Sound in Apocalypse Now
Please make an observation about sound in the first sequence of Apocalypse Now (DVD chapters 1-4, shown in class). Support your observation with a reference to the book. See my blogging guidelines (check email) for help. Thanks!
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During the first 4 scenes of Apocalypse Now, several aspects of sounds jumped out at me. First, I noticed the use of both diegetic and non-diegetic sound. According to the book, these refer to the source of the sound. Diegetic sound is when any sound, whether it is a voice, music or sound effect, comes from within the film. This can additionally be broken down further to external and internal diegetic sound. External diegetic sound refers to sounds that others in the film can hear whereas internal diegetic sound occurs within a characters mind. In contrast, Non-deigetic refers to any sound that originates from outside of the film. These terms were portrayed perfectly during the first scene of the movie. The shot showed palm trees and a passing helicopter, with the audience hearing only the sound of the passing helicopter (Diegetic sound). After brief silence, music begins to play (Non-diegetic sounds). The music was upbeat with maracas and other instruments, while the film showed bombs exploding and fire in the background. These two themes, the music and the picture on screen, greatly contrasted.
Another aspect of sound that was highly apparent was the use of voice over. According to the yale website,this sound technique occurs when a voice, in this case the voice of the main character, is heard throughout the film while scenes are playing in which that character is not actually speaking. In this movie, the main character was essentially narrating the story and giving insight into his thoughts while actually scenes were occurring. I noted that most of the time, this occurred at the beginning of a scene in order to introduce a new location, new character or set the scene. The first instance was when the main character was staring out the window of his apartment while speaking of his time in the jungle. Another example was when he was on the boat. He used voice over to introduce new characters and talk about how he was feeling.
The final aspect of sound I noticed was the use of music to build anxiety. Several times in the film, I noticed a crescendo of the volume and speed of music. The first time this occurred was when the main character was drunk and punched the mirror. The music created a sense of anxiety and tension as he continued to drink until he finally passed out. The second time this occurred was when he was given the orders for his new mission. The mission was to kill another general. The music in the background created an immense sense of anxiety and portrayed the characters apprehension about this mission. Overall, sound was used in various and specific ways throughout this film.
I also found the diegetic and non-diegetic sound in the film to be of particular interest! While the diegetic sound in this film helps the audience to understand the action in various scenes, the non-diegetic sound adds to the emotional build-up behind the action. As discussed above, in the first scene of the movie when the helicopter is passing by the tropical landscape, the very first sound heard is diegetic: the helicopter. Then the non-diegetic music is added in creating a mood for the scene, in this case, one of curiosity and acceptance. In a way, the music also makes such a dramatic scene slightly light-hearted. Instead of focusing on the more tragic elements of this bombing scene, the sound belittles the extremity of the destruction taking place. The book discusses mixing sounds so that there are not “discrete sound bits” but rather a continuous “stream of auditory information”. The first scene demonstrates the effectiveness of this idea of mixing sounds. At first the diegetic sound of the helicopter is alone, then the non-diegetic sound of the music begins, also unaccompanied because the helicopter’s sound immediately fades out. Eventually the diegetic sound of the helicopter and the non-diegetic sound of the music come together in a combination that depicts an easy-going feel to a serious situation. While the helicopter’s consistent tick puts viewers slightly on edge, the music guides them right back into their seats.
The first scene of the film was one of the best not only with the sound but with other aspects of film as well. However just focusing on sound, it starts off by showing a ceiling fan and we can hear the noise that it is making. That is referred to as diegetic sound because we can see the source of which the sound is coming from. Then the noise of the ceiling fan sort of morphs into the sound of a helicopter in which the guy thinks he hears outside of the house. Then the main character begins the narration of his story by talking about where he is now versus where he thought he was or last remembered being. The narration/voice over is considered a non diegetic sound; which then leads into background noise during the voice over such as the chirping of birds. Then music starts playing that helps tell the story more in depth about where the main character was before he arrived in Saigon. For example the music somehow went with the location he was describing. The music was sped up when the main character punched the mirror and that helped to intensify the scene. When the character finally finishes his drunken rampage you can hear the music coming to an end with what sounded like the clash of cymbals and the dying down of the entirety of the music altogether. Clip three of Apocalypse Now shows also shows how the music has an affect on the scene. The effect was intensifying. For example while the men were in the helicopters in the air the music once again intensified what was to come in the scene(the shootings and bombing etc.)
