1- In the film, Singin' in the Rain, diegetic and non-diegetic sound has been used to create meaning. Diegetic sound is when the noise is visible to the viewers so for example, when the actors are speaking, sound that comes from a speaker or orchestra or any sounds that originate from the screen like footsteps or sirens. Whereas, non diegetic sound is when the source is not present. For instance, music or actors commentating in the background or sound effects. The era that this film was created in, sound was very significant and they so they made sure to use it in every second of the scene to exaggerate each movement and any mood that the characters were feeling.
In this scene, there is diegetic sound that comes from their own dialogue and from turning on the props.The diegetic sound from Don's voice when he is talking about the props is very casual and Don explains each of the props so easily showing how comfortable he is around them. Likewise, Don introduces the props as if they are people so this diegetic sound indicates not only how important they are in the scene but how important they are to him. This demonstrates to the viewers, how successful he is as an actor and it's as if this is where he feels most content and safe. Furthermore, the diegetic sound from Kathy's voice is very light and innocent which allows the viewers to feel her vulnerability when speaking to Don. Being able to hear diegetic sound permits the audience to have a better connection with the characters as it gives them more understanding of what they are like and makes them more memorable.
Before the props were turned on or touched, there was no non-diegetic sound but after Don turned them on, music gently starts playing in the background which displays their significance to the audience in this scene. The music in the background is slow and tender and this matches to Don's mood as he is slowly letting out his feelings towards Kathy. He is in no rush and nor is the music. This non-diegetic sound allows the audience to embrace the passionate atmosphere and take in everything that is going on. I think the non diegetic sound is most effectively used in this scene when Don and Kathy are dancing as it creates a flowing elegant effect that adds to the romantic atmosphere that is being created. The sound in this scene is very powerful as the music exhibits to the audience that this is where they are both falling for each other. They don't need to use their own dialogue to explain this to the audience but instead, the music does it for them as it is happy and cheerful and shows the pair connecting together. At the end of this scene, the non diegetic sound becomes slower once again allowing the audience to understand what Don is singing about and demonstrates that they have finally fallen for one another.
2- Cinematography is the art of photography and camerawork in film-making. The scene I have picked is from 54:58-55:20It is from the silent film 'Gold Rush' which was written, produced and directed by Charlie Chaplin. During the time it was made, cinematography was very new and sound hadn't been developed yet. This meant that directors had to made sure the story would make sense to the audience as the characters wouldn't be able to say what is happening as it is silent. In this film, I think the audience are able to understand the story just as well if there was sound because of the actors expressions and camera angles/movement.
In this scene, the camera stays in the same position until 55:17. The first shot is a wide shot of the little house which allows the audience to see everything that Charlie is doing and shows us that in his excitement, he uses any item in the house he can to express his emotions. This wide shot stops the viewers from being confused about what Charlie is doing as we are able to see everything going on. This would bring amusement for the audience as Charlie is acting as if he were a child in this scene and is getting so hyper. Furthermore, it would allow viewers to understand how much happiness Georgia brings him and how much he actually likes her. This wasn't said by words or sound but his expression that we can see from the camera which indicates how effective the cinematography can be.As there is no sound, being able to see everything in the scene means that this happiness from Charlie comes across by the actions we see instead of music or him speaking about it. The viewers are also able to see all the mess he is creating in his house and enables them to feel as if they are in the house watching Charlie getting excited and making a mess. Although, this shot is quite long, viewers in the silent era would enjoy the long scene and wouldn't need a change of angles or movement of the camera as the actual scene is more important than the way it is being filmed.
At one point during the scene, the camera zooms right into the girls face. The producer may have wanted to make sure the camera was close enough to see her reaction so that the audience could understand that she is surprised. This means that this is easy for the audience to see her shock and doesn't confuse the viewers in any way. It then reverts back to the wide shot of the house so that the audience are able to see again, the mess that Charlie has made and see what Georgia is viewing. This is again a long wide shot of the house and you are able to see the feathers gently falling down in the scene and visually this would be pleasing and effective for the viewers. It shows to the audience that even though he has stopped his fast paced excitement, his surroundings are trying to catch up and they are winding down just like Charlie has to. The cinematography can tell the story without sound or
3. Narrative resolution in a film is about having a start, middle and an end. This is very common in film these days as a lot of people don't want to watch films that are confusing or need proper focus and would rather watch straight forward films that they are able to have in the background. Some people do think that the build up of a film is more important as some people don't feel that they need to watch the end and are able to just enjoy everything that is going on and the actors and time spent on the film.
