A Study of Sound Aesthetics in Screenplays of Asghar Farhadi Based on Michel Chion’s Theories

The atmosphere created in a screenplay, how the screenwriter presents it, and how the reader perceives it are some of the most fundamental topics in studying the aesthetics of screenwriting, a significant part of which is writing audio descriptions. This paper discusses one of the most critical and necessary foundations of screenwriting creating the auditory atmosphere of the film in eight notable screenplays of Farhadi’s films based on Michel Chion’s theory with an emphasis on the elements of voice over, acousmatic, acousmetre, music and sound effects, and ambience. This theory deals with materialised signs of sound, which are the details that make us feel the tangible presence of the sound and also know what kind they are, and what the surplus-value is that the auditory atmosphere could never have had without being written down.


Introduction
One of the main principles of aesthetics in the study of dramatic literature, especially screenplays, is the atmosphere and methods with which it is created. The art and mastery of a screenwriter lie in building an understandable atmosphere, while the difference between screenwriters is undoubtedly in how they use and present expressive tools in writing a script. The written material is divided into the visible atmosphere and invisible atmosphere (outside the frame). The screenplay is an independent part and should be composed in details and with specific writing devices. As much as the script needs to be visualised in writing, the auditory atmosphere should also be tangible and understandable. In addition to dealing with all the other necessary steps, the screenwriter, as the creator of the dramatic work, examines the auditory atmosphere separately and writes down its dramatic functions. That is why classical cinema was limited to the space inside the frame, showing the viewer only the realm of the image inside the screen. However, leading screenwriters and filmmakers sought to deconstruct established principles to create a new perspective in the contemporary era. They have exceeded the visible boundaries in favour of testing and developing new perspectives. Furthermore, they have consciously used these atmospheres in their works according to the invisible spaces. This research will study the details in writing the auditory atmosphere in Asghar Farhadi's selected works based on Michel Chion's theories.

Biography of Asghar Farhadi
Asghar Farhadi is an Iranian screenwriter and filmmaker who has received two Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film for A Separation and Salesman. Farhadi has a realistic style in filmmaking. In his screenplays, he carefully arranges everything to leads us to discover the truth to the degree that he does not even overlook minor elements.

Biography of Michel Chion
Born in 1947 in Creil, France, he is an experimental composer currently holding the post of an Associate Professor at the University of Paris III, Sorbonne Nouvelle, where he is a theoretician and teacher of audio-visual relationships. He has also written several books on film sound and the interaction between sound and image, which critics considered in 1990 to be the definitive book on the relationship between sound and image.

The dilemma of writing sound in the script
Writing sounds in a script helps to improve the comprehensible atmosphere. Since it is crucial to write all the aesthetic details in a screenplay to visualise it properly, it will be vital to pay attention to the auditory details to make the visualised text hearable. Sound placement and writing them precisely will help tremendously in creating this atmosphere. Since books and articles have dealt more with sound after the script is written, not many sources are available. But what is clear is that many writers and filmmakers have consciously recorded and written sound in its various natures.

The Atmosphere and Ambient Sounds
Ambient sound surrounds the scene and occupies the space, like the sound of a forest or a street. It can also be called a regional sound because its inclusive and constant presence helps identify a specific environment and region. In addition to increasing realism, they can also be used to influence emotions.

On-Screen Sounds, Off-Screen Sounds
In a limited sense and concerning what is displayed in a shot, an off-screen sound is an acousmatic sound, e.g. a sound whose source is -wholly or temporarily -invisible. On the other hand, the source of an on-screen sound is visible and belongs to the reality in which it is represented. Michel Chion uses the term non-diegetic sound to identify its tentative source, which is absent in the shot and contradicts the fictional world. A typical non-digestive example is an off-screen dialogue and narration and, of course, musical emphasis (Chion 2017: 42).

