Mix Aalysis 2: Arrested Development

Arrested Development: Season 2, Episode 7: Switch Hitter

Scene 1: 0:20-1:20 Walking around house, discussing business and a softball game against a competitor.

Time                SFX 1                 SFX 2             Background                 Music              Dialogue           
0:20                                                                    Outside noise, wind                              Narration
0:23                                                                    Inside house            Music begins, upbeat
0:26                                                                                                                                 Dialogue begins
0:36               Knock on wood
0:37             Frame collapses  Speaker falls and crashes
0:40                                                                     TV on                                            Narration Resumes  
0:45       Pipe smashes into face, crunch sound
0:46                                                                      Foley on footsteps                       Dialogue Continues
0:48         putting things on counter     
0:50         Cups colliding
1:10                                                                  Dishes being organized
1:20              Fridge slammed


Scene 2: 18:10-19:10 At the softball game
Time            SFX 1                SFX 2               Background                 Music                   Dialogue
18:10                                                               Umpire yelling          Same music as       Narration
                                                                                                             intro scene 
18:13            Ball hitting glove                Spectator voices, park sounds
18:15            Ball hitting person softly          Umpire talking more
18:25           Swing of a bat                                                                                               "strike"
18:28                                                                                                                                Jeering
18:30                                                                                                                                "Time out"
18:31                                                                                                                                Dialogue
18:45                                                                                        Different music track plays
18:50                                                                                                                          Narration continues
19:08         Bat hits ball                                     Cheering



Supervising Sound Editor: Frederick Howard
Also worked on: Austin Powers series, American History X

Sound Re-recording mixer: Gary Alexander
Also worked on: Big, Face/Off

I chose a comedy to examine this time and I've noticed a difference from this and the horror choice, the Walking Dead. Arrested Development is a comedy with a lot of different characters, so there demands more narration to fill the viewer in on what is happening. It's also dialogue heavy, since a lot of the humor of the show comes from the quirky characters. Among the talking is some physical comedy, so sound effects for things breaking or hitting people are needed. I think it's all mixed well, objects and environments match their settings, whether outdoors or inside. There was usually music in the background too, to keep it light. Horror uses minimal sound to direct attention and build tension and change pacing, but comedy uses a balance of sound to keep momentum going throughout. It sits in the middle of the spectrum, while action would use a lot of sound to stay at a very fast pace.