Diegetic & Non-Diegetic

Non-Diegetic

Non-diegetic sound is when sound is added into the scene in post production. This can be sound effects, voiceovers (narration) and soundtracks. Non-diegetic sound is added to have an effect on the viewer, whether that be for emotional purposes or to help build tension within the scene.

Non-diegetic sound can also be used to portray a characters emotions, although the charcater can't actually hear the music which the viewer is hearing, it helps get across the feelings and emotions of the charcter to the viewer.

This clip from the 1998 Michael Bay film, Armageddon uses a mixure of both diegetic and non-diegetic sound.

The non-diegtic sounds used is mainly a slow, soft build up of violins. This helps create an emotional and tense atsmophere throughout the scene and works really well with what is unfolding within the scene.

As the scene unfolds, the atsmophere begins to become more emotionally charged, particualy when the charcater is thanking others in his goodbye speech. The music becomes more thankful and gives off a feeling of loyalty towards his friends.

Around the 1 minute mark of the clip, the music gives off a sort of heroic feeling to it, highlighting charcters feelings towards Bruce Willis'. As well as highlighting others feelings, the music is telling the audience how it should feel in regards to 'Willis' character and how he should be seen a hero for sacrificing himself.

Towards the end of the clip, an angelic tone is added to the non-diegetic sound, giving the clip even more emotion. The angelic tone signifies how time is running out for 'Willis' charcter and works along side the body language of Willis character as he lets out a single tear which in itself is powerfuil. But with the added sound effects it makes the scene even more emotionally charged which plays with the emotions of the viewer becasue they can already see what is about to happen.

The last few seconds of the scene, the non-diegetic music begins to fade into the background and is replaced by diegtic sound from the scene. Through fading the non-diegtic sound out, it signifies the end of the life of Willis' charcter. Again creating an emotional response from the viewer because not only can they see that time has run out, but they can also feel it because of the music.

 Diegetic

Diegetic sound is when the sound comes from within the scene itself; this can include dialogue, foley sound and radio. As diegetic sound is within the scene, the characters are able to hear it along with the viewer.

Just like non-diegetic sound, diegetic can be used to convey a chacracters feelings, particualy in a monologue. It can also be used to clarify time and locations in films, helping the viewer understand where the chacrcater is and the time that the film is shot in.

Using the same clip from Armageddon, the diegetic sound is very pinnacle when highlighting the situation. At the start of the scene they have the crew informing NASA that they will be departing in3 minutes. This informs both the characters and the viewer about what's happening within the scene. Although the non-diegetic music controls the scene, the diegetic dialogue highlights the situation.

Throughout the clip, the non-diegetic music is playing over the scene but in certain parts, there is just silence. Using silence as a sound is really powerful as it contains so much emotion, as well as conveying the emotions of both the character and the viewer.

At the end of the clip, the non-diegetic music has died down and the speaker that was at the beginning of the clip picks back up again. This brings the audience and the character back into reality and back to the situation they are facing.

There are also other types of sound used within media too:
Sound bridge- This is when sound is used to maintain continuity in a sequence by running a soundtrack under a series of images or footage to link them together. For example, a sound bridge can be used in a chase sequence to help build tension and to link the sound to the action taking place on screen.

An example of a sound bridge is from the film 'The Matrix'. Within the scene, two of the main protagonists are talking while there is party music on in the background. The music helps continue the scene but takes a less importance to the two characters talking. This allows for the audience to still see that they are at a party but what they are talking about it more important then what is happening in the background.







Contrapuntal sound- This is when sound is used within a scene but it doesn't fit or work well with the scene. This causes the audience to turn their attention more to the music then what they are seeing on screen because they what they are seeing on screen, doesn't match what they are hearing. This type of sound can be used in ironic situations as well as humorous.


The example given is taken from the film 'Reservoir Dogs'. In the scene you see one of the characters tied up who has been badly beaten. You also see the 'boss' of the gang with a shaving knife, automatically you know what is going to happen to the character tied up. However, due to the contrapuntal music played on the radio, it takes away the seriousness of the scene and makes the situation kind of humorous for the audience. It also adds to the idea that the 'boss' thinks that what he is doing is a joke and that he doesn't believe what he is doing wrong.



Foley sound- Sound effects added to a film in post production which have been created by crew to give a more realistic feel to a scene. For example, footsteps, glass breaking, slaps and punches, doors opening and slamming. These sound effects can easily be created and can be created off set saving time.

In the example given, you can see how studio's create sound to include in post production. Different sounds are created in different ways, for example, when the man was wearing the heels to create the footsteps for the film. The use of foley sounds allows for the sound effects to be more clear in a scene and a more realistic feeling to a scene.

Stop Motion & Flip Books

Stop Motion

Stop motion is a form of animation and makes static objects look like they have moved. The object's are brought to life by little tiny movements filmed over a period of time and added together to make a sequence of events.

