And not only is the technology continually evolving, the software used for Hollywood productions (where Avid’s ProTools rules) is different from the programs used for video games, the theater and other applications.
It’s de rigueur to be familiar with, if not an expert at, the digital audio workstation software the industry uses as well as the virtual instruments and effects that plug into it. They also tend to be technologically adept. Successful designers have a solid grounding in how sound is generated and shaped, the frequency ranges that different sounds occupy and other fundamentals of the science.
That’s why sound designers tend to be creative, imaginative people, not just technicians - or, as Bautista put it, people who have “a very experimental mind that’s willing to problem solve.”Īt the same time, there is a technical side to the job.
You have way more license than you think you do to play with sounds and stylize them and use unexpected elements to impart something emotional to them.” “You start thinking about tigers roaring, and lions, and maybe even heavy surf,” Thom said, adding, “What you learn fairly soon is that the audience’s ear is amazingly pliable, in terms of what they will be willing to accept as truth. A good sound designer then asks what can be layered into that sound that will be credible but also convey the essence of the character - say, that he’s wild and out of control. So if the car is a souped-up Ford Mustang, Thom said, you could certainly start with a recording of an actual souped-up Mustang. It’s who the gangster is, what kind of person he is and how he wants to be perceived. For example, he said, when you’re being asked by the director to come up with the sound for a gangster’s car, the most important information is not what kind of car it is. “One of the first things you have to teach yourself as a sound designer is to forget about the literal,” Thom said. It’s also finding a way to elicit the emotional response that a scene demands. But good sound design requires more than just the ability to re-create the creak of a door hinge or the bustle and clatter of a lunch counter. That’s something you can develop with practice and experience, the pros say. It almost goes without saying that the job requires an ear for detail, an ability to peel apart the layers of a complex sound. “Everything in sound is ear training in the end.” You’re listening to all the different instruments, you’re listening to the notes played so you can play along,” he added. “When you’re playing music, you are honing your ears. It’s just to note that the world of sound effects and sound design is evolving. Which is not to say that you should abandon your dream of crafting medieval battle sounds for the big screen and aim instead to design the warning tone your car makes when you leave the lights on after parking. Increasingly, the demand for sound designers is coming from technology and video game companies, not just filmmakers. The person in charge of assembling that sonic palette is called the sound designer. They record sounds in the field, pull them from effects libraries and create them from scratch, then edit them to fit the narrative (and satisfy the director). The sound effects team includes the people who clean up, enhance or replace the sounds recorded while the cameras rolled. The production’s composer oversees the music, and the rest is overseen by the supervising sound editor. The music, dialogue and sound effects are typically handled by different teams, although on low-budget productions a few people may do it all. Instead, it was done by audio specialists after the filming wrapped up.
To be truly immersive and transporting, a film or television show needs to have sound that matches its imagery and advances its story.Ĭhances are, most of the sound you hear in the theater or through your TV speakers wasn’t recorded when the scenes were shot on set.
We call filmmakers “visionary” when they bring wondrous, strange or frightening worlds to life.