In the opening scene of Apocalypse Now sound mixing is used with the shot of the trees going up in flames with the dramatic music and tambourines playing in the background. Then, the helicopter sound interferes with the music and the instrumental beat leads the viewer to the scene with the guy in his underwear doing karate. This song in the first scene also uses rhythm because it keeps a distinct beat with the tambourine and drums as the helicopter comes into view. The first scene goes against fidelity because the sound was not faithful to what is seen on screen-we hear a chopper but see a celiing fan. Another scene shortly thereafter is also breaking fidelity because viewers hear the thunderous roar of airplanes but there is no airplane in site. Diagetic sound, or sound that has a source in the story world, is present in many scenes of Apocalypse Now, such as the radio recording of the dead soldier’s voice, troops chanting cadences, and the soft ‘elevator music’ playing in the general’s office while they were discussing operations.
I noticed spatial perspective in the 1st scene. During the narration, the viewers hear faint whistles and street noises that are far away outside the window. Also, a sonic pattern occurs as the directors use explosions, particularly in the opening scene. Each of these sounds directs our attention to the war theme of the film.
In the first scene in Apocalypse now the music is a calm tempo to start out with. Slowly the tempo becomes more intense, then the trees burst into flames and there is a helicopter in the top of the screen, this is when the tempo because a thumping intense beat to show the viewer that the scene is becoming more serious. The camera keeps fading between a man laying down on his bed and the burning of the trees. This shows that the man and the trees burning are related. The tempo turns into more of a thumping sound when there is a close up on a fan that acts like a helicopter. These sounds are made to show the viewer that they make then man mad. He is in his room alone haunted by these images and sounds as he drinks away his pain. The sounds get to a faster tempo when the scene gets more intense because it is almost to show the heart rate of someone who would be watching what is happening. It allows us as viewers to feel as if we are in the scene with the other actors and actresses.
The beginning of Apocalypse Now begins with soft background music and silent explosions. The director of sounds then uses diegetic sound technique by mixing the sound of the fan and the sound of helicopter blades. By doing this it is presumed that the main character in the plot is having trouble jumping back and forth in between serving during the war and living life in normal society. In his mind all of the sounds are blending together causing anxiety. As he is waiting in the hotel room jungle and metallic sounds continue to haunt him while he drinks and releases his stress. The sounds in these first few scenes introduce the main character as a very unstable special ops soldier.
in the first scene of Apocalypse Now, it beginnings with calm and easy music and lighting, giving off a good vibe. After learning more about sound in the previous chapters, i realize how good the sound director of this film is. He blends many different sounds to draw attention to important aspects. This technique is referred to as, diegetic sound. Also, the director frequently used sound to gain excitement and suspense.
The first portion of Apocalypse Now begins with relaxing music while the scenes are of explosions in the jungle. After that scene the director of sounds mixes the sounds of the helicopter and the fan. It appears to be the fan because that is what the main character is looking at, but it is really the helicopter in the background. The main character is going through an internal struggle so there is a voice over where he fills the audience in with other actions going on in the background.
When the characters are all in the cabin talking about the issue at hand and there is light music playing in the background and the mens voices were very low. This added to the intensity of the scene.
I totally agree with how Nicole refers the calm tempo to giving a feeling of intensity in the beginning of the first scene. As the scene progresses and the sound gets louder with the helicopter in the air, the sound gives off a more intense sound (taking into consideration the seriousness of this shot as well). The sounds of the burning tree dissolving into a shot of the guys face was also intriguing. It gave a sense of compatibility within the man and the tree and the feeling of intensity once again as you relate the two elements together. Another major sound effect I’d like to focus on is how the director uses a sense of diagetic sounds by mixing to similar sounds together. It gives a sense of differences in feeling and trying to balance to totally different lives while at war (fighting and living a normal life). These types of sounds can be a symbol of how the character is feeling and how the character wants you to feel with him; or at least that’s how I heard it/felt it. One spatial perspective I’m sure a lot of people noticed was how the main character her street noises through his closed window from the outside world. This gave off a sense of concentration and depth in mind.
In the first scene there is music playing which I identified as country-like. It plays slowly and softly then gradually speeds up to the sound of the helicopter. This is a smooth transiton of sound. The is an example of continuity style, in which the sound bridge let to the second scene. Digetic sounds fall throughout the movie. An example of internal digetic sound occurs when the main character talks to himself at the dinner table, while having a conversation with others. Off screen sound happens during this very scene at the dinner table, when we hear the main character talking but we don’t see him.
Within the first scene of Apocalypse Now, the sound is very quiet with calming music and very quiet sounding explosions. Then the helicopter blades mix with the sounds of the fan, which shows the audience how hard it is for the main character to separate simple everyday things from bringing back the memories of war. Diegetic sounds come into play at various points in the movie also. For example, when the dead soldier’s voice begins playing over the recording or the cadence of the soldiers. Also, the main character does a lot of narration and voice over within these scenes where he tells the audience what is happening in the background, what is happening where we cannot see but what we can hear.
