Making a soundtrack

On the very beginning of the film history, when the films were still silent, every self-respecting cinema had its pianist who would play the piano for people to dance, the chamber band, or even the symphony orchestra. And it was all for the viewer to receive a film better and hear the sound apart from the image. It was began to understand that the music should be properly selected and it was started to make sounds to the particular scenes. Today it is hard to imagine a film without the sound.

"Movie soundtrack" is a term which is commonly used to describe the music which accompanies the picture. From the general point of view this kind of music is not distinguished by anything special from other types of music. Although there are some criteria which show that given music is the movie soundtrack. It is, first of all, the composition written especially for a particular film, the one which takes into consideration its structure, as well as the stylistic convention and the genre. The composition must also take into account some extramusical conditions, which result from the construction of the film. It is, among other things, the duration of music designed to the film, which is dependant on the picture.
Also other elements compete with music in the film. These are for example words, sound effects of different kinds, and silence.

Word:
A dialogue - the exchange of opinions between two or more people
An internal monologue - the equivalent of "loud" thinking of one of the characters, who in this way is expressing their reflections, consideration, or memories
Off - a dialogue or a monologue whose source is not directly visible
Commentary - it is uttered by an invisible commentator; it includes the information which cannot be transferred using the camera

Sound effects:
It is the equivalent of the natural sounds of nature or people's activities. They heighten or reinforce the impressions experienced from the screen. They can be divided into synchronous, so ones whose visual effect is visible on the screen, and nonsynchronous, whose source has its place beyond the screen.

Silence:
Its use is often neglected and disregarded. But it is its lack which makes us indifferent to the remaining elements of the sound layer. Silence is often an important dramaturgic element.
If, in some part of the film, in the same time, all elements meet, the word is always foreground. Even the most valuable sound illustration can be thrown away, if it does not harmonize properly with the picture and its convention.

When the music is recorded, the time comes for the last phase of the film creating, that is making the soundtrack. It is the whole series of creative activities whose result is the sound layer of the film.

The first stage is sound material recording or its selection from the archive resources.
The second stage is processing these materials by sound editing, taking the existing picture into consideration.
The third stage is determining the dynamic, colouring, etc., proportions. It takes place between all components of the sound layer.

There are three methods of recording the soundtrack to the film:

1. The system of total (100%) soundtracking, that is the recording of the sound during the film shots simultaneously with the picture

2. The system of postsynchronizing - that is the sound recording to the ready, frequently already edited, picture

3. Play-back system - that is making the shots to the sound which had already been recorded

The relations between the picture and the sound can occur under the following variants, which have their expressing consequences.

The relation which is the most common is the simultaneous sound occurring as the natural equivalent of what happens on the screen. We can hear and see talking people, the rattle of a car driving somewhere, or the rustle of a cascading waterfall. What happens here is the making the sound effects subjective and they require then the full synchrony.
The sound can also express something which is not shown in the picture, but what is being suggested through it to a listening viewer. In this case, one can show for example, terrified people who are listening intently to a coming storm.
A comfortable formal procedure, with a significant power of expression is preceding with the sound the image which is justified by that. Let's consider such a situation: there is a dog, crossing the road, and in the next take, one can see a frightened woman's face and, at the same time, one can hear the frightful grind of brake and the screech of the tyres on the asphalt. This simple editing procedure solves in this way a scene which complicated to act naturalistically, achieving simultaneously the intended psychological effect.
The counterpointing of the sound with the picture has some special application. If the classical music, with some dramatic effects, accompanies the picture which is showing cheerful scenes, it means we surely want to underline the character's tragedy who is taking part in the game. The garish contrast between the music and play creates new significative value.

Making a soundtrack in practice >>>