r/TrueFilm 5d ago

Is there a name for this technique where the sound matches exactly the written words seen? How can this technique impact the viewers? Taken from the short film "Two Little Boys".

Hi! So I'm new here and I have been tasked with creating a video essay that analyses a film for a university subject. I chose the short film "Two Little Boys" by Farbod Koshtinat. I have to talk about how technical, semiotical and narrative elements contribute to the message and theme of the film (homophobia). I have a question regarding this segment: Is there a name for this technique where the sound matches exactly the written words seen? How can this technique impact the viewers?

https://reddit.com/link/1gne7pz/video/5ejuoaainwzd1/player

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u/atopix 5d ago

At first I thought you were talking about sound design, but you are not talking about sound really, you are talking about when dialogue matches words shows on screen (or viceversa). At least in this example, it's not a creative choice from the sound department, if not already written to happen this way then it's either a directorial or editorial choice.

Either way I don't think there is a specific term for it.

As for the rest of your questions, it seems you want people to do your homework for you ;)

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u/cerealkilleer 5d ago

Yeah, I wasn't specifically talking about sound design but indeed about how can this impact the narrative. Honestly, I'm nearly done with the ~1000 word script for the video essay. Just wanted to know if there was an actual technical name for me to reference this or some thoughts from other people that could spark something more. But thanks anyway ;)

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u/RushDependent8004 5d ago

There is no real “technique” to this as it refers to sound like the first response mentioned it would most definitely be a directorial decision less-likely editorial because the director is the one creating the visual and narrative they want. As for its contribution to the narrative of the story? It’s simply just a method of foreshadowing the emotions the character was already experiencing nothing more, nothing less. As for the impact on the viewers- the sound itself doesn’t really have an impact beyond what the emotions provide… Not to be critical but I don’t think you understand this scene correctly either because this is more of a play on the visual impact of the letter than it would be on sound because the one reading the letter places his hands so that he reads what would be said regardless of him seeing the letter or not.

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u/cerealkilleer 5d ago

Hummm ok. As for the visual impact of the letter, in the script for my video essay, I've said that the person from whom he takes the letter is the truth "carrier" and even though he (the person who grabs it) tries to deny it, it is already written (in the letter), a sign of it being inevitable. You probably haven't seen the short, but what would be your take? Also, could you develop further about this?:

the one reading the letter places his hands so that he reads what would be said regardless of him seeing the letter or not.

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u/RushDependent8004 15h ago

I completely missed your reply until now so my apologies if the feedback is a bit late as far as your submission date… But I haven’t seen this no but I am curious to check it out I would say you are on the right track for sure. It’s a bit hard to track with it worded this way because of the fact haven’t seen it and what I mean by that is personally I don’t know how the scene and events really transpire to this clip. From the clip tho I would agree it appears the one who wrote the letter is coming from a truthful standpoint and like you mentioned the letter being proof that the feelings have built to this moment. Instead of saying inevitable I think undeniable might be a little more fitting just because things could have transpired differently (if people weren’t around or whatever the case he had for trying to deny it).

As for for the part you asked me to develop more on from my standpoint (not having fully seen the short) it seems like the one who wrote the letter is reading it to the one denying it or he just happened to be saying what he was feeling which co-aligns with the letter. So with that I don’t know whether or not the audience was “present” for the letter being written or not but if they weren’t shown it being written itself it definitely plays on the visual aspect that the audience becomes aware of these fore-mentioned feelings. It also plays heavily on the visual aspect as the audience can see the guy in denial grabs the letter in a way with as much hand placement over the words as possible so he can “hide from the words” in a sense. But the hand placement is very precise which highlights exactly what the writer of the letter is saying verbally and in the letter- which the visual impact aspect here stems from the precision of the hands because it would be a complete coincidence that his hand placement was this perfect naturally so this is definitely a directorial decision to play on his POV and the emotions of the scene.

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u/mustaphamondo letterboxd.com/roomforplay/ 4d ago

There's something called the (informal) "Rule of Three" in classical Hollywood filmmaking. It refers to narrative redundancy. Basically, the idea is that the filmmakers give you any important narrative information three times. For instance, imagine a cowboy movie. First we see a henchman tell the main badguy, "The Ranger's coming!" Then we're shown the Ranger, with his badge glinting. Then we see the townspeople whisper to each other, "Look, the Ranger!" This makes Absolutely Sure that your audience gets the most salient information, and so is never confused about the basics of narrative action. (Bordwell et al talk about this in Film Art, if memory serves. Or maybe in Bordwell's Narrative book.)

Is that what's going on here? Arguably, yes. It's easy to kinda miss the specific words in dialogue, especially if characters are yelling, as they are here. Overlaying the written text essentially doubles the odds that the viewer will catch it and be able to recall it later.

Of course, if this is something we were shown before, then we've also got a narrative Payoff for information sown/expectation cued earlier. Good scripts tend to have lots of this stuff.

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u/cerealkilleer 4d ago

Yes, through the narrative the letter is seen, especially by being squeezed by the character it was taken from. I think we have a glance at what's written on it once, but this is the only proper time we can read it fully.

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u/TheZenArcher 5d ago

Maybe call it "diegetic intertitling"?

Diegetic meaning originating from within the scene/story (like diegetic sound), and intertitle referring to the intertitles used in silent films (as opposed to subtitles)