Haha I also had a listening task out of 15 as well. Since you'll be hearing stuff, it's really important to use a lot of auditory techniques. Auditory techniques are generally quite simple and some very basic techniques such as the pitch of the speaker or the rhythm of non-diegetic music are more often than not okay to use. However, remember not to just focus purely on the auditory techniques - it's also important to analyse the actual words that the speaker is saying just like analysing a normal piece of written dialogue. For these 6 markers, make sure you structure it like a mini-essay (similar to the 5 marker in a Discovery paper). Have a nice thesis and have around 2 main ideas in which you can link the stimulus with. Length of the mini-essay will vary for every person depending on your writing speed and how big your handwriting is. For me, I was able to crack just around 3 pages but don't follow that as a strict number.
In terms of the 40 minute essay, you'll want to structure it just like your regular essay except you'll definitely want to chuck in references to the listening excerpt a lot (at least twice in each paragraph in my opinion) since the listening component seems to be the crux of your assessment. Just remember the acronym your teacher told you to use for writing essays (for example, my teacher used TEE [Technique - Example - Effect]).
Finally, remember to manage your time! This was something I wish I did during my listening task assessment. Set strict time limits for completing every question you do.
And also, idk if this helps, but some sound techniques I can think from the top of my head include:
• Diegetic sound:
- Ambient sounds and dialogue
Highly effective at creating a sense of place and the nature of events
Moves the story forward – emphasises events in the scene
Develops the audience’s sense of character – creates relationships and tensions.
• Non-diegetic sounds (music and voiceovers that the characters do not hear)
- Music
Interprets a feeling or sensation
Create or enhance audience’s understanding and empathy with a key character.
Echoes the nature of the place in which the film is set
Gives a sense of pace to the sequence
• Allows audience to move with the flow (climaxes/lulls).
• Lyrics can be used in some non-diegetic music to reflect themes of the film
Also remember that dialogue can be an important component to analyse. Focus on their accents, delivery and vocabulary.
Some other stuff to consider in terms of sound:
- Instrumentation
- Rhythm
- Tempo
- Volume
- Pitch
- Crescendo/Decrescendo
- Key Changes
- Parallel/Contrapuntal
Also, if you really want to impress your maker, use some of those really fancy Italian music terms.
Anyways good luck! Feel free to ask more help if you need anything else!
