PRINCIPLES OF SOUND DESIGN

Sound Design

the expressive use of sound throughout a film in relation to its images and the contents of its narrative

the “sound designer” executes this design, which became the name for this job during the production of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979).

Walter Murch’s brilliant work on that film elicited the credit for that term

Basic types of sound

Realistic sound – derived from actual sources (footsteps, voices, cars, etc.)

Synthetic sound – invented and have no counterpart in real life (light sabers in Star Wars, for example)

Characteristics of Sound Direct sound – sound that comes

immediately from the source (spoken directly into the microphone)

Reflected sound – sound that is first reflected off surrounding surfaces in the environment to produce a slight reverberation. Does not come directly to the microphone

Ambient sound – generalized noises in the recording environment (plane flying overhead, for example)

Codes of Sound Design 1) The Sound

Hierarchy- Dialogue – most important- Music – 2nd - Sound Effects – third

Robert Altman’s Nashville (1975) plays with this hierarchy

Codes of Sound Design

2) Sound Perspective- Sound that embodies the properties of the physical spaces seen on screen- use of sound to convey information about physical space- often, but not always, correlates with visual perspective (long shot = sound farther away from audience)

Codes of Sound Design 3) Synchronous and

Nonsynchronous Sound- Synchronous – matched with a clear source on screen- Non – does not match with any source

Codes of Sound Design 4) Sound Bridge

- dialogue or sound effects are laid across, or bridge, two or more shots or scenes- shift of synchronous and non-synchronous in a way that establishes unities of action and time across the edit

Alternative Sound Bridge- Switch to non-synchronous occurs

before the cut, rather than after it- The Graduate (1967)

Codes of Sound Design 5) Off-screen Sound

Space- the area just beyond the frame of the line whose existence is defined through sound- non-synchronous- Jackie Brown (1997)

Check out how off-screen sound space is manipulated in this clip

Codes of Sound Design

6) Sound Montage- editing of sounds into highly intricate and complex patterns that create meaning and emotion- Apocalypse Now (1979)

Types of Sound (more specific) 1) Dialogue – characters speaking

- Voice over narration – monologue that accompanies images that may or may not be delivered by someone on screen

ADR – Automated Dialogue Replacement actors dubbing dialogue in post-production

- Character Speech - Consistent with characters- Hamlet (1996) vs. Any Given Sunday (1999)

Types of Sound (more specific) 2) Sound Effects

- Falls into one of two categories:- Effects design – creative

manipulation of sound sources (layering sounds in instead of a direct, live recording)

- Foley technique – direct recording of live sound effects that are performed in synchronization with the picture after filming is complete

Types of Sound (more specific) 3) Movie Music

- Has always been a part of film, dating back to silent film era, however not original music was used- used to follow action on screen and to illustrate a character’s emotions

Movie Music The process:

- spotting, preparing a cue sheet, composing, performance and recording, mixing

- A composer will create the score using a copy of the film with a digital time code

- Perform the score in conjunction with viewing the film

- Mixing involves layering all aspects of the film’s sound design

Movie Music FUNCTIONS OF MOVIE MUSIC:

1) Setting the scene (using authentic instruments particular to a certain locale)2) Adding emotional meaning 3) Background filler4) Creating continuity (use of a leitmotif, a musical label that is assigned to a character, a place, an idea, or an emotion)5) Emphasizing climaxes

Contemporary Movie Music The debate rages over the use of contemporary pop

music vs. traditional symphonic soundtrack Forrest Gump (1994) and Natural Born Killers (1994)

vs. The Dark Knight (2008) and Star Trek (2009). Robin Hood: Prince of Theives (1991) – “Everything I

Do…”