Question 1

How do the sounds of a violent storm shape the audience's interpretation of The Ice Storm (1997)?

Accepted Answer

A)  The nonfaithful sound suggests that Ben and Elena might be able to save their marriage. 
B)  The sweeping wind sounds suggest that this difficult time will pass. 
C)  The harsh breaking sounds serve as a metaphor for the characters' frail lives. 
D)  The nonfaithful sound suggests that the characters' social order is under attack. 
E)  The faithful sounds of the snow landing on the commuter train suggest a smooth, calming end.

Question 2

Why has the role of the sound designer become more prominent over the years?

Accepted Answer

A)  Directors have learned how well they can cover up mistakes in shooting. 
B)  Sound design has simplified so people understand better how it functions. 
C)  Producers have realized that it is more economical to invest in a top sound designer than a cinematographer. 
D)  Motion picture sound has become more complex and increasingly innovative. 
E)  More men have entered the field, yielding higher salaries.

Question 3

How does the sound of Harlan Ogilvy sharpening a large blade in War of the Worlds (2005) affect the audience?

Accepted Answer

A)  It leads the audience to believe that Ogilvy may become an evil force. 
B)  It suggests Ogilvy could be an ally. 
C)  The soothing tones suggest a happy ending. 
D)  It provides irony since the viewers know a new demonic force now rules the world. 
E)  It provides relief since the characters could use a large blade.

Question 4

In which film was the innovation of combining spoken lines with an interior monologue made?

Accepted Answer

A)  Badlands (1973) 
B)  Padre Padrone (1977) 
C)  Double Indemnity (1944) 
D)  Hamlet (1948) 
E)  The Sweet Hereafter (1997)

Question 5

Which of the following does NOT describe a perceptual characteristic of sound?

Accepted Answer

A)  pitch 
B)  quality 
C)  loudness 
D)  fidelity 
E)  amplitude

Question 6

What is the most powerful sound used in Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)?

Accepted Answer

A)  jungle noises. 
B)  a short offscreen interior monologue. 
C)  monks' prayers. 
D)  music from a TV melodrama. 
E)  silence of the perceivable world and the afterworld.

Question 7

How did Martin Scorsese and Frank Warner use sound to make the close-ups in the boxing ring of Raging Bull (1980) almost unbearable to watch and hear?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How did Martin Scorsese and Frank Warner...

Question 8

How does the sound design of the opening of Apocalypse Now (1979) shape the audience's perception of Captain Willard as well as set up the themes of the film?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How does the sound design of the...

Question 9

While dialogue in most movies represents ordinary speech, the screwball comedies of the 1930s invented

Accepted Answer

A)  a serious, naturalistic style. 
B)  a fast, witty style that called attention to itself. 
C)  a languorous, slow style that expressed romantic longing. 
D)  a staccato, clipped manner of speech. 
E)  a proper, formal style.

Question 10

Which type of film sound tends to dominate most films?

Accepted Answer

A)  ambient sound 
B)  music 
C)  Foley sounds 
D)  vocal sounds 
E)  sound effects

Question 11

How do the following directors use music to enhance the pace of a film?

Accepted Answer

A)  Ang Lee uses a Japanese folk song to create a dreamlike pace in Brokeback Mountain (2005). 
B)  Tom Tykwer uses techno-music to match the surreal tempo in Run Lola Run (1998). 
C)  Joe Wright uses Gregorian chant to bring an ethereal mood to Atonement (2007). 
D)  John Curran uses Rage Against the Machine songs to accelerate the pace of We Don't Live Here Anymore (2004). 
E)  Lana Wachowski uses music by Johann Sebastian Bach to slow the tempo of The Matrix (1999).

Question 12

How is a sound designer's approach to a sound track similar to how a painter treats a canvas?

Accepted Answer

A)  A sound designer uses a sound's pitch as a painter uses a brush. 
B)  A sound designer uses background tones like a painter uses different colors. 
C)  A sound designer mixes dialogue and effects like a painter mixes different colored paints. 
D)  A sound designer edits sounds the way a painter makes compositional choices. 
E)  A sound designer uses music the way a painter uses a model as the basis for a painting.

Question 13

Which of the following is an example of synchronous sound?

Accepted Answer

A)  Characters search for a lost dog, and the audience hears the sounds of a hockey game. 
B)  A bottle of champagne is opened, and the audience hears a pop as the cork flies across the room. 
C)  A baby cries, and the audience hears the roar of a lion. 
D)  A couple fights, and the audience hears an ambulance siren. 
E)  A woman opens her mouth to scream, and the sound of a train whistle is heard.

Question 14

How does an audience process visual and sound elements in a film?

Accepted Answer

A)  They tend to see images as a whole, while they hear sound as individual elements. 
B)  They are slow to differentiate visual elements but are quicker to separate sound into its constituent parts. 
C)  They interpret visual elements emotionally, while an audience is far more analytical when it comes to sound elements. 
D)  They can easily differentiate visual elements, while it is more challenging for them to separate sound into its constituent parts. 
E)  They are more easily emotionally manipulated by visual elements than sound elements.

Question 15

A sound's faithfulness or unfaithfulness to its source is known as its

Accepted Answer

A)  fidelity 
B)  timbre 
C)  amplitude 
D)  frequency 
E)  harmonic content

Question 16

Explain how the use of music in film may help to create irony. Provide a specific example from the text.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain how the use of music in...

Question 17

Why is sound overlapped?

Accepted Answer

A)  to link and provide unity between disparate shots 
B)  to fulfill an audience's expectation 
C)  to convey a character's emotional state 
D)  to underscore the theme of the movie 
E)  to create rhythm beyond that created by the music

Question 18

Sound that comes from a place within the world of a story, and that we assume is heard by characters in that world, is known as

Accepted Answer

A)  ambient sound. 
B)  internal sound. 
C)  diegetic sound. 
D)  nonsimultaneous sound. 
E)  external sound.

Question 19

What was unusual about the sound production of Citizen Kane?

Accepted Answer

A)  Mixing of the sound effects occurred during preproduction. 
B)  Dialogue was edited during production. 
C)  No music was used. 
D)  The music was composed before the rough cut of the film had been assembled. 
E)  All the dialogue had to be looped.

Question 20

Which of the following film sounds are typically recorded during production?

Accepted Answer

A)  dialogue 
B)  narration 
C)  ambient sounds 
D)  sound effects 
E)  Foley sounds

Exam 9: Sound

How do the sounds of a violent storm shape the audience's interpretation of The Ice Storm (1997) ?