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Patrick Lewis

Intro film response #8

When it comes to movies there are many aspects that go in to making a great movie.

Although there are many functions of sound such as the levels, textures, and presence and they

are primarily atmospheric, they can also be precise sources of meaning in a film. Multiple layersof sound are synthesized in a studio rather than recorded in reality, for most films sound are noteven present during the actual shooting and are later placed in after the movie is completely

finished. These sound are described as loud or soft noises which vary in rate or speed and are

used in many instances to change the mood of a scene and make the audience feel a certain typeof way during the scene.

There were many great examples throughout the movie but there were a select few that

really did a great job of demonstrating. One great example where this was displayed well was the

game to clinch the Oakland As twentieth victory in a row and Scott Hatteberg was up to bat andthey switched the camera back and forth between Hatteberg and Billy Beane and they have the

live radio broadcast pan in and out really low at first and as Hatteberg hits the homerun the radio

broadcast gets louder as he runs around the bases. I feel like this was done to make a dramaticeffect and make the audience feel a type of relief that the game has been won and also like the

As had a really good chance of winning the World Series since they came up short the previous

year. Another great scene where this good be displayed is when Peter Brand is showing him all

of the equations he put together to make the team as successful as they could be as well asshowing him player that are under looked and could possibly be attained for a cheap amount of

money. As he is doing this there is music playing in the background and there is a surrealistic

sound like booms that sounded as it were an heartbeat and it begins to get louder as he tells moreabout the team as if the team is becoming alive as he speaks the players names and is verbally

putting a great team together. I felt like this was a great scene as well because it was symbolic, I

feel like this scene was placed in the movie to add some suspense as well as some hope to the

audience as well as hinting at what could possibly become because of the gain of Peter Brand. Aswell a great example was presented when Billy Beane makes the turnaround from going to see

the As minor league team to going to see the As. Beane never watches the team play but he

figured since they were up so much that he would come back because there was no way theycould blow the lead, boy was he wrong as soon as he enters the stadium everything goes awry

and the Kansas City Royals began to score run after run and make a comeback. As this happen

Beane begins to worry and a commotion of beats and sounds go on as if he is terrified and that hehas jinxed the team and there chance of breaking the twenty win streak was coming to an end. I

feel like this was done to add a dramatic effect as well as to keep the audience tuned in and keep

them on their toes and guessing. Lastly the scene I found to be very interesting that as well could

be sighted to be a good example would be early in the movie where they the team who made arun the previous year and there are loud booms throughout the frame that indicate something bad

is going to happen when they began to lose and their season is coming to an end. I feel like this

was a great was to start the movie and I feel like it was added to set up the movie for a downfall

when they announced that their three key players were leaving to make it seem as if they wouldbe a underdog team.

Another thing that is just as important when making a movie is the sound effects. Sound

effects are the non-vocal and non-musical noises which accompany on screen visuals in a movie.In the Hollywood studio industry the main sound effects technician is called a Foley artist, this is

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named after Jack Foley who was a pioneer in post-production and sound creation. As a Foley

artist they are responsible for finding all of the different sounds that will be necessary for the

movie. In the move money ball there were plenty of instances where the Foley artists wasinvolved with all of the sound effects had to be used throughout the movie. The first example I

noticed was in the stadium when the fans were clapping and stomping there feet it made a loud

booming noise which eventually sped up as the scene progressed. I feel this specific soundeffect was added to create a happy mood and make the audience wish for the best and hope thatthe As would end up breaking the twenty win streak. Another example that displayed this well

would be when Billy Beane is in the guitar store with his daughter and she begins to sing the

song he pleaded with her to sing and after she gets done singing a clap starts as if there are manypeople clapping in the store for her but eh scene transitions to the stadium where the Oakland

As are playing and it turn into the clapping of all of the fans as the clapping begins to get louder

and louder and the scene transforms into a different image. This was done to make a smooth

transition between scenes as well as to get the audience involved and wonder what is going on.Another example of this would be when Billy Beane enters the stadium when the As are playing

the royals and they begin to go on a run with hits and the sound that the ball makes as it hits the

Royals bats are repetitive and that is a great example of sound effects. I feel like this was done toexaggerate the hits and make them more powerful to make a bigger impact on the audience as

well as to make it seem like the time was going by faster because of how rapid the hits were.

