Sound Editing Assignment 1 (Task 1)

To compress and summarise a sound recording to fit a specific space
Narcos (Opening) & Original Song: The opening to Narcos was edited down by around a minute so that the opening didn't drag on for longer than it needed to. All needed information and footage fits into the minute and a half used, no extra time would've been needed hence they cut it down, the impact of this is so that the viewers don't get bored of sitting through a 2 and a half minute clip of credits, and can remain engaged for the time spent watching it.
Another example is It's always sunny in Philadelphia (Opening) & Original Song: This opening is cut down by 2 minutes, as the music is very upbeat and represents the fun/funny aspect of the show, it's cut down by so much as just like with the Narcos opening only the needed information (credits) and visuals are shown and it doesn't drag on, and therefore bore viewers.
To eliminate flawed, repetitive, superfluous, uninteresting, irrelevant, material from a clip

In the released version of this interview a lot of footage would've been edited out. The reason so much footage was cut out from the raw footage is simply because most of it was irrelevant, like the start where he's getting set up with a microphone and the camera is being positioned properly, and maybe footage which includes an unsatisfactory response. These are cut out so that viewers are constantly engaged and not bored watching Paul being positioned properly.
To enable recorded speech to remain legal
Some background music may need to be edited out as the people recording might not have legal requirements to use that song, also some speeches, such as the 'I have a dream' speech by MLK need legal requirements to be used, therefore if this happens to be heard or referenced by a character (to an extent) it must be edited out as the filmers don't have legal requirements to use it, unless they acquire them.. Therefore some footage is cut to avoid the audio from being considered illegal, in that the filmers don't have rights to use the speech.
To ensure any indecent or inappropriate language is edited out
Lebron James swearing on TV: Although this example isn't the greatest as the delay was put in too late you can still get the idea and see that even on live television there's a short delay so that rude language can be quickly blurred out. This is done usually as most programs, this example included, are aired pre-watershed so the blurring of vulgar language is expected as children could still be watching. It's different when it's post-watershed (9pm+) as these are times when children are typically in bed so swearing is more acceptable on television, that's why shows with swearing are aired more at this time. But with live events it's more difficult to predict when someone will swear so they're usually slightly delayed so these words can be edited out quickly.
To change the chronological or logical order of a series of sounds or speech
This is used a lot in trailers and podcasts. In trailers, music may be cut and even reversed to suit the trailer, for example an action trailer, like Cold Pursuit, may use upbeat, fast paced songs, then cut out slow parts of the song so it remains fast and upbeat, lyrics may also be edited out, either due to legal reasons or desired effect, also songs may have breaks in them to allow speech or a particular scene to be heard instead of the music. And as for Podcasts, like the Joe Rogan Experience, the recorded interview may be chopped down to shorten the podcast, so that listeners won't get bored and can listen to all the important parts discussed in the interview and not have to hear or all the unimportant stuff, such as toilet breaks, unsatisfactory/unimportant talking points, etc. When comparing both examples they are both similar in that they are both prevalent for the viewers experience, they both enable the viewer to remain engrossed and not get bored.
To create impact by adding sound effects and/or music between pieces of recorded speech.
This is used a lot in trailers and movies, but can also be used in non-fiction, it is used in fiction to separate scenes, for instance if one scene has a fight sequence then music is likely to be played whilst it happens, then there may be a shot of one of the guys saying something with the music stopped, then it may completely cut to a whole other part of the film and the music may continue, a good example is Snatch(2000) at around 0:43, this singles out this one scene that lasts from 0:43 to 0:51, whilst the rest is all playing with music over the top, this is because the scene is somewhat humerous, this is used to add a spot of lightheartedness to an otherwise gritty trailer. As for non-fiction, this is used to make something more tense, for example the Planet Earth: Iguana chase, in between each line that David Attenborough says, there's tense music, that enables the scene to seem more dramatic and tense and add impact as the title states. Both of these examples have their reasons for use, but due to the nature of these two examples they have different reasonings, the movie trailers reason is to break the dramatic and gritty feel and add a humerous sense, the documentaries reason is the complete opposite, it adds a dramatic feel to the documentary, which was needed, as without music it wouldn't seem anywhere near as tense as it was. Sound effects can also come in the form of foley, foley sounds are produced by foley artists and they make up almost every little sound within the film, whether it be footsteps, clothes rubbing, doors opening, etc. These are done so that the scenes can be more realistic due to every sound being heard, which is realistic, obviously.Star Wars: The Force Awakens, this is a good example of foley artists at work.