Acousmetre
An acousmetre is an acousmatic character with a certain ambiguous and unstable relationship to the image. We can define it as something that is neither inside nor outside the frame. It is not in the image because the source of sound -the body, the mouthis not in the frame (Chion, 2017: 80). It is not out of the frame either because it does not take an imaginary and hypothetical side, like a moderator or a witness. It is somewhat implicit in the action on the verge of becoming part of the action any minute. It, therefore, can immediately be robbed of its mysterious powers (all-seeing, omniscience, absolute power of influence, omnipresence). At this point, simultaneousness makes the sound realise that it has been limited to a specific body, or in technical terms, has been de-acousmatized. De-acousmatization has a revealing process that is undoubtedly dramatic. (Chion 2017: 30)

Diegetic Sounds
The sounds produced electronically on the scene are called diegetic sounds -sounds that play on the radio, telephone, tape recorder, etc.

Dancing in the Dust
Short synopsis: Nazar, in his early twenties, meets his future wife, Reyhaneh, in a minibus ride. They get married, but because there are rumours about Reyhaneh's mother, he is forced to divorce Reyhaneh. To escape from creditors who are after him, he has to share a journey with the old snake hunter. The old man does not want him there at first, but after a poisonous snake bites the young man, he cuts off the snake-bitten finger, takes Nazar to the hospital, and sells his car to pay for the operation.

{Diegetic sound}
The shot begins with a cassette player that is also a disco light. Nazar's finger enters the frame and presses the play button. Song The old man is still calmly blowing the opium smoke towards the snake. The snake came out of the hole but suddenly escaped back when Nazar runs down to this side of the hill shouting and calling the old man.

(Farhadi 2014, 44) {Off-screen sound}
The old man is pouring oil into the frying pan, pretending he does not hear Nazar. The sizzling sound of oil in the frying pan. (Farhadi 2014, 46) {Off-screen sound} The old man puts on a song, switches the engine, and then lies on a mattress at the back of the car. The old man's favourite song is playing on the car's cassette player (Farhadi 2014, 83). {Diegetic sound, off-screen sound}

The Beautiful City
Short synopsis: At a juvenile detention centre, a group of teenagers led by A'la gather to celebrate Akbar's 18th birthday. Akbar is on the death line for murdering a girl two years ago, and now is the time for his execution. A'la and Akbar's sister (Firoozeh) persistently try to gain the plaintiff's consent (Abolghasem, the victim's father). The reluctant father goes to court to speed up the execution, but they tell him he must wait and prepare the blood money for taking Akbar's life. Abolghasem does not afford it, so he tries to finance it from the local mosque, but no one is willing to sign the required testimony.
Meanwhile, Firoozeh -separated from her addicted husband -and A'la fall in love in the course of the film. Abolghasem's wife, who prefers to take her deceased daughter's blood money to spend it on her disabled daughter's treatment, asks Abolghasem to consent. But now, Firoozeh is the one who cannot afford the blood money to pay for his brother's release. After consulting with her brother, Abolghasem's wife lays down one condition to forget about the blood money: A'la, who seems like a capable young man, should marry her disabled daughter. She tells Firoozeh about this condition and asks her to arrange this marriage. A'la, who does not know about the condition yet, tells Firoozeh that he intends to provide the blood money in any way possible, but Firoozeh bitterly opposes the idea. When A'la knows about Abolghasem's family's intentions, he asks Firoozeh to make the final decision. Firoozeh pretends that she does not love A'la. The social workers of the detention centre are also not able to dissuade Abolghasem about his condition. A'la goes back to Firoozeh, but she does not open the door to him.
The noise of the young crowd comes from the yard of the detention centre. (Farhadi 2014, 87) {Off-screen sound, ambient sound} Akbar hears A'la, who came here to see him.

