Throughout this film, the music and sound design is very classic for its time. Whimsical music paired with technicolor visuals. The meticulous detail that was upheld in this movie for its sound design keeps the audience engaged and allows us to appreciate the work they have put in. Though compared to modern movies it may seem boring or not revolutionary but looking back at this movie from its release, the techniques within the sound were specific and incredible. 

While watching I noticed the very specific times background sound was used and when it was held back. I also noticed when background noise or diegetic sound was used within the music numbers of the movie or not. These choices are both very meaningful and with purpose. For the music numbers they help to tell the audience whether the music is being done by the characters, is an imaginary number or for a movie set. When Cosmo was singing ‘Make ‘em Laugh’, this was the character singing in the day to day world. As he continued his number his tap dancing, falling and general sounds that he made with his body all were audible and worked together with the music. Any time he made a loud noise it was used as a high exciting beat in the music, when he tapped it would create an interesting singing break that kept the beat. It was almost like his entire self and actions WERE the music and that the music was inside him. Despite the music being non Diegetic music, the immersion of these background sounds makes it almost as if the music IS happening within their world. 

On the contrary, during the Broadway Melody Ballet when the man and the woman are dancing against a purple and pink background, almost if not all background sound is silenced. As they dance together you cannot hear the wind that is blowing her train or the tap of their shoes as they run. The only thing audible is the non-diegetic music, which they don’t even dance to. Throughout this movie we see a very clear interaction between the music and what is happening on the screen. In this case the music has no interaction with the characters we see as they dance to their own accord. This choice makes it so that the audience feels we are watching a mystical sequence outside of our world, which we very much are. This sound design creates a high contrast between the rest of the movie’s sound design which allows us to acknowledge how far it is from our reality. By making this non diegetic sound so noticeable we can be creative and imagine this sequence the way Don is imagining it in his head.

Another thing that I noticed and loved within this film was how interactive the music was with what was happening, as I mentioned before. When the scene is not an imaginary sequence, the backing music helps to uplift the story and almost acts as a character reacting to what is happening. In scenes of surprise the music jumps, when someone is sorrowful the music swells in a sad way. Though this is true for any other movie it is highly noticeable in this one. Of course, the music will always match the emotion of the scene in a movie, however in Singing in The Rain it is an outstanding quality that acts just as the audience does. It is so prevalent that it is like a sentient being that isn’t planned by the people making the movie, but it exists as the movie was filmed. It is so integrated into the movie it is one of us, watching the movie. I loved the playful score and how it was so well used in this movie. 

Overall, I think the sound design of this movie was one of a kind. It created clarity and emotion within the movie and feels very original. Though it is very similar to how many movies are made in its time I still feel it sticks out and holds its own within its unique sound. You can watch a movie that is similar, but no other will quite match what it does here. I overall loved the film, and I loved being able to pay close attention to the sound design, knowing it is one of its highest qualities prior to watching.