C) Sound

Non-diegetic sound is used at the start of the Opening Sequence of 'To kill a Mockingbird'. Non-diegetic sounds is when sounds is added to create a mood and / or feeling appropriate to the intended meaning of the scene. An example of this is at the start of the opening scene when we here Scout humming. This gives the feeling of a child like innocence, which we feel throughout the opening scene and is a main theme in the movie. Once this feeling is created through the humming of Scout it explains a lot about Scout herself. It makes us as the viewer now feel / know that Scout is an innocent little girl, and that she poses no threat / harm / worry for us as viewers. This then sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Another example of sound used in the opening sequence is the ticking of the pocket watch which he hear just before the music begins to play. The 'tick-tocking' of the pocket watch symbolizes Scouts innocence moving on through time and the changes that occur in the way she thinks / acts. 

With this very educated use of sound techniques we find that it is all linked to a larger idea. This larger idea is the theme of innocence which is also linked in with the main theme of racism / segregation between dark skinned people and white skinned people. These are the two main ideas  that the director is trying to get across to the audience / viewers. Through Scouts humming, like I have previously mentioned we feel a sort of child like innocence, however, if you ventured deeper into the exact sound of her hum, you can hear a little sound of unsureness. This unsureness sort of foreshadows the uneasiness which soon follows throughout the movie. The feeling of insecurity. However, as the viewer we do not focus on this because it is a negative thing and we want to feel safer, rather than unsure. So whilst the opening scenes sound techniques give us a feeling of security and child like innocence we can then view the whole movie through the eyes of a child / and through the way a child interprets things, people and situations. We get to see and experience this all through Scout, who is still only very young in this movie. I believe that the director has used sound techniques such as non-diegetic sound (Scouts Humming) throughout the opening scene to foreshadow / link it to the main ideas / themes of the movie itself. I believe he has done this in a very effective manor that most viewers would not consciously recognize, but subconsciously it tells us a lot about the movie and what we should be aware of; all done through the simple use of sound.