In film, mood and atmosphere are supported greatly using the sound that is added post-production to match the theme and genre. The horror genre is a good example of this as right from the outset, they tend to include gloomy, mysterious music or omens such as the sound of crows or thunder and lightening. These omens are typically associated with horror therefore are recognizable by audiences. Here is a clip from episode 1 of 'American Horror Story' in which Tate is having a therapy session and begins recalling his dark thoughts and feelings - the music molds an idea of what it feels like to be in his mind tying in with his monologue.
Another example of where music ties in to create the mood and atmosphere reinforcing the genre is in Marvel's 'Avengers: Assemble'. In the film, there is an iconic moment when all 6 of the original avengers regroup and there is a panning shot of them all preparing to fight being more empowered by the sound track behind it.
Audio Fade:
Audio fades are used very commonly but are very subtle therefore are hardly ever noticed by an audience even though the effects of them are extraordinary. Personally, I feel that audio fades work most successfully during romantic scenes as they reinforce the emotion felt by the characters bringing it to the audience watching. In 'The Vampire Diaries', there is an iconic moment in season 6 where Stefan and Caroline confide in each other and share an intense moment in which they share their first kiss. The song 'Yours' by Ella Henderson slowly begins to fade in as their conversation progresses, creating a rather magical feel to the scene and hints that something is going to happen. You can watch the scene here:
Dialogue and voice over:
Even though dialogue is just a character or narrator speaking it should still be acknowledged as a sound effect. Dialogue is a key part to a story as it can shape the narrative and make the audience feel a certain atmosphere and mood all dependent on their choice of words. An recent example of where this works exceptionally is in Netflix's new original series: 'You'. This series is about a stalker (Joe) who forms a liking towards a girl named Beck in who he obsesses over while recalling his thoughts and feelings throughout. This thought-tracking element to the show enhances how creepy the producers want Joe to appear
Ambient Sound:
Ambient sound, put simply, is the background noise you hear in mostly all movies and television shows. For example, if there was a scene set in the middle of a New York street, you would hear the typical city sounds such as car engines, cars beeping, the noises of busy crowds etc. This is used in all kinds of genres yet you are most likely to find examples in dramas as they tend to take place in specific settings like cities or towns, therefore it will be easy to pick out ambient sound in these kinds of shots. There is an example of this in season 5 of 'Once Upon A Time' during the 'Emma Finds Her Armor' scene where we focus on a flashback and you can hear the city sounds of Boston which is ambient sound (also referred to as diegetic sound.
Sound bridges:
Sound bridges are pieces of audio which are used to move from one scene to the next so the sound of the scene coming next begins before there is a visual transition between the two. In thrillers, this is commonly used to introduce the villain or a danger coming the characters way. An example of this is in Warner Bros.' 'The Dark Knight' in which the joker is introduced to the group of characters on screen through his iconic laugh despite him not being on screen yet. Even thought the audience cannot see him, they already know who it is which foreshadows an idea of what's going to happen.
In non-fiction, sound bridges are still used. In documentaries for example, you may hear an ambient sound of a location such as a coastline before the scenery is established visually. Examples of this can be seen on most episodes of 'Blue Planet'.
Foley Sounds:
Foley sounds are sounds which are created during the production of a piece of film. For example if the films requires the noise of someone drawing a sword, the Foley sound produces will record this sound multiple times using various objects until they feel it fits perfectly. These are mostly always used on fiction and never really in non-fiction unless it was incredibly necessary. Here is a video explaining how the sound effects for 'Wall-E' are created:
Synchronous and Asynchronous:
This type of sound is used in animation for example when a voice over needs to be matched with the animated characters of screen. These audio clips will be recorded before or during the animation process and will be placed onto the film post-production when the film is being edited. The editor will have to be extra careful when placing these audio tracks in as they will have to match the mouth movements exactly as they're said. It is a hard, time-consuming process but the end products are remarkable.
This kind of audio is not only used in animation however. Sometime during live performances, singers may feel they cannot sing to the best of their ability fr whatever reason and may have to lip-sync with the music playing so that it is convincing to the audience. This is an incredibly controversial topic though therefore i will not expand more into this use.
Sound Motif:
Sound motif is a certain sound or tune which follows a certain character or event. An example of this is in 'Harry Potter'. In all of these films, whenever Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is displayed on screen, you will the iconic movie theme which is so easily recognizable by all of the franchises fans.
ADR Sound:
ADR sound is the type of sound which is re-recorded post-production if the any of the team members working on it feel that it could be better and will continue to record this until they feel it is perfect.
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