How To Read A Film

Division of Directors Directing a film is no easy task, it takes hard work and vision. The amount of time it takes to create a film is astonishing, many times film directors don’t get the credit they deserve. I mention this because this paper is based off film directors and their achievements with films. Their hard work put into a masterpiece. When it comes to the reading of How to Read a Film, James Monaco focuses on the work put into a film. Whether it would be in Chapter one, talking about the relationships between different art forms of film. In chapter two, focuses on the film stock, camera angles, range/aperture. In chapter three, he focuses on the syntax, Mis en scene, montage, color, sound, etc. Chapter four is based off of the history …show more content…
In the section it mentions “It was not until the mid-1920’s that bells theories of electrical transmission of sound were united with the technology of the mechanical phonograph. At almost precisely the same time, sound recordings were united with image recordings to produce the cinema as we know it today” (75) basically talking about the creation of sound and the effects sound has on the creation of film. This specific quote is what brings my next topic into discussion, the invention of sound and the role it plays in both my directors films. Starting with Wolf of Wall Street, director Martin Scorsese plays many sounds throughout the film and if we were two compare both films of my choice both movies display different sounds. In Wolf of Wall Street, we come across a lot of talking, partying, cars, and many other little sounds that create the scenery for the film. What I mean by creating the scenery is that sound obviously plays an important role in film making and director Scorsese is able to produce some scenes where you truly feel the presence of the character and everything around it. Back to the scene of the yacht if you really pay attention the sound of the huge wave that come crashing down on the yacht sounds so realistic that it adds realism to the scene. Furthermore, when it comes to the scene where Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) imagines that he drove his Ferrari under the influence completely …show more content…
One way he introduced different types of sound was once again by the body cams the two police officers carried around. This allows for the audience to hear certain sounds that possibly the camera recording the scene would not have been able to. The body cams also allow for the audience to experience hands on situations. The difference between the two films is that obviously End of Watch is more of an action/thriller type of film. In this movie we hear sounds such as shooting, police sirens, fighting, and street activity where as in Wolf of Wall Street we don’t get these types of scenes or sounds. Director Ayer also does an excellent job in setting the scene to add a more realistic virtue to it. There is a scene where both officers are trapped in an apartment and are being shot at. If you listen closely you are able to hear the different types of objects being “shot” at, which adds the illusion as if real gunshots were being shot and were actually penetrating though the wall. In my own opinion I feel as if sound plays an extremely important role when it comes to making a film. Sure we often come across some films that the sound quality isn’t so great which is what can either make a film or break it. In End of Watch, the movie takes place in a Mexican cartel neighborhood, but throughout the film what makes the scenes more realistic are the sounds. The