Fireworks Wednesday
Short synopsis: The New Year is coming, and everybody is busy with spring cleaning. A newly engaged young housekeeper (Roohangiz or Roohi) goes to the flat of a middle-class family on Fireworks Wednesday. The tense and sad mood prevailed in the house goes hand in hand with the boisterous Fireworks Wednesday to create a stressful and fragile atmosphere. Mozhde, the housewife, who is wearing all black, looks nervous. She suspects that her husband is having an affair with a neighbour causing their marriage to fall apart. In the end, the woman seems to forgive her husband, and they make reconciliation before the New Year. However, the characters of this story will continue to be lonely and distant.
The only thing that breaks the silence of the winter is the voices of those who talk and laugh. We hear the woman's voice from the next door, the same voice we heard before, through the door phone. (Farhadi 2014, 182) {Off-screen sound,

{Off-screen sound}
Simin walks towards the door and turns down the music. (Farhadi 2014, 193) {Diegetic sound, Off-screen sound} The sound of closing the toilet door and a little later Mozhde's doorbell ringing. (Farhadi 2014, 199) {Off-screen sound} Roohi closes her eyes and listens to the different sounds of the city. (Farhadi 2014, 202) {Off-screen sound} The plane's sound is still coming from afar, and then we hear the sound of closing the main door. The sound of the aircraft taking off. (Farhadi 2014, 202) {Off-screen sound} The noise of the children comes from the yard.

About Eli
Short synopsis: The film tells the story of a couple of friends who travel to the north to spend their holidays. Ahmad is back in Iran after living many years in Germany, and now his friends are trying to find a proper wife for him. That is why Sepideh invited a kindergarten teacher (Eli) to join them. But after Eli disappears on the beach, the story turns into a tragedy. Everyone starts to blame the others, and when Eli's fiancé arrives, they try to persuade Sepideh to paint a negative image of Eli for him.
The sound of flowing traffic comes from inside a charity box installed on the roadside. The sound of the crowded square, vendors, passers-by and passengers waiting for a taxi. (Farhadi 2014, 434) {Off-screen sound, ambient sound} The sound of a car comes from outside the villa. Everyone comes to the window. (Farhadi 2014, 441) {Off-screen sound} The sound of Alireza and others opening the door and entering the living room. (Farhadi 2014, 454).

A Separation
Short Synopsis: Simin is ready to migrate from Iran with her husband, Nader, and their daughter, Termeh. But Nader does not want to leave his father, who has Alzheimer, alone. As a result, Simin files for divorce, but the court rejects her request to have custody of their daughter, so Termeh has to return to her father's house. To take care of his father, Nader hires a housekeeper (Razieh). Razieh, who is pregnant, accepted the job without telling her husband (Hodjat) about it. One day, Nader returns home to find his father on the ground with his hands tied to the bed with a scarf and left alone. When Razieh returns, a fierce fight ensues, the consequences of which not only ruin Nader's life but also change his daughter's image of him. Razieh is taken to the hospital due to a miscarriage. She and her husband sue Nader for killing the fetus. Simin and Nader separate, and now Termeh has to decide to choose to live with one of her parents.
The door is open, and the clients' voices and the corridors' noise come from the next room.

Conclusion
Asghar Farhadi uses screenplay and its elements as a tool for narrating his subjective world. The sound has a special place in his works, a position derived from emotional emphases and the creation of narratives characteristic of his style. By examining Michel Chion's theories in Farhadi's works and applying these theories to his films, we can conclude that Farhadi, knowing the role of sound and its elements, uses it precisely in writing his screenplays. The use of sound in his works complements the visualised text and creates a dramatic situation in each scene.
Farhadi uses off-screen sound in his works to develop an emphatic atmosphere for the events of the scene. Farhadi uses natural ambient sounds to present a real world based on his style.
Other features of writing sound in Asghar Farhadi's screenplays include making the location understandable for the sound crew so that they can choose the proper technical tools and give the sound designers and mixers a variety of selections to design the most suitable audio space even before the production begins.

Bibliography
Articles: