Wednesday, 13 February 2013

American Dream


The American dream is the idea that all people living in America have the right to freedom, opportunity and success. It is believed that all of this can be achieved through hard work and that everyone is equal regardless of circumstances of birth or social demographic. For a lot of immigrants the Statue of Liberty was one of the first parts of America that was seen so it is considered a symbol of the American dream as it represents freedom and new opportunities. The American dream is also associated with the "four dreams of consumerism" which are "The dream of freedom of choice" which means with all of the material goods available to American people they are allowed to consume whatever they please, "The dream of abundance" this is the large amount of material items offered to Americans that are available for choice, "The dream of a democracy of goods" which is that everybody has access to the same goods regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or social class, and "The dream of novelty" which is that with tastes, preferences, styles and fashion always changing this will enhance the consumers experience.

Sunday, 10 February 2013

Sound Terms


Pleonastic- Sound which is heightened to create fear, tension, excitement etc

Ambient- Background sounds which are present in the scene e.g. animals, people, weather etc

Selective- Sound which is used to place emphasis on certain things in a scene 

Sound Bridge - At the beginning of a new scene the sound is carried over from the end of the old scene


Sound Effects – Sounds which are used to make a psychological impact or place emphasis on certain things in a scene

Score – Music which is played during a scene which can create a certain mood, link two scenes or help add to the plot

Silence – Used to create suspense or get some sort of reaction from the audience

Theme music – Music which is played throughout the movie and is used to develop the narrative and match the theme of the movie

Voice over – The voice of a character which is used to guide or inform the audience but can also mislead them

Synchronous – When a sound matches an action or event on screen and can be used to emphasize it

Asynchronous – When a sound or music does not come from the diegetic reality of the movie

Contrapuntal – Sound which does not match with what is happening on screen and is used to create a different meaning 

Diegetic - Sound which is the source is currently coming from someone or something on screen e.g. Characters speaking

Non-Diegetic - Sound which the source does not come from something that is happening on screen e.g. Naration