120
CHAPTER 6
FILM SOUND: LISTENING TO THE CINEMA
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. A microphone suspended over the action outside of camera range on a device resembling a fishing pole is called
C. a sound bridge.
D. a walla.
E. None of the options is correct.
2. After the introduction of synchronized sound in 1927, the Movietone system
C. used live performers who sang along with the film characters.
D. showed slides to provide the lyrics for sing-alongs.
3. Sound effects are used
A. to help suggest a location.
4. The sound that marks the moment when the mother sees the word “murder” on her bedroom door in The Shining is an
example of
C. a soundtrack.
D. mickey-mousing.
E. a Foley artist.
5. Film music can
A. help sell soundtracks.
B. make specific events feel timeless.
6. Mickey-mousing is
C. a way to narrate through language instead of music.
D. only used in Disney movies.
E. None of the options is correct.
7. An example of synchronous sound is
121
B. music that is played over a film’s credits.
C. narration by someone who is not a character in the story.
8. An example of asynchronous sound is
A. a talking head.
D. room tone.
9. Which 1927 Warner Bros. film is credited with convincing studios and audiences that synchronized sound was here
to stay?
C. The Birth of a Nation
D. The Plow That Broke the Plains
E. None of the options is correct.
10. Sound perspective refers to
A. the creation of sound effects.
B. the relationship between the sound mixer and the soundtrack.
C. the volume of the soundtrack.
FILL–IN-THE-BLANK QUESTIONS
1.
_____________ has a visible onscreen source, such as when dialogue appears to come directly from the speaker’s
3. A musical _____________ may be played in different ways at different times to help convey something about a
4. A _____________ is a character, a person, or an unidentifiable voice that provides commentary during a film.
SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS
(3-4 SENTENCES)
1. What was the Vitaphone system, and why was it short-lived?
2. How was sound provided during film showings until the late 1920s?
3. Name two possible functions of prerecorded popular music within a film.
122
4. What are two possible uses of silence in narrative sound films?
5. Describe two types of film-sound transitions, explaining what they are and how they might be used.