Not to see the beautiful visuals but to pay attention to the sound!
When tasked with creating an entire world out of nothing, although what we see is so important to creating the unique whimsy of Oz, what we hear cements us in the film even more.
This film beautifully uses the synchronization of senses to help put us into their shoes. As they do their musical numbers and dance, we hear every movement perfectly timed with the visuals and it makes you feel like a fellow student of Shiz University. Sound is an element they have to rely on heavily to help bring this fictional land to life, from hearing the animals, to the loud creeks of doors, to the sound of Glinda tossing her hair. Sound makes these simple movements we would ignore everyday, seem so important and whimsical- making everything in Oz feel alive.
The movie utilizes diegetic sound wonderfully with the musical scenes. We are able to see how the students of Shiz University react to music and it gives us a better understanding of the whole world they are in and how students perceive Elphaba vs Glinda. Specifically in the scenes during a Wizard and I vs Popular- we see Elphaba singing and her peers reacting to her as she sings, they look disgusted and run away from her, yet when Glinda sings they all flock to her. Because of our understanding that music and singing are welcomed in Shiz, we know it has nothing to do with them randomly bursting out into song and everything to do with how the students at Shiz view them. Diegetic sound plays a crucial role in this movie because it helps us understand how the characters interact and how music plays a key role in their fairytale land.
Along with this, composer Stephen Schwartz uses timbre, the unique quality or color of a sound used to heighten the experience of the film. In Wicked, this element is used heavily. With Elphaba her timbre is used to show how powerful of a character she is since her singing comes from a more alto and stronger place (sometimes seen as a “Chest Voice”,) while with Glinda her vocal performance is often characterized by a bright light to show her bubbly personality. Timbre is throughout this movie, bringing the characters to life and showing us how sound is important for telling us about the characters personalities and influence on the people around them.
Overall, sound is one of the most important elements of this film. Without it, we would struggle to understand Glinda and Elphaba’s relationship dynamic or how they fit into the world around them. Sound reveals another layer of the world of Oz, allowing us to experience its deeper nuances. As mentioned earlier, because of these things, the whimsical sounds of Oz help us connect with the movie and fall in love with this magical world.
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