we do not want long
interviews with unengaging content, it is also vital for the editing to be kept
factual, displaying what is actually being said, something which is not obvious in
this interview.
• In addition, we can still hear slight sounds of ambient noise in the background
whilst the interviewing is happening. Ambient sounds prevents an unnatural
silence when no other sound is present. So in this case, the audience laughing in
the background. This is effective because it establishes/reinforcing the mood.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvPxRyIWWX8
 GORDON RAMSEY INTERVIEW
• This interview is a perfect example of accurate factual editing to get the point across and
reflect the idea, yet to break it down so that it falls within a time frame and displays the
most relevant pieces. We know that this editing is ethical as we hear the discussion going on
and Gordon Ramsey is allowed to finish his sentence and get his point across.

• The continuous dialogue between the interviewer and interviewee is easy to follow, and the
editing process preserves the factual points. Although there are cuts between the cameras
facing each person, we can hear that the sound is constant, and the interviewer's remarks
can be heard in the background. The cuts don't happen in the middle of anyone talking, so
we can hear what each person has to say. The absence of audio cuts means that we can
safely assume that what has happened is being presented in the appropriate order and
that it is being shown honestly. So we can see sound editing in this dynamic interview is
done here ethically.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eU7anpxt-M
EDITING FICTIONAL CONTENT
• Editing Fictional Content is vital as it helps to push the plot forward and helps to reinforce
the points that audiences need to concentrate on in order to be able to follow the story.
Fictional content must be organized appropriately so that the story can function properly
and irrelevant content that does not add to the story needs to be edited out. Unlike
factual content, it is not necessary in fictional content that it remains in the order in which it
was shot, and conversations are not cut short or presented in a different manner because
the aspect of factual honesty is not behind this form of program. Although, it is more
critical that it intrigues a wide variety of viewers and keeps their attention throughout, as a
lot of people tend to watch fictional shows so that the audience is larger and more difficult
to please.
• Fictional content often needs to be edited so the noise that isn't meant to be there needs
to be taken out, for example, if the audio is not very sufficient it will make it difficult for the
audience watch what is happening therefore, making it a bad viewing experience. By
editing it the sound will be played more naturally and overall make it more effective for
the viewers watching it on their screens.
 FAST AND FURIOUS 7 – ON THE EDGE SCENE
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCYjKqnTM_U
 In this scene sound has been edited to make the action feel exciting and intense to be present
with the audio as well as what's going on on the screen. Using a variety of methods, such as
fading sound and synchronisation, to get the desired effect on the viewer without adding music,
this scene would be very dull and unengaging to watch if these techniques were not editied in.
 There is non-diagectic music used in the background whilist the action is occuring, it also adds
an imapct to the scene. The fast-paced music fits perfectly to the dynamic paced action shown
on screen. This creates a more of an impact to the audience making them want to watch
on. The non-diegetic fades down into a lower audio level when there is some dialogue. This was
edited in so the it is clearly audible for the audience to hear, and it may some importance.
 Throughout this entire scene, there is a lot of action on screen so that means there has to be lots
of sound edited in and it has to be synced in with the movement of the action. For example,
when the two characters are fighting in the bus, we can hear the punches being thrown. These
sound is edited in because if it wasn’t the quality of the volume would not be loud engough for
the audience to hear. Not only that, the sound of the punches would also be unconvincing and
dobutful. Without these sound effects, the scene will be considered as uninteresting and dull.
 Adding a lot of audio makes this scene very effective as it makes the scene atmospheric and
exciting for the audience to watch. It also feel as if the audience is experiecing it is an excellent
use of the sound and action on screen.
AVENGERS INFINITY WARFARE –
THANOS VS TONY STARK
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osSJhXruEzU
 The sound in this scene has been edited in a way for the audience to feel sympathy for
Tony Stark as he brutally beat down by Thanos. In this scene, there is noticeably a non-
diegetic song playing throughout the scene, this song was used was a fearless heroic
soundtrack. This was used to illustraste Tony Stark's brave motif to face the Galactic
supervillian, Thanos. The slow-paced and courageous music fades into a more disprited
music to signfy overpowered/weakness this is a represenation of the emotions felt by Stark.
 The diegetic sounds we can hear are the dialogue coming from the chatacters on screen.
We can also hear punches being connected to the body of the characters, breathing of
the characters.
• The non-diegetic sounds we can hear are the special beams coming from Thano's
powerful gauntlet, Tony Starks beams coming from his hands and his chest. By using layers
of sound, the ideal feel of the film is created and seems to be more realistic at some points.
Also, the use of music allows the viewers to relate to the emotions of the scene.