388 CHAPTER 9SOUND
not the sort of gimmicky sound that takes your
attention away from the story being told—“using
the technology to show off ”—but rather sound
used as an integral storytelling element.^1
As the success of action movies and 3-D ani-
mated features grows each year, sound and music
are playing a larger role in telling their stories. For
one thing, these movies are often visual spectacles
that require an equally spectacular sound track.
For another, they usually feature nonrealistic
heroes, whose characterization requires every
sound element—narration, dialogue, sound effects,
and music—to make them come alive. Sound has
played a very important role in helping to define
Harry Potter, Spider-Man, Shrek—in the series of
films devoted to them—or Woody and Buzz
Lightyear and their friends in the Toy Storymovies.
Likewise, where would such characters as James
Bond, Benjamin Button, Superman, Indiana Jones,
or Jamal Malik be without sound to establish their
worlds and adventures? Without a powerful sound
design that is an integral part of the movie’s artis-
tic vision, both the story and the characters would
be less fascinating.
Christopher Nolan’s Inception(2010) is a case
in point. As seems appropriate for a science-
fiction action movie about the creative powers of
the human mind—how our thoughts and dreams
create imaginary worlds—the story is complex and
intellectually challenging. And the sound design,
which shifts seamlessly between imagination and
reality, and our perceptions of them, is equally
caught up in its own intricacies. Richard King is
responsible for the memorable sound editing of
Inception and many other distinguished movies,
including War of the Worlds(2005; discussed later in
this chapter). His style produces sound that is multi -
layered and deeply textured, incorporating a bold
and aggressive mix of sounds and music that com-
plement the vivid visual and special effects. Virtually
all of the sounds were produced in the studio, includ-
ing the incredible sounds of the weapons, vehicles,
explosions, and scenes of destruction.What Is Sound?
The movies engage two senses: vision and hearing.
Although some viewers and even filmmakers assume
that the cinematographic image is paramount,
what we hear from the screen can be at least as sig-
nificant as what we see on it, and sometimes what
we hear is more significant. Director Steven Spiel-
berg says, “The eye sees better when the sound is
great.” Sound—talking, laughing, singing, music,
and the aural effects of objects and settings—can
be as expressive as any of the other narrative and
stylistic elements of cinematic form. What we hear
in a movie is often technologically more compli-
cated to produce than what we see. In fact, because
of the constant advances in digital technology, sound
may be the most intensively creative part of con-
temporary moviemaking. Spielberg, for one, has
also said that, since the 1970s, breakthroughs in
sound have been the movie industry’s most impor-
tant technical and creative innovations. He means
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be
able to
✔explain the assumptions influencing
contemporary sound design.
✔differentiate among sound recording,
sound editing, and sound mixing.
✔understand the perceptual characteristics
of sound: pitch, loudness, and quality.
✔name and define the principal sources of
film sound.
✔describe the difference between diegetic
and nondiegetic sound.
✔distinguish between the four major types
of film sound.
✔explain the functions of film sound.
✔describe how sound can call attention to
both the spatial and temporal dimensions
of a scene.
✔explain how sound helps to create meaning
in a movie.(^1) Rick Lyman, “A Director’s Journey into a Darkness of the
Heart,” New York Times(June 24, 2001), sec. 2, p. 24.