Sound Design

.aa - week seven.

Randy Thom's article "Designing a Movie for Sound" has plenty of interesting thoughts about creating audio for a film. Many of his techniques and ideas are now well established in the field, however it is great to read an experienced expert go over some of the basics. I found his comments on the way all aspects of the sound design for a film should be formulated and woven together particularly pertinent:


"Sound, musical and otherwise, has value when it is part of a continuum, when it changes over time, has dynamics, and resonates with other sound and with other sensory
experiences." (Thom, 1999).

In a way this reminds me of the method with which most composers would work - not just sound designer's for film. All aspects of sound in a film must be considered a part of the overall composition. For example, character dialogue, 'foley' and sound effects become a part of the instrumentation in a high-quality piece of sound design.

.sources.

Harrald, Luke 09.09.08, “Designing a Movie for Sound,” Lecture of EMU, Adelaide University.

Thom, Randy 199, "Designing a Movie for Sound," FilmSound.org.

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