Exam Question 1

Question: "Analyse how sound is used to create meaning. Refer to at least two example from the extract in your answer. 

Sound is used in several ways in cuffs, the main one being music. Faster-paced, dramatic and more intense music is used for more high-action and intense scenes. Some examples are: The opening when Ryan (Ashley Walters) is trying to deal with a situation on a nudist beach, the scene when Ryan and Jake are in a high-speed car pursuit of the van that stole the safe from a shop, when the Indian boy gets stabbed and when Jake, Ryan, Lino  and Donna are chasing and trying to arrest the Bulgarian woman who shoplifted. More relaxed and emotional are used for somewhat intimate and emotional scenes such as: When Jake is helping the man who self-harmed and the scene towards the end when it is showing what people's home lives are like. 

There are also examples of diegetic and non-diegetic sound used in Cuffs. There is diegetic sound; such as voices, radio chatter, police sirens and vehicle noises. Then there are examples of non-diegetic sound like: music and voice-overs. There is a voice-over used in the opening scene of the episode. It helps create a sense of irony as the police chief describes how being a police officer is a glorious and glamours job. However, the voice-over is being played over a scene where Ryan is struggling to handle a bunch of hooligans, harassing a man on a nudist beach. 

The many types of sound used create a sense of meaning and tell us what kind of scene it is, weather it is intense of emotional, and how we should be feeling.