Unit 24 (Sound Editing)

Mood And Atmosphere - Sound can easily create a desired mood and atmosphere, this works because we can connect certain music with genres of film due to, for example slow, creepy music can tell us instantly this is a horror genre and that danger is close. Another example is in action films, fast paced, fairly loud music can help increase engrossment and can imitate the fast action on screen, a good example is the music used in superhero films.
Audio Fade - Audio fade is when a sound either gradually builds up in volume or down in volume, this can help to separate two scenes, because unlike a sound bridge which connects the scenes by having the same sound in both shots, an audio fade disconnects two scenes as the sound quietens down then stops as the scene swaps and the music in the new scene fades up/in, so in short the purpose of an audio fade is to separate scenes.
Dialogue - Dialogue is all possible sounds from a character's mouth, these are usually recorded on set and not separately like Foley and musical sounds. However they can be recorded separately if necessary, for instance if a scene has loud music they may record the scene with the music played live, then separately record the dialogue and layer over the top to fit the lip movement.
Dialogue can help us to understand a character, voices can usually trigger our stereotypical thoughts so we get an instant expectation of a character. Dialogue (Whether it be what's said or the sound of the voice) can help define a different mood (for instance the whispering in 'A quiet place' can make a creepy, quiet mood/atmosphere and also define the genre quite easily, that being horror.), and the accents can help define a setting, for instance Italian accents mean the setting is likely Italy
Example (This video shows a wide variety of different lines in films that are well-known and liked, this shows how important dialogue is, so much so that the exact words can be remembered).
Voice Over - Voice Over is usually non-diegetic narration, spoken by a character in the film/show, it can help to explain a character, narrative or other details. This way instead of watching certain things, we can have it quickly and easily explained to us by a voice over. This is also used a lot in non-fiction productions, mostly documentaries, for instance Blue Planet, David Attenborough narrates pretty much the whole time over clips of animals and wildlife.
Ambient Sound - Ambient Sound is the background sounds (For example: 1, 2, 3) which are present in scenes, they are usually birds, wind, possible vehicles depending on location, etc. These sounds are usually edited out in post-production, but can be kept in to keep realism, although in non-fiction they're usually kept in, especially for documentaries, so that the viewers can get a sense of the surroundings and environment, whether it be an animal documentary like Blue Planet or a historical documentary.
Synchronous/Asynchronous - Synchronous sound is when the sound matches what is on screen perfectly, for example footsteps correspond to feet walking, this is usually most common in non-fiction unless music/narration is playing to a degree where the footsteps would be understandably unheard, it's the same with fiction productions, however these are more likely, compared to non-fiction, to have music playing over the sound so its unheard. As for Asynchronous this is when the sounds match the action being performed but aren't precisely synchronised with the action, This is more common in fiction productions, but can be used in non-fiction as well, this is effective as it can potentially link 2 scenes as seen in the fiction example.
Soundbridge - A soundbridge is an editing technique that carries a visual transition, this can help with continuity and can connect two scenes which may have otherwise seemed unconnected.
Example (The alarm clock is the sound bridge, this enables us to realise that these 2 scenes are related and so we can assume that he was just dreaming, if there was no soundbridge we may assume these events both happened and that the first scene happened the day before.
Foley Sounds -Foley Sounds are all the sounds except music, and dialogue, recorded separately in a facility, these sound effects are layered in each scene so that every possible source of sounds has a sound, whether it's footsteps, grass brushing, wind, clothes rubbing, etc. These can be used for both fiction and non-fiction for similar reasons
Example (This man uses everyday objects, and even obscure objects to create sounds that you wouldn't expect, for example tapping a wet flannel to be used for blood dripping)
Sound Motif - Sound Motif is when the sound ideologically matches the onscreen action, so, for example, when an evil character appears on screen, music deemed evil plays so that us viewers can begin to understand that the character is evil.
ADR - ADR is when the other noises except dialogue are recorded on set and the dialogue is recorded afterwards and overlayed over the footage in post-production.