The film scene I haven chosen to discuss today is the opening scene from the horror movie Get Out(2017), the movie itself takes place when a white women has to introduce her African American boyfriend to her family, but during their stay things their motives seem to be sinister, when he finds out that they have planned and “that they will scheme, plan, kidnap and exploit black bodies for their own consumption, pleasure and strength” (Vox). This movie holds shows the fear many black people must face in everyday that they must fit in in order to make others feel comfortable, also the tackles the subtle racism where it’s racism that is masked with aggressive “politeness” but motives are the opposite. In this scene there is a young black man walking through the empty street of the suburbs in the night, while he does seem uncomfortable he keeps on walking. But it’s not until a white car passing by does a u-turn and pulls up next to him rolling windows down which now an eerie song can be heard playing. The young man then notices and quickly walks the opposite way, then a figure with a face masks comes up behind him, chokes him and puts him to sleep dragging him back to their car

The sound in this scene starts off diegetic noises such as crickets, the guy talking on the phone, footsteps, and dogs barking. This noises in a dark setting set the feeling of a creepiness and that something bad will occur. Also the diegetic and prominent noise of a car pulling us emphasizes its importance to the scene as its heard so clearly. To add on, then music comes into play where it’s an eerie song and supposed to be a “happy” song but overly happy to the point it’s creepy. Then when the kidnapper knocks out the other guy the music is heard so clearly it is considered to be undiegetic because of the volume and seems to try to overpower the guys screams until he finally gets put to sleep. This part can symbolize the topic of the movie where it shows what black people experience in their life , where they feel silenced instead of heard.

In the movie clip I chose (the opening scene of Get Out), a black man (Logan) is lost and talking to a friend on the phone, when a white car starts to trail him. Clearly feeling uncomfortable, he turns back, and then car makes a U-turn and continues to follow him. He later is assaulted, knocked out, and put in the trunk of the car. This sets the tone for the rest of the movie, as the main black character Chris has to fight for his life against the family of his white girlfriend Rose.

Some diegetic sounds that are included in the scene include the crickets in the background, the engine of the car that kidnaps Logan, Logan’s footsteps as he walks, and perhaps the most important one is the song “Run Rabbit Run” which plays in the car that kidnaps Logan. I also think the same song is non-diegetic, because as Logan was being assaulted the same song seems to be playing directly over the scene, and not coming from just the car. The music adds suspense to the clip, and foreshadows the danger that Chris faces later in the movie. By playing “Run Rabbit Run”, it serves as a warning about what Chris should do before he ends up like Logan. The dynamics of the clip is also important, as when he realizes that the car stopped and the door is wide open the music increases in volume until it reaches fortissimo (very loud).

I chose 1.21 Gigawatts from Back to the Future (1985) as the clip i’d like to speak about. A teenager in the clip has traveled back in time to when his own parents were teenagers. By doing this, he is changing sequen=ces of events which can influence the future. To reverse this, he needs the help of a scientist to bring him back to the future. During this clip, they attempt to find out how to bring him back to the future.
The diegetic sounds taking place in the clip is the sound of the video rewinding and forwarding. Also, the crumpling of the paper that is being held is diegetic. The footsteps between the characters are also diegetic. Diegetic sounds are sounds the characters in the film can hear. The nondiegetic sounds include dramatic music in the end of the clip which increases in intensity and loudness. Non Diegetic sounds are sounds only the audience can hear.
The music makes the audience more nervous, due to the worry the characters are experiencing. Then, it shows the excitement of the screen because the scientist has come up with how to send the boy back to the future. I think the musical characteristic of increasing tempo and loudness is it important to show the importance of the event and the information the scientist discovered. This also can mirror a conjunct melody, because the distance between beats is short.

I decided to choose the “1.21 Gigawatts” scene from “Back to the Future”. This movie is about a teenager named Marty Mcfly, who accidently travels back in time and meets his parents as teenagers. The main goal of the movie is for McFly and his scientist named Doc, to try to figure how to go back to the future. The time machine that Doc made was called The DeLorean. In this specific scene, McFly is showing Doc a video of himself in the future on a television set. In the video, Doc explains how many gigawatts he needs for DeLorean to work with the help of lightning. 

Some diegetic sound (sound that is within the narrative action) was the television. At first the characters can hear the blurred sound of it trying to connect and finally Doc when he speaks. Also the sound of their running footsteps can be heard from either characters. Including the crumpling of McFly’s newspaper. On the other hand, some non diegetic sound (sound that is outside the narrative action) was the orchestra and band. As Doc discovers the day the lightning will strike, the audience can hear the instruments getting louder. This music adds a level of intensity and excitement for the audience. This is because it gives the audience hope that McFly will be able to resolve his problem. Doc will find a solution, and McFly can go back and eventually meet the woman of his dreams. One musical characteristic that is important is dynamics. Dynamics is the volume of a note or passage of music. The crescendo helps create these emotions and predictions about the plot. Also the tempo (speed at which the music is being played) supports the level of anticipation the audience feels. With the rhythm getting faster, the viewers become more eager to see what will happen in the rest of the plot. 

In the beginning of the clip from “Get Out”, there is a black man walking and talking to someone on the phone. As he is walking down the street, a white car that was driving the opposite way makes a U-turn and follows the black man. The black man notices the suspicious white car and decides to turn back and go the other way and tries to cross the street. As he attempts to cross the street, he looks back at the white car and sees that the driver’s seat door is open. Out of nowhere, someone in a black suit strangles him and drags him to his car.

In this clip, there are a lot of diegetic sounds. Throughout the clips, I can hear the chirping of crickets and the car engine. I can also hear the music coming from the white car as the black man turns to look at it.

The music adds a suspenseful kind of atmosphere to the movie clip. It makes the scene seem scarier and creepier because of the dark and empty streets. I don’t think it tells the audience anything specific about the story or characters. However, it does make the mood of the scene scarier. From the clip, one characteristic that I think is important is the dynamic of the music. In some parts of the scene, the dynamic is low like in the scene where the black man first notices the white car. However, later on, in the scene where the black man is being dragged, the music gets louder.