During this scene from SE03EP10 of AMC show Breaking Bad created by Vince Gilligan, protagonist Walter White is trying to solve a minor difference in the accounts. A buzzing house fly in the lab grab Walt’s attention and he tries various methods to kill the fly until he falls from a significant height. The episode itself is named ‘The Fly’ and in my opinion, the fly is a metaphoric representation of Walt’s unconscious mind which makes him insecure.
The scene has no non-diegetic sounds and music. Walt’s lab is situated in an industrial laundry hence we hear many laundry sounds. The silence inside the lab is achieved by making us hear the minor sounds such as scratching of the forehead. In the initial part of the scene a clever sound placement is done when the fly lands on Walt’s paper. Diegetic sound of a machine whirring outside the lab, begins right before camera shifts the focus from the fly to Walt. This establishes that some thought/fear has started growing inside Walt’s mind. The whirring sound continues to be louder until Walt smacks the fly down on the table. When he removes his hand from the paper, we see the fly has escaped. The whirring sound works as a vectorization that leads to a point of synchronization at first, until it is revealed to be a false point of synchronization. The whirring sound does not stop and so Walt’s obsession with the fly.
Immediately after this, we hear the fly coming near the screen even before the camera shows it to us. This is point of audition and it is used throughout the scene as the fly flies in various directions. I consider this as a good example of how sound can reveal story beats before the visual. The point of audition in this scene plays a significant role of letting the viewer know in which direction the fly is headed. The viewer can completely focus on Walt’s actions instead of figuring out where the fly is. Furthermore, as the chase progresses, we hear a variety of diegetic sounds such as the clipboard swing against the air, the clipboard hitting on steel pipes and barrels, Walt’s head hitting at a metal rod, glass shattering on ground and more.
Walt successfully throws his shoe down which was stuck in a light. He exhales the next moment and immediately we hear the fly buzz from right to left and lands on a railing. Walt loses his balance while attempting to hit the fly with a broom and falls. Sounds of his grunts, cough and deep exhalations are louder until the fly buzzes from some part of the lab and lands on his lens. The low laundry sounds continue in the background, but Walt’s exhalation, grunts are not audible. Visually, extreme close-up of Walt’s eye is bigger in proportion compared to the small fly that lands on his lens; but sonically, the sound of the fly brushing its forelegs while on top of Walt’s lens, is closer to our ears. In other words, the idea of the fly dominating Walt is established sonically.
In sum, this scene is a great example how diegetic sounds can create the effect of character’s feelings, change in moods and behavior, that is generally done by non-diegetic sounds. It also proves how telling a story sonically can contrast the visual storytelling in a scene yet convey the idea effectively.
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