Are Sound Effects Truly Relevant In The Filmmaking Process?
The golden days of filmmaking, the decades between 1930 and 1960, left several important lessons about sound effects. Personalities like Jack Benny and Orson Welles left behind a vast compilation of sound effect techniques and developments that are still popular today.
Sound effects artists, when it comes to studio recording, live performances, and even lectures and workshops, have at hand a myriad of sound effects. Today’s tools allow sound effect artists to play a sheer array of manual sound effects over electronic sampler keyboards; however, the use of this technology often depends on the nature of the project they are currently working on. Nonetheless, one thing is clear: the use of sound effects and manual sound effects is key, especially in the filmmaking industry.
In the past, manual sound effects were just among several other options. Some sounds, of course, were much easier to get and produce: think of cars, planes, and nature; but, today, when it comes to these sounds, a lot of their character is how sound effects artists manipulate the object in question. Such assertion is what has encouraged sound effect artists and audio professionals to do a lot of experimentation, as getting the desired sound is no easy task.
Are Sound Effects Really Indispensable?
The short answer to this question would be: it depends. It depends on the nature of the project. However, and as mentioned above, the manipulation of certain sounds allow filmmakers and audiovisual project directs to tell their stories in a better way. Think of dramas, for example, a well-carried out sound production, including sound effects, enhances the storytelling.
That said, sound effects are pivotal for storytelling purposes; however, compared with other formats such as radio, where dialogue represents practically 75% of the drama, then they don’t seem to be that pivotal. But if we’re talking about a sci-fi film, that’s something entirely different.
In films, irrespective of their nature or genre, sound effects add realism to the action happening in the moving images. If we were talking about another format; if we were to go back to radio, a misplaced sound effect would not have the same effect it has in the film industry.
Sound Effects And Video Quality
As mentioned above, a misplaced sound effect or a poorly developed sound effect can ruin any production just as much poor sound would. Understanding that sound, especially high quality sounds in films and video games are as important and the quality of the moving images is key. How many times have you rated a movie, either negatively or positively, simply because of the audio? Or how many time the correct manipulation of the sounds present in a film determined your reaction to it?
In fact, the presence of sound effects and the correct manipulation of sound is what ultimately allows audiences to digest the moving images they are watching. So, are sound effects as important as the quality of the video? Yes, they are. Although many film formats like documentaries focus more on making sure the audio matches the story being told and not that much on including sound effects, it is undeniable that even the slightest manipulation of any sound element contributes to the storytelling.
Sound Effects And The Film Industry
Today’s films are often produced using at least three different types of sounds: human-made sounds, like voices, music, and sound effects. All of them interact with each other throughout the film to allow audiences to understand the realistic aspect they expect to recognize in the moving images.
If we were to deconstruct how these sounds interact with each other, there are several examples that will allow you to understand this much clearer: dialogue, mouth movement, and the sound of that dialogue must be in sync, but not only that: both elements should also match the actions being projected to ensure realism. If a specific sound doesn’t match what is going on on screen, the realistic component is gone and, therefore, the action is not believable at all.
Today there are high-quality libraries with a sheer array of realistic sounds for sound effects artist to work with. Thus, it is much easier to achieve the desired effect of a series of moving images or a specific scene without entering in the complexities of the golden era. Now, thanks to the latest developments in sound effects, digital audio workstations, keyboard samplers, and software, every audio and sound professional has at hand many ways to tell a story in a realistic way: a subtle increase in someone’s voice level, a minor reduction in someone’s breath, a much more squeaking floor, the inclusion of low-pitch musical notes, a repetitive click and the inclusion of repetitive notes, etc., are examples of how by manipulating the present sound elements in a film, its story becomes more digestible to audiences.
