The New Sound of Film

By Lisa Horan

Today’s motion pictures aren’t just a feast for the eyes, they’re also a technologically-advanced sound haven, enticing audiences to actively participate in what they're seeing. (If you’ve seen blockbusters like Transformers or Lord of the Rings, you know just what we’re talking about.)It’s hard to imagine how the sound quality could get any better. And we’re not talking about the soundtrack itself, but rather the sound design – all of the non-compositional elements of a film that deal with sound, such as synchronous and asynchronous sound effects, dialogue, and background music. But the latest trends in sound design aren’t limited to live action films. They can just as easily be applied to video. Here are the top 5 ways video producers can incorporate Hollywood sound design trends into their projects.

1. Incorporate sound design from the beginning of the process.

In major motion pictures, sound design starts during pre-production planning, continues on location, and is completed in post-production. Even though video producers may not enjoy the lofty budgets of the Hollywood elite, they can still take a similar approach. It doesn’t cost anything to plan for sound design at the beginning of a project by considering how it will be incorporated, how the different elements will work together, and how it can create a positive impact. (It most likely will cost, however, if planning is skipped and sound design is left to be contended with during post.) Don’t think of a sound designer as an editor, but as an artist who helps place an important sonic stamp on a production’s soundtrack.

2. Listen with a critical ear.

The demand for high quality sound that will be reproduced has become more common than ever before, as a result of the multiple distribution outlets available, from Blueray to DVD, Internet to iPod. That said, producers should consider how the sonic components of their video will translate in a variety of distribution formats. By determining possible distribution outlets for your project, you can help your sound designer best understand the sonic characteristics and fidelity issues that need to be addressed. You never know; the audio portion of your video may be turned into an mp3 that audiences can download to their iPod. The last thing you want is poor audio and unwanted artifacts, so be sure to look beyond the obvious.

3. Consider how the sound will define how an audience reacts to picture.

You can bet that Hollywood film producers are contemplating just exactly how the sound of their film will best communicate, accentuate, and support the storyline of their picture. You should take the same approach, whether your project is a documentary, an episode for a TV series, an educational video, or a web interactive. Sound design can help to reinforce the meaning of a particular scene and how you want the audience to think and feel about it. The way motion picture sound designers achieve this is reviewing the script, actions, and environment in which the scene takes place and making decisions about what sound effects may aid that scene. These sound effects may be obtained from libraries, they may be custom-created, recreated, or created through Foley, depending on the specific requirements.

4. Use sound effects. Period.

The use of sound effects in film and TV has increased significantly over the years. Many TV series, like “CSI” and “24”, for instance, utilize “film-style” sound editing and sound design elements. For almost any project, sound effects and music can be an effective way to achieve the following: break the screen plane, define space, focus attention, establish locale, create environment, emphasize and intensify action, depict identity, set pace, provide counterpoint, create humor, symbolize meaning, and unify transitions with picture. All of these things are essential and can be accomplished regardless of budget.

5. Consider technologically-advanced screening formats.

Many of today’s theaters use modern surround sound systems for playback, and new technology is constantly being introduced. (In James Cameron’s upcoming release, Avatar, for instance, IMAX 3-D and Dolby 3-D offer new ways to deliver sound that creates an “in your face” experience. And this type of technology is not exclusive to movie theaters. Museum auditoriums, corporation multimedia rooms, media centers at educational institutions, and a variety of other facilities have caught the high-tech audio bug, putting an end to mono setups and ushering in a new era of high def playback with full surround, or, at the very least, stereo setups. What that means to you, as a video producer, is that you’ll need to consider how the audio of your piece is going to sound being played back on such a system. If it’s not mixed with these considerations in mind, it could spell disaster, so be sure to discuss options with your sound designer or mixing engineer.

For more information, contact Lisa Horan at lisah@lisahoran.com.

Visit www.lisahoranwriting or www.lisahoran.com.