In this week’s blog I will discuss the ways in which the sounds in the musical film Grease (1978) effects the mise’ en scene. This movie contains diegetic sounds because the characters can hear the sounds from within the world of the film. The film is a musical, so there are several scenes where the dialogue consists of song lyrics, along with the characters having conversation with one another. The entire movie is not in song. The sound effects in the film are consistent with what is going on in that particular scene.
For example, in the scene “Thunder Road,” Danny and Leo race each other. The sound of the vehicles revving makes for an exciting scene. The music has a major effect on the audience as well as the overall mood of the film. The music played during this scene is the song “Grease Lightning”, which is significant to the title of the film itself. The music played throughout the movie has a rock n’ roll/blues type feel. The sound has a profound impact on establishing the theme, being that the film is a musical, so it is based around the music.
The effects of the sound in the film produce a range of effects, and those effects vary with each scene. For example, with the “Thunder Road” scene, the realistic sound effects of the car engines revving, along with the song “Grease Lightning” playing in the background gives the viewer a feel of excitement and anxiety. The viewer feels anxious to know who will win the race. This scene would play much differently if “Grease Lightning” was not playing in the background. It would take away from the excitement it adds to the scene.
References
http://cdn.playbuzz.com/cdn/c94d64d1-2c64-4131-8867-d0a8ce4b27d5/2cfa33d1-2edd-4c03-8d3c- c9bd6c5d2297.jpg
Youtube (2011). Grease Thunder Road movie clip. Retrieved on April 2, 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsYC-hVEpQM
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