The most apparent and obvious sound we hear in these scenes from Apocalypse Now are the helicopters. The sound directors likely put the repetitive sound of the helicopters in this film to provide a sense of reality for the viewer, like they were in a war zone too. The two aspects of sound editing that stuck out to me in these scenes were mixing and fidelity. Mixing occurs when multiple sounds overlap, like a voice and music. In the case of Apocalypse Now, it was the narrator’s voice and the sounds of the helicopter that were overlapping. As a viewer, this mixing made me feel like I was in the setting (because of the helicopter sounds) while simultaneously hearing the narrators perspective on what he was experiencing.
Fidelity refers to a sounds faithfulness to what is being viewed on screen at the same time. For instance, when you see a person talking and hear their voice, there is fidelity. However, in one scene from Apocalypse now we were seeing a man laying in bed while hearing a helicopter, representing infidelity. It is important to distinguish infidelity and off screen noises in this case. Had it sounded like the helicopter was passing by the mans window, that could be considered off screen, however in this situation it sounded like you were right next to the helicopter though that wasn’t the case. Off screen sounds did come into play in this movie as well, for instance when the soldiers are knocking on the mans door and you hear him respond “yeah, I’m coming”.
The most noticeable sound was in the beginning when the music was softly playing and there were scenes of explosions and everything was calm and mellow. Then The helicopter noise fades into the fans noise in the soldiers bed room. Showing how hard it is for the guy to separate what’s a dream and what’s reality. The background noises of what was going on outside. The sounds were all clear and realistic. From the knocks on the door, to the voices of the soldiers. When they were sitting around the dinner table and listening to the “recording” of the dead soldiers voice the sound was made out to be one of a recording instead of real in person voice. The sounds voiceover also helps the viewer understand how the main character is having trouble with being home from war. Sounds plays a huge role in the Apocalypse now it helps the viewer have a deeper feel for the movie.
As many of my peers have talked about above, the beginning of the movie is very impacting when it comes to the aspect of sound. When it first begins, the viewer hears the helicopter faintly, but it begins to get stronger as the helicopter gets closer to the frame. This is the type of sound that deals with depth and positioning of certain things within a scene. The music then begins to slowly fade in, which really draws the audience into the movie. The use of diegetic sound then comes into play when there is the helicopter noises overlapping with the fan. Mixing is also a part of the beginning scene when the helicopter noise and the music mix together. Overall, the techniques of sound are very prominent in this film
The sound in the opening scenes of “Apocalypse Now” is definitely the most powerful. I think the music in the very first scene is both non-diegetic and external. It was clear that it was added in to create a unifying effect with the visual and affect how we percieve and interpret what is going on. The sound of the helicopters is an example of fidelity, meaning it was faithful to how we concieve the source. It also matches the rhythm of the song playing. I also noticed examples of spatial perspective. In the beginning, the music is slow, matching the action of the scene.
Dialogue was also very important. The first voice we hear is a voice-over. It gives us insight to the character’s thoughts since he is not phsyically speaking. Since his voice was very low-pitch and slow, it added a sense of seriousness. After the character reveals his thoughts to us, very intense music is added to the scene. The loudness was very intense, matching his “freak out”.
Another major technique I noticed was mixing and layering. When the soldiers are in the helicopter, they are yelling over the noise, which is an example of mixing. Layering takes place when the dialogue between solidiers was mixed with music. Overall, all sound in this movie is essential to the plot and how we percieve it. “Apocalypse Now” is a great example of a film with effective and powerful sound techniques.
In this film i think that the sound was portrayed very well. The Mixing of sounds was very nice, especially with the helicopter and fan scene. It influenced the characters mindset and how he cannot focus on the world and his memories, as if it was one big collaboration of thought. The music also helped effect the mood, there was a distinct use of calm and mellow music after harsh and heavy noise. This helped relax the audience and affected the tone of the story. There was great use of narration as well, I think that it was a excellent way to inform the audience as well as using his voice tone and speech to clarify his feelings on the situation. Sheen has a very distinct voice and that attributed the story in a great way.
In the opening diegetic scenes, very soft music was playing as we watched the helicopters fly through the air above a jungle. The helicopters then fade into the music, becoming nondiegetic. Slowly the scene intensifies, and explosions occur, yet the sound of the explosions are still rather soft. The song, The End, by The Doors, is playing throughout this. If it was not, all we would see is the devastated jungle below, but instead, with the music playing, the viewers begin to understand the devastation of the mind of the character. The sounds make it feel as though the viewer is in some dream-like state. The helicopter blades then go back into being diegetic, as they turn into a ceiling fan’s blades in another scene.
the non-diegetic and diegetic sounds helps create a mood to affect the audience. The use of sound was effective in the beginning when the helicopters were flying in and the classical music was playing, this was a strong effect because there was a lot of commotion going on and many loud noises due to the helicopters but the classical music added a calmer and slower effect to the scene.