A history of Britain

A history of Britain - documentary

Each programme/film had its own audio effects, and I have detailed notes on them for periods of time in the programme/film that I watched. They are listed here below in this case for the documentary 'A history of Britain'.

To start with there is a violin which is a non-diegetic score, followed by a voice over to begin. A soundtrack can then be heard with an aggressive Scottish tone, telling us where the setting is. There are waves crashing, and there is an echo to show empty space, again designed to show the setting. The crashing waves are dramatic and symbolise the natural, rugged British coastline. This is followed by a posh tone, horses running, and screaming in the soundtrack to demonstrate signs of war and conflict. Telling us the type of programme. All of a sudden there is a sting, and near silence at the start of intro to grab the audience's attention. Then there is a loud sting for the beginning of the intro to show a change in the scene. There is then the use of drums, a harp, a rocky shaking to the soundtrack, and a sting for drama. These dramatic changes in tone are added for effect, and this creates a scary soundtrack. There are also spikes in the tone, and a tinkling to make it sound eerie. Then there are birds chirping to blend into soundtrack and there is the use of a voice over. To finish of there is chanting and a moment of silence with a voice over again (but no soundtrack). As this is a documentary the use of formal voice over is expected in order to give the audience information. This will usually be the voice of an older, serious person with an authoritative or warm tone.