Also another great scene that displayed sound effects well was right before Scott Hatteberg gets

the call to play for the Oakland As Christmas bells start to play. I feel like this was done tomake the audience aware that something good was about to happen and put them in a cheerful

mood.

Another key component in filmmaking would also have to be the music, in filmmakingthere are two basic types of music which are the score and the songs. Throughout the movie there

were a few songs that caught my attention. One for example would be when Scott Hatteberg

goes up to hit there is music playing it is slow like something is being anticipated. I feel like this

was added to add a dramatic effect as well as to let the audience know something was going tohappen but not quite give it away. Another instance where music is involved is when the pitcher

thanks Beane for giving him the opportunity to pitch in for the As and he tells him he will be

praying for his family right after that music cuts on and it is the maniac song by MichaelSembello. I think this music was used to get the audience excited to see what would happen next

as well as set the mood to be happy. Another example would be at the end of the movie where he

pops in a cd and the vocals of his daughter start to ascend from the speakers of his truck. I feellike this was added to the movie to the movie to tell what Beanes decision was going to be and

how his daughter effected his decision because her saying if he moves then he was a great dad.

As well spoken language is also another critical part of filmmaking. There are various

types and characteristics such as dialogue, interior monologue, subtext, as well as realist andformalist styles, these all serve various potential purposes in a storytelling process. Interior

monologue is when a character is narrating a scene or when something a character said reoccurs.

For example when we see the replay of Scott Hatteburg hitting the home run Billy Beanesvoice

replays talking about the selling of hot dogs and tickets. I feel like this was done to prove thatmoments like that is what mad fans come out and make the franchise better overall. Dialogue is

the talking of two people. A great example of this would be all of the radio broadcast when the

two men would be talking back and forth with one another. I feel like this was done to show howimportant the team was to the city and how intrigued all the fans were and how they were not

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giving up on them. Subtext is the emphasis on somebody saying something and making it

happen. I think a good example of this was when Billy Beane told all of the scouts that they were

looking for the wrong thing because they could not replace the three players they had lost so theyneeded to find something else so they could make the team successful. I feel like him saying that

opened up the scouts eyes as well as his own and he eneded up recruiting Peter Brandt which

helped him reassemble his team. I feel like doing this shocked the audience that he would listento someone who had so small of baseball knowledge and it was done to shake up the movie andkeep the audience wondering where the film would go from there. Realist is a style of

filmmaking that attempts to duplicate the look of the objective reality as its common perceived

with emphasis on authentic locations and details. A great example of this would be at the gameswhere they made it seem very realistic as if the game was really going on and the As were really

on a twenty game winning streak. I think this was done to make it more realistic.

As in all films there is always a theme. In the movie Money Ball the theme was literal

and methaphoric talking about families and hardships. One example that would display thisgreatly is when Billy Beane has to make the decision to go to the Boston Red Sox or stay in

Oakland with his daughter. I think this was placed in the film to show how important family is

and how they great of supporters they can be. An example of hardships was at the begging of theseason where the As couldnt get a win and it looked like Beanes plan was a bust because the

coach wouldnt listen to Beane. I think this was done to add some adversity and let the team fight

through what the tough tough times. Another example of families would be how Scott Hatteberg

did not have a team to play for and when the As picked him up it was such a happy day for himand his family. I think this was shown to display how good times can uplift a family. Another

example of hardships would be when Beanes daughter keeps asking is he going to get fired and

he doesnt really have an answer for her so he tries to play it cool and tell her everything will beok. I think this was done to show what people will do to make sure their families are good.

As you can see there are many different elements that have to be put together from sound

effects to sound mixes to music to spoken language and they all play important roles in

filmmaking and they are all needed to make a film.