The Wilhelm scream sound effect

The Wilhelm Scream is a major sound effect used in films and television by many directors. It was originally used in a film called Distant Drums in which a cowboy is bitten by a crocodile. It has been used in films such as Toy Story and Lord of the Rings. Directors like Steven Speilberg have used the scream in many of his films.

Sound

Sound from TalyaaKurt

Editing

Editing helps construct the narrative. We are so used to editing, we barely recognise it. The editing is often 'invisible' . Editing can be used to condense long, boring activities into quick bursts of usual information. The simplest edit is the cut, and it is called that because in old fashioned film making, they actually cut the film, and get rid of the useless stuff and putting all the pieces they needed together.

In the assassination scene in North by North West, between Roger Thornhill getting out of the taxi and looking out the window of the United Nations Building, there are 26 cuts. They are most frequent during conversation, so we can see the reaction on the characters face.

 

The pace of the editing can be use to add excitement and tension, for example, in the shower scene in Pyscho, and when Marion dies the pace slows down as if her life is slowly fading away. When Marion is actually getting murdered the pace of the cuts are very quick, jumping from her face to a close up of her mouth, to the murdered. Because it is an 1960 film, they are very cautious about showing her naked, so the cuts aren't quick paced just cause tension, but also to cover her body. Once the murderer has left the room, Marion falls to the ground due to her brutal stabbing. The shot is showing the blood getting washed down the plug hole, like her life is gradually washing away from her. There is then a transition from the plug hole to her eye, making a graphic match.

Dissolve - one scene dissolves into another, overlapping for a moment.

Fade out/fade in - one scene fades out to black completely, the other fades in.

Wipes - one scene wipes across the scene, revealing or replacing the next one. This can happen in any direction.

Iris - the next scene replaces the last one by appearing from the centre like the iris of an eye.

Jump cuts - two scenes that feature a common element right after one another, so something stays the same but the rest changes. This is used for disorienting or comedy effect.

Sinister - Official Trailer 2012

This is the move trailer of the 2012 film Sinister, which has fade in/fade out scenes, dissolve scenes and the pace of the editing gets quicker when it gets more exciting and the music gets quicker