With reference to the film 'Singin in the Rain', the main focus was to show off this new era of colour and sound and each scene was made up of powerful music that matched the situation that happened as well as vibrant colours that drew the audience in closer to watching more. This was a very fun and exhilarating experience for the viewers especially those in the 1930's to 1960's as this was something that hadn't really been done before. Some people would suggest that the bright colours as well as the cheerful and meaningful music makes this film incredible. This would imply that a narrative resolution isn't needed as some people may enjoy what the scenes look like and sound like rather than the story itself. In Singin in the Rain, the first scene is about how new sound and colour was in films and in this scene, there is a lot of colours and noises as if to show how incredible this new invention is without saying it. The film is all about how new and exciting this concept is and bases most of the story about it. This means that the actual story line isn't really that important to some people and they rather focus on the actual lighting, actors, sounds, props and colour. This backs up this quotation that film is just a spectacle and the narrative behind the film doesn't matter as much.
However, the end scene of Singin in the Rain has some romance in as well as the scene where Don and Kathy sing 'You were meant for me' in this film. This allows the viewers to have a better connection to the characters as they can sympathise with them and imagine themselves in that situation. It also makes the characters seem more realistic and not seem as if they have a script. Therefore, by having a story line and having romance in the film, it makes the film more memorable and means that the story has to have a narrative resolution to make sense and so they are able to finish the story. Some people believe that you should come out of a movie feeling relieved and content with the outcome and with what happened. With Singin in the Rain, some viewers may feel anxious and unhappy to not know what happened between Kathy and Don because they may have connected with the characters throughout the movie and then to not get what they wanted may dissatisfy some people.
However, there are some films that you can be satisfied with by the incredible editing or actors and there doesn't need to be a structure to the story as viewers are content enough with how it looks rather than what is happening. This ideal agrees with the quotation that some films are just a spectacle and people are able to just enjoy the film and not the narrative resolution as well. In the film 'ET', the production company spent a lot of time and effort making sure this film was created well and was perfect. It was one of the first films to have created the alien and made it seem realistic and didn't look fake. In older films, it was quite obvious that the creature was fake and would have moved unnaturally but in this time period, ET would have been innovative and would have been so exciting to audiences. This spectacle of ET would have been thrilling and people would have been shocked and in disarray of how natural ET looks. To some people, ET was just the start to making things that are unnatural to us like aliens, look more realistic making films more effective to viewers as it makes people question how they actually made it. There is a lot of memorable scenes in the film like when Elliot was riding his bike and he flew across the moon with ET in his front basket. This was extraordinary to viewers as it looks so realistic and doesn't seem fake in any way which shows how much effort must have been put into the film and makes it even more effective as it shows that they put a lot into the movie to make it look perfect. A lot of children at the time and now would have been fascinated with this new ideal and would be shocked that this is able to happen and be created. Therefore, this breakthrough that ET made was such a huge spectacle and some people that don't remember the whole story line will remember what ET was like and how real he looked and acted meaning this agrees with the quotation.
Nevertheless, in the film 'ET', I think it is similar to Singin in the Rain as there is this sci-fi and thriller aspect throughout the film. Some viewers may feel a connection with some of the characters and most likely will feel empathy for ET as you watch his journey to try and get back home. I think that if you were not able to build up this connection with ET or some of the other characters by not watching the start or the middle then the ending of the film would be so effective. Also, if you miss out on the ending of ET, I believe that a lot of viewers would be angry especially first time watchers, as you experience a journey with the alien and the characters. Although, there are some films that can work without a narrative resolution as the producers want you to imagine what the ending or the start could have been or question the movie altogether, I believe that ET and other films need the ending to be able to satisfy viewers and get the happy ending that they want.
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