Sound. Sound is an aspect of my studies so far that I thought would not interest me much.
I was so wrong!
All the way back in EMT, I dreaded making the sound pieces – I was scared. Scared they would be boring, that they would be tacky and uninteresting, but when I finally just buckled down and did it (a practice I am working really hard to bring to all of my subjects) I found it very enjoyable.
I find a depth in sound that I do not in the image. There is great power in the ability to layer and be creative – driving emotions from music, SFX, tone and pace.
Maybe I am more of an auditory personality type, I always used to be exactly equal visual to audio on those self-help style learning quizzes, but I’ve found an interest in sound that I never thought existed. It’s not channelled to music, but the overall power of the soundscape.
It probably also has something to do with the possibility of adding in sounds that aren’t in the image. Sounds that are abstract can still exist in a film and add to the overall thematic experience.
And now, there’s something amazing about really listening to sound on TV & film, since it was pointed out in the lecture that multiple tracks are recorded for all the things going on in scenes. I really enjoy dissecting the on-screen sound.
Does this mean the definition of diegetic sound changes?
I will never forget in one of the earliest episodes of Offspring, Nina is paying for her parking ticket (in the carpark at Victoria Gardens) and the sound of her ticket being ejected from the machine is not the noise that that machine makes. It is the distinct, and now extinct, sound of a Metcard ticket being validated on a tram.
That was an early example of noticing sound. Now, being more attuned and aware of the processes that go on, I can further deconstruct sound on-screen. It amazes me, the effort that goes in, and the richness of the final product.
jessjunor 