The beginning moments in Once Upon a Time in the West by Sergio Leone were some of the most captivating and entracing initial shots of a movie because of the sound effects. I kept on waiting for a sound to come, but they never did. Every noise that was made was done so at an unexpected time. which kept the viewers on their toes. I was constantine expecting something to happen with sound, so I was never bored, even though what was actually going on on the screen was not very exciting. I guess this proved the point that good film does not only come from a good plot/good shots (but it definitely helps).
The exercise we did in class going through students’ sounds they recorded and guessing what they were, make me appreciate the beginning of this film all the more. Sound is a very underrated and overlooked part of a film. Often people think that only what is seen is the important part, but sound is something that definitely should not be forgotten about.
I liked the discussion that came up in class that asked “is it cheating if you use a random sound in your film?” I personally do not think so, depending on the context. If it is possible to easily record the sound needed, then why not just record the real thing? If the sound needed is of a particular zebra at the zoo (very random example), then it would be acceptable to take an already recorded zebra noise if the zoo is very far away and hard to access. However, I do not think that using a random sound in film is always acceptable.
I agree fully, Sound is a very significant aspect in film and it brings more vividness into that art form that already has images. Sound can impact the film in many different ways and can have a difference to many different people in many different ways; therefore, we cannot really tell how significant something because like you said, it is all based on the context.