Soundtracks often carry a movie. Because they can provide a continuous ground (whereas image tracks are edited), they can hide a multitude of cutting-room errors.

• Any one of the movies we’ve watched so far

30 minutes

To see how the soundtrack welds a film together, re-watch part of any one of the movies we’ve viewed so far—but this time with the sound off. Then, try the same thing with your favorite television sitcom. This is also a great way to study editing.

After you’ve done that, let’s extend this experiment in psychological concentration: with the sound still off, watch the film (or the sitcom) and purposely look away from the on-screen speaker. Look at the other people in the shot, not at the focus of attention.

1. How would you describe the difference between viewing something with sound and picture and viewing something with picture only?
2. Did you notice any differences between the editing of the class film and the editing of the sitcom?
3. When you tried the second part of this experiment, what did you notice that you hadn’t seen before?