Category Archives: Audio

Ellen and Mike and Empire (225/303/310/485)

Imperialism is hegemonic in the sense that the citizens of Empire are often shocked or angered by the assertion that they do, in fact, live in one– usually before they bother to define that term.

In honor of Fleet Week– which is clearly a symbol of American Empire– here are two speeches that have been supplemented with images.

First, a by-now viral video of Ellen.

I’d never heard of this next one until yesterday. I don’t know who originally made it.

Consider our discussions about hegemony and interpretation. What codes and values are invoked by these clips? How does form shape or undermine content? Do you live in an Empire? What evidence and arguments support your claim?

Sound (220/303/415)

Sound Editing

The sound editor is responsible for assembling everything you hear on screen — the dialog, the foley, ADR (automated dialog replacement), walla (crowd noises), incidental sounds (paper rustling), atmosphere (wind, a distant tugboat) and sound effects (engines revving, gunshots). Sound editors make audio choices; sometimes they tap into a library of sounds, sometimes they make their own recordings, and sometimes they fabricate sounds that are completely new.

…

Sound Mixing

This is one of the final stages of post-production. The sound elements have been prepared/gathered in isolation, and the sound mixer takes all of these (plus the music score), and determines the appropriate levels, judging which elements the audience needs to hear. In other words, after the sound editor has assembled what the audience hears, the sound mixer determines how they hear it. The mixer decides when to de-emphasize atmosphere sounds and prioritize music, for example.

A Primer on Oscar’s Sound Editing and Mixing Categories

A competent sound analysis will also remark upon the character of sounds (ex. rough, muted, busy, etc.).