There are examples of stop motion dating back to the 1898 and the early 20th century. In 1907, 'The Haunted Hotel' was a stop motion animation released and was very successful with audiences at that time.

Stop motion has mostly been replaced now due to new technology, particularly 3D animation which saves a lot of time and effort compared to stop motion which could take up to 50 hours to animate a 1 minute clip. Due to it's time consuming technique, studies favor other types of animation but some still use stop motion because it is a different way for the audience to view media.

Stop motion requires a lot of attention to detail because if the creator is out by a single shot, it can mess up the illusion of movement and the entire piece can be ruined. Although the process takes time and patience, the end results are really good because it's different to what audience's see today.

In the video clip provided, the stop motion technique tells the story of a fisher man. The clip shows the boat giving off the illusion of movement as its 'moving' along the sea.

The use of stop motion allows the creator to tell a quick story with different locations yet the viewer is still able to grasp the story without any narration.

Also, the use of non-diegetic sound helps to set the scene for the stop motion and helps the viewer understand what is happening in the story.

Flip Book

A flip book is a collection of pictures which are combined on sheets of paper and are flipped through to show the illusion of movement. They were first seen in the late 19th century and are still very popular in today's society. 

Flip books, tend to be small notepads that are easily handled and can be flipped through quickly. To create the illusion, the person holding the notepad has to flip through the pages at a quick pace to show the illusion and make it look like the drawings themselves are moving. The book can be flipped from front to back or back to front, depending on how the creator wants to tell the story within the notepad.

In the example given, the video shows a flip book with an animation of a footballer taking on opposing players and also doing tricks. Due to the speed the flip book is flipped at, the detail that has gone into the artwork can be clearly seen and helps the viewer see the image more clearly. 

Also throughout the video, there is non-diegetic music being played as well as different commentators talking about the player in the flip book. This keeps the viewer focused on the flip book because the tempo of the music is upbeat and runs well along side the animation. 

Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibil 

Studio Ghibil is an animation company based in Japan. It is the most famous Japanese animation company and is sometimes known as the 'Disney of Japan'. The company was founded by Hayao Miyazari and Isao Takahata in 1985. 

The company has won many awards for both short and feature length films, including 'Spirited Away' which won a Golden Bear and an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. It currently holds the spot for the only 'non-speaking English' film to have won these awards.

The studio is known for it's work with anime and mostly create 'anime' works. As well as films, the studio has also created TV shows such as Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z which both have become huge success across the globe.

To create their animations, Studio Ghibil use Cel animation. This is where the animators hand draw or paint the animations onto a piece of film. This can take a considerate amount of time and effort, especially when creating a full length feature film. Although Cel animation takes time and effort, many people still enjoy watching the films as it gives off a classic feel to the film. As Cel animation  is drawn onto a piece of film, the images tend to be flat and don't have a 3D effect to them.
When drawing or painting on the Cels, there is not just one artist but a team of people who go through various stages when compleeting the animation. The lead animator, takes control and draws out rough sketches, who then passes the sketches onto the assistant animator who cleans up the rough edges of the drawing. The sheets are then passed onto another artist who begins to draw the rest of the scene and other details on a seperate piece of sheet.

 

Once the drawings are complete, a pencil test is doen to check that the animation flows and is in the right time and colour, most importantly, making sure nothing is missing from the scene. After the pencil test is approved, a clean-up artist traces the rough sketches to ensure that the line work is the same from frame to frame. The artist then passes on to the inker, who transfers the cleaned up drawings onto Cel's before they are given to the paint department to colour in.

Backgrounds of scenes are painted by special background artists. Because the background is seen for longer, and cover more area than any other part of the animation, they are created with a lot of detail, with attention to shading, lighting and perspective.

 

In 1989, the company had it's first Box Office success with 'Kiki's Delivery Service'. The filmed grossed just over $18 million dollars and was seen as a stepping stone for both the company and anime. The film was also given the award 'Video of the Year' by Entertainment Weekly.

In the late 90's a deal was stuck with Disney Studios and Studio Ghibli which allowed American audiences the chance to view other 'Ghibli' films but under the Disney logo. Although the studio was now working with Disney, they still got recognized for the work and the anime's they produced. 

In 2004, 'Howl's Moving Castle' was released as a joint project with Disney and was a huge success across the globe. As the film was released world wide, it had two different sets of cast to play the characters. For Americans, well known actors such as Josh Hutcherson, Christian Bale and others played the voices of the animations. The film was also released in Japanese and had a star studded cast that was well known in Asia.

On the opening weekend of the film, it grossed over $427,987 in America and $1,444,469,305 in Japan alone. The film was a huge success world wide and opened the door for more major anime films to be released.

My own animation

Using Photoshop I was able to make my own short animation. Photoshop allowed me to import a short video which I was able to trace over using the rotoscoping technique. To do this: I needed to change the settings of Photoshop so it was able to break down the frames of the video I selected.

Next, I hd to add a new 'black video layer' and add the onion effect, which allows me to see what I traced in the previous frame. 

