UNIT 38: Soundtrack analysis
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
‘Boxing Match’
Sound effects: Crowd cheers, Physical contact
(Punches/Kicking), Boxer being hit into doors, Sherlock ‘dodging’ (Wind
resistances?) Clapping, Slapping, Boxer spitting, ‘Whooshing sound as Sherlock
goes into thinking/narration mode, Slow motion fight, Footsteps, Heavy
breathing, Paper rustling, cork being pulled out of bottle
Audio background: Folk music ( Rocky road to Dublin- The Dubliners)
Dialog: Crowd Cheers, Sherlock Holmes narration, Boxer
taunting
In this short 3 minuet sequence of Sherlock Holmes (2009) known
as the ‘Fight Scene’ on youtube I, personally, heard many different diagetic
and non-diagetic sounds.
The main focus in the audio area is, to me, the folk music
that makes up the non diagetic background sound- It’s the clearest thing I
heard throughout the entirety of the scene and was a strong focus point to me
it works well with the idea that Sherlock Holmes is fighting in a working class
boxing/bar area where it is quite common to find folk music.
The second
most noticeable sound element to me was the physical contact sound effects that
emphasize the original sound so it sounds louder than it would to the
characters in the film itself so it stood out more to me and gave the scene a
dramatic effect that would’ve not worked if they made it quieter.
I also
heard quite clearly at the end of the fight itself between the boxer and
Sherlock Holmes the sounds of Sherlock walking barefoot in the dirt, him
opening a bottle and taking a piece of paper from one of the workers. But I believe
that to me that the narration that Sherlock Holmes has while thinking is the
most important and easily heard audio part of the sequence- you can hear it
over the crowd cheering (which is subdued) and his own attacks against the
boxer.
Fight Club () ‘Where
is my mind?’- Ending
Sound effects: Buildings falling, Explosions, people walking
on tiled flooring
Audio background: Where is my mind- Pixies
Dialog: Marla Singer and ‘Tyler Durden’ are talking to each
other in hushed, calm tones
This sequence starts quite subdued and calm as the characters
are talking in rather quite tones although it is rather hard to hear one of
them as he’s been shot in the cheek (Admittedly he did do that to himself) so
you can hear the blood gurgling very quietly as he speaks. Then the audio
background music begins to build up which sets a nice backdrop for the collapsing
buildings that happen next which contrasts very nicely together as they
contrast they show how detached the two characters are to the buildings.
One part of
the audio that always stuck out to me is how the audio background increases
suddenly in volume when the first explosion goes off and stays quite loud for the
rest of the title sequence which creates the mood that the two characters seem
to be having.
The other characters who are not shown in the sequence can
be heard with their footprints on the floor which is louder than what is
natural so the audience can understand
that they are leaving the room altogether which really stood out to me.
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