HW2c - Sound in Film Openings

Fast and Furious 7 Opening Sound Analysis

Dialogue

The dialogue conveys the action genre of the film very well as we hear talk of payback and violence which are common themes of action. Furthermore, at 2:38 we see Jason Statham give someone a grenade saying "here, hold this." This bit of speech draws emphasis to what's going on thus reinforcing the action genre. Jason's rugged, low-pitched voice at the beginning sets the mood for the entire opening sequence as a dangerous, scary situation - this idea is then reinforced as the camera pans around and we see the hospital in flames collapsing. Furthermore, what he says and his tone of voice make it very clear that is a revenge themed film.The dialogue alone tells us a lot about the story. We learn quickly that Jason is brothers with the person in the hospital bed and that he is seeking to avenge his brother, therefore from the beginning dialogue the story line has already been established.

Sound Effects

Sound effects are used sparingly in this opening sequence, but when they are used they are always diagetic and used to reinforce the realism of the scene. For example, an explosion sound effect is added when the grenade explodes to make the situation and story seem more real. This works on many levels as it reinforces the action genre as explosions are conventional of said genre. It sets the mood as a dangerous one, as danger is a strong connotation explosions. Another example is the sound effects when the building is collapsing. This draws attention to the way in which the building is collapsing which is key to the story, this in turn reinforces the genre as collapsing buildings have strong associations with action and finally it also reinforces the dangerous mood as collapsing buildings are typically very dangerous in real life.

Music Track

The music track used is non-diagetic and is a song called "Payback." The title alone is said many times in the song and this serves the purpose of reinforcing the story and how the story is basing around payback/revenge. The song is very fast paced and upbeat which is typical of the songs used in similar action genre films thus reinforcing the action genre. The lyrics also reinforce the dangerous mood as it talks about things like fights as seen in "mano y mano, you're damn right." Ultimately, the music track serves the purpose of ambience and creating the atmosphere, rather than establishing anything itself.