Sound Design, Atmospheres, And Stories
Every audiovisual project is composed of a fusion of different elements: sound elements, visual elements, music elements, acting, voices, and more — an amalgamation of sound elements. Every scene is composed of a combination of sounds that serve as the framework within which producers, filmmakers, and directors strive to create the desired atmosphere.
Every project, even during its early stages and irrespective of its nature, always orbit sound. Sounds are always carefully introduced in order for them to tell the story and represent what is happening during the moving images — what kind of actions the performers and the project’s characters are engaging in, what does that specific situation is about, and where does the action take place.
Atmospheres
Sound design is all about creating enticing atmospheres. Given that a myriad of nuances is always included during the sound design process, the necessity for producers and filmmakers to understand the material they are dealing with remains. An ideal way for them — producers, filmmakers, directors, etc. — to start crafting the sound design for an audiovisual production is by actually going through the script, trying to envision the nature of every scene.
Thus, out of the pool of sound aspects that appear in films, which are not as appreciated as they should be, such as background, these receive a much brighter connotation aside from the traditional action. This is a much wiser way to approach the first sound design conversations and atmospheres that pertain to every scene.
Music And Dialogue
Music and dialogue are undoubtedly pivotal elements for creating a compelling film or audiovisual project. These aspects traditionally come to mind way before even thinking about sound design. And although these are truly vital in providing the plot with the guidance it needs, they also remain as the most obvious elements in sound design. Given the fact that every scene comes with its own needs sound-wise, dialogue and music require a subtle manipulation to make them feel real and organic alongside the other sound effect tracks.
Background and other atmospheric sounds such as nature noises drive the plot and allow viewers to understand what is going on, and where such scene is taking place. Traditionally, these sounds are perceived, initially, by the subconscious as they are repetitive; however, their importance is no less than essential.
If both background and other atmospheric noises were removed from films, scenes would end up feeling unfamiliar — viewers would feel the lack of naturalness and realism. Scenes taking place in windy forests, for example, always include the sound of birds, animals, the wind, of course, etc., whereas scenes taking place in crowded streets resort to different backgrounds sounds: sirens, people coming and going, engines, and so on. Both are basic examples of how the inclusion of background sounds can shape a scene.
The Sound of Action
The previous paragraphs mention at a very high-level how sound is meant to interact at a subconscious level, but how can sound also help viewers understand what the characters are doing in a particular scene? Here is where the use of action sounds comes in.
When we speak about action sounds, we are talking about a more specific group of sounds, like those we hear when characters grab something or the noise we hear when characters interact with other inanimate objects, or even their clothing when they move. Every time a scene depicts a physical confrontation, sound designers need to pay special attention and include the sound of impacts, punches, clothing being torn or ripped, and more. Sound designers actually spend a lot of time trying to figure out which sounds seem to be a better fit to clearly make the scene feel real. During this kind of scenes, it is common to hear some sounds louder than others. This is done in order for the viewers to perceive the action in a more realistic way.
This same principle applies to other interactions, such as the interactions characters have with inanimate objects as mentioned above. If a character is manipulating something made of metal, like a wrench, sound designers need to add that sound to the moving images by recording, and subsequently adding the sound of a person manipulating the same object, or at least one similar.
The exact process happens when individuals in a film use mobile phones or computers — we see and hear keys being pressed and mobile phone beeping as they text. These sounds that are so familiar to us that we normally don’t pay attention to them in real life; however, by adding them into a particular scene, viewers end up being driven by these subtle storytelling components. Atmospheres and storytelling in films are achieved by not only paying attention to what is obvious but also by focusing on the subtle narrative and its aspects.
