After reading chapter 7 of Bordwell, Thompson, and Smith’s “Film Art: An Introduction”, there appeared to be a couple questions/topics areas that jumped out at me:

While reading the section on “Time” in relation to sound in music, I began to get a little confused about the various terminologies and their differences. The section opens with a short paragraph concerning the different relationships that can exist between time and the scene in question. One of the key ways to observe this phenomenon is by defining synchronous and asynchronous sounds. At the heart of both concepts is the notion that sound and the source of that sound can be observed simultaneously (synchronous) and/or independently. While synchronous sound appears to be more comfortable, meaning that we, as the audience, come to expect that someone’s lips moving will coincide with the words coming from their lips, this is not always the case. Asynchronous sound can be used for gags, as the audience begins to understand that our normal understanding of synchronous sound is an illusion, not a given. However, I found it difficult to understand the delineation between synchronous/asynchronous sounds and simultaneous/nonsimultaneous sounds. In rereading the passage, I offer the following justification for the difference: synchronous and asynchronous sound relates to the relationship between the physical actions within a scene and the appropriate corresponding sound, whereas simultaneous/nonsimultaneous sounds directly influence the order of the story. In the former synchronous/asynchronous example, sound is merely delayed or early which affects how immersed the audience can be. The latter refers to the use of sounds that are occurring within that moment or can be used to call back to sounds that are important in other parts of the film. Thus, its placement in a future scene can help fill in the events prior without directly showing them.

Additionally, the chapter goes on to explain the various ways diegetic sound, a sound that can be placed in the story, can be temporally related to what is displayed. The first, and most common, is the use of sound that runs simultaneously with the events on the screen. The second can be seen in “sonic flashbacks” where the characters relistens to a sound that occurred earlier in the story. The bridge between the image that is changing and the sound that is lingering on is known as the “sound bridge.” Lastly, the use of sound can be in an image that is later in the story than the image currently presented. However, the question arises if a “source” is undetermined or comes from a person in the past, even if used diegetically, I wonder if it would be considered as maintaining fidelity or not. Or, perhaps these terms are developing two separate ideas of sound? Regardless of the answer, one thing is sure, sound can truly make a film and any deployment of its use serves an overwhelmingly huge role in the story.