Sound Exercise

Opening scene of City of God (2002) directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund

In the beginning of the sequence (which is the beginning of the film) we’re introduced to up beat, Brazilian music as well as the sound of knife being sharpened. The combination of the two creates a sense of rhythm and tempo which immediately gets the viewer interested. The quick cuts of visuals while the music and background sound remains constant adds intensity to the scene and vectorizes the sequence since we know the music builds up to something, in this case, the chase of the chicken. The compressed combination of background music, soundtrack (which acts as though it’s diegetic) and the quick dialogue  between characters fuels the speed of sound and builds up emotions within the viewer. Sound is important in this scene as it’s used as a motif to create chaos and dimension within a simple chicken chase that symbolises and foreshadows the rest of the film.