Once I had everything set up, I started to trace the rabbit frame by frame until I had a resemblance to movement and it looked like the rabbit had changed positions. After creating a few frames of movement, I then added a simple background to resemble the rabbit sitting on grass.

I also realised that the rabbit looks like it is eating due to it's movements and so I decided to add carrots to the background to add to the effect of the rabbit and it's movement. Although it very short, I was really happy with the animation because it was the first time I had ever animated anything. 

Zoetrope

Animation 

Animation has changed the face of film and television as we know it. Without the invention of animation, we wouldn't have well known shows such as 'The Simpsons', 'Looney Tunes, 'Betty Boop' and other popular shows and films.

As technology has developed over the years, so have the advancement in animation. The 'Zoetrope' was originally developed in the early 1830's. The creator, William George Hornor was an English man who wanted to invent an optical illusion which didn't need the use of a mirror to show off the images. When the 'Zoetrope' was first created, Hornor, gave it a different name to what it is known as now. He named the device' Daedalum' or 'Wheel of Death' which it translated to. 

However, a few years after it's invention, a French inventor, Pierre Desvignes, changed the name from 'Daedalum' to 'Zoetrope' as he believed people would not use the device due to the translation of 'Wheel of Death'                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           A 'Zoetrope' works by producing the illusion of motion with a rapid succession of images being shown when spun with some pace to it. The faster the device is spun, the smoother the images are for the user to see. However, if you spin it too fast, the images blur into one and become unreadable. 

As you can see on the link provided, the idea of a 'zoetrope' is to make still images come to life with rapid movement. In the video, the faster the 'zoetrope' is spun, the more animation can be seen from the images within the device. Also within the clip, it shows how to view a 'Zoetrope' you have to look through the slits within the object, this is so that the eye can focus on the image and the animation that it being created through the movement of the piece.                   

Rotoscoping & Disney

Rotoscoping 

Rotoscoping was created in the early 1900's by Max and Dave Fleischers. The brothers wanted to make animation more realistic and so, they created the Rotoscope. 'Rotoscoping' is a technique that is still used today by many animators. It is the technique in which animators trace over 'real life' footage that has been recorded prior. They then trace over the image scene by scene until they have a complete animation. To trace over the live footage, frost glass was used as it was the easiest way to see the footage and to trace over it.


In 1915, Max Fleischer used the 'Rotoscope' to animate a series of cartoons in which he named 'Out of the Inkwell'. He himself created the series and went on to create classics such as 'Koko the Clown, 'Popeye' and 'Betty Boop'. The use of a rotoscope allowed for animators to create more fluid and 'life life' movement within animations.
To help highlight certain features with an 'rotoscope' animation, the thickness of the lines drawn by the animators are varied. For example backgrounds tend to be drawn with thinner lines compared to objects in the foreground which have thick and more dominant lines.


With the success of 'Rotoscoping' the Fleischers then found themselves in competition with 'Walt Disney' in the late 1920's and early 1930's. Disney and Fleischer would often try and outdo the other by producing animations quicker then one-another. Each company wanted to be the best and to be the best, they had to create new inventions of cartoons. For example, the first cartoon with sound, first colour cartoon and the first feature length cartoon.  As Disney was a bigger and more wealthy company, the Fleischer brothers often came in 2nd when it came to creating new and more exciting animations.

Disney went on to create the first animated cartoon to have a soundtrack with in. In 1928 they created 'Steamboat Willie' which was an animated cartoon which included sound for both the characters and a soundtrack. This had never been seen before by audiences and it cost Walt Disney $4.986 to create the animation. The short film is known throughout the world with a legendary status and was also the first introduction of 'Mickey Mouse' who would go on to become Disney's most famous creation.  
In the video example given, you can see the the detail that has gone into the animation to make it more realistic and believable. The use of sound on the video also adds to the experience the viewer is getting because it gives off a happy, funny atmosphere.

During the 1930's Disney created 'Snow White' using 'Fleischers' Rotoscope. When he first found out, Max Fleischer wanted to sue Disney for using his invention without his knowledge but later withdrew as he found out a smaller company had made a similar invention to the 'Rotoscorpe' prior to Fleischers. 

When creating 'Snow White', the movements where created by Marge Champion- a high school student who was also used in the dancing scenes of the film. Animators then used the technique of 'rotoscoping' and Snow White was created. 
Rotoscoping is still used today by animators, high profile films such as 'The Lion King' used the technique back in 1994, as well as 'Tangled' in 2010. Within the Lion King, 'rotoscoping' was used to create the animals which was then duplicated in the animation process to make it look like there was more. 
This saved Disney a lot to time and effort and helped them to produce one of the greatest ever animation films. There is a scene within the Lion King, which was 'rotoscoped' and although the scene only lasts 2/3 minutes, it took the animators nearly 2 and a half years to create the scene. This was due to have the live action footage traced aswell as having to duplicate the number of animals within the scene.