Tati Writing
Mon Uncle, Clip 6
(03:47-04:17)
Using clip 6 from Jacques Tati’s film, Mon Uncle, I feel the specific purpose of his sound-scape is to facilitate pace. Through the use of musical soundtracks, environmental sound effects, panning, duration, volume and intensity, Tati sets a pace for the world in motion, as well as the world in preparation. He blends them together through exchange of setting, and population within the environment of the frame.
The musical soundtrack sets the pace for our characters while in motion around the city. During the scene at the house, where the man is getting ready to leave, the tempo of the fluid motion is provided by other character interaction-based sound effects. For instance, the single, quick paced movement for every action made by the woman. All of the sounds collectively seem to tell a story without words, and stress the importance of timing, tempo, rhythm, and pattern.
One of the more interesting depictions of pace comes into play as the man starts to drive his car down the driveway, and the boy runs out of the house to catch up for a ride (03:47-04:17). As the car pulls down the driveway, into frame, the sound of the engine becomes more intense, and seemingly closer to the viewer. The man begins to reve his engine, implying the boy to hurry up; that he was already running late.
It paints a picture for the viewer, knowing the tempo of the world our characters are about to enter, and that cliché imagery of a child holding onto a schedule through procrastination. By watching the pace of the characters while getting ready for their day, we know they’re not urgent due to a state of emergency, but rather the urgency to be in the car, ready to take on the congestion of commuting. The sounds of the engine indicate this to the viewer without words.
The mother is the only character with the same repetitive sound for every action, movement, or emotion. It's a sound of moving, a sound of scuffling, a sound of doing, and at times, even her voice. She opens and shuts the door for the boy as he gets in, maintaining her “do it all” pace and trademark sounds. The revving of the engine continues, and takes on the essence of the mans voice yelling, “Hurry up!” The woman continues to squeak the car clean as it drives away. The sounds of the mother moving and cleaning continue as the car drives off into the distance. The engine bleeds out and we hear one more, squeaky clean, “do it all,” goodbye from the mother, waving goodbye, as if she saying the words while waving. There’s a slight silence, and then the musical soundtrack picks back up as our characters enter the hectic, constantly moving, world around them.
This section of the clip shows the “real time” tempo, as well as intended pace of our characters through the sound-scape. The growl of the father’s engine, the scuffle of the woman, franticly moving to get her husband and son on their way. Both of these examples transform the concept of pace into a dialogue form, which helps maintain the theme of preparation in our daily lives.
Through the entire length of Clip 6 the sounds suggest pace and timing in environmental space, as well as dialogue/character-like consistencies. By using sounds as more than just background noise, Tati tells a story involving tempo with purpose, surrounded by unspoken dialogue. The sounds aren’t present for creating a realistic environment, or realistic film experience, but rather telling the entire story. The sounds are the background noise, the environment, the people, the actions, the events, and the dialogue. It provides emotion, narrative and perspective, to the piece.
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