Lecture 1 : Introduction
to the Module and Project
Pedro
Rebelo 10.03
In the foreword to Michel ChionÕs book ÒAudio-VisionÓ, the sound editor Walter Murch presents cinema as a mechanistic reversal of the biological sequence that starts with gestation.
ÒWe
gestate in Sound, and are born into Sight
Cinema
gestated in Sight and was born into SoundÓ
Walter
Murch
We begin
to hear while in the womb; during gestation, sound is the primary sense. We
develop an acuteness for the intricacies in our motherÕs voice, the sounds of
her body, the sounds outside. With birth, the explosion of senses brings other
stimuli; sight becomes a dominant modality in perceiving the outside world. The
materiality of the visual world is complemented and juxtaposed to the ephemeral
sonic world.
Between its invention (1892) and the year of 1927, cinema relied solely on image. This does not mean the cinematic experience was silent. Regardless of whether the film was accompanied by a piano or organ player (or their mechanic counterparts), silent cinema was shown alongside a sonic theatre with its curtain calls, announcements, projector sound, changing reels, restless audience, etcÉ
The
phenomena which in 1927 revolutionises cinema is what Chion calls synchresis (derived from synchronism and
synthesis):
ÒThe
spontaneous and irresistible mental fusion, completely free of any logic, that
happens between a sound and a visual when these occur at exactly the same timeÓ
(Chion, 1994 p. xviii).
Beginning
with the introduction of dialogue in early sound film, the process of seeing an
action with a synchronous sound, opened up unforeseen possibilities for
filmmakers and sound editors. In early sound film it was common for the voice
to be recorded by an actress different from the one on the screen. The notion
of identity is bypassed as the same actress is featured with different voices,
but more importantly, both practicalities and necessities, establish sound film
as the process of fabricating a dual modality reality which often relies on the
use of sound that is more real than the real (what Chion calls rendered
sound). The fact
that the first actors and actresses working in Hollywood (Greta Garbo, Marlene
Dietrich) did not speak a word of English was not a problem. The process of
adding voice to silent movies as a post-production event carries through to
most of the sound design in film today in the way that sounds often comes after
a film is edited and the actual sound sources do not necessarily correspond
with the action seen on screen.
The
overlay of a visual track and a sound track, often produced independently gives
rise to complex relationships that relate to how we perceive image and sound.
The separation between the sound of an action on screen and the sound that is
actually fabricated to go with that action becomes the space in which the sound
designer operates. It is the sound designerÕs role to build a layer of sound on
top of a visual, narrative platform. This sound layer needs not to mimic the
visual but to fertilise it with relationships. It is often sound that
communicates physical attributes of an object or action. We are very good at
decoding acoustic attributes that suggest properties such as weight, mass,
material, tension, length etcÉ One can talk about a level of material coherence
between the physical properties of what one sees and what one hears.
Fortunately, there is a lot more to how we perceive synchronised audio-visual
events. One can perhaps identify three modes of interaction between audio and
visual stimuli:
We often
adapt out listening acuity to visual stimuli; for example, in a TV broadcast of
an orchestral concert, as the camera focus on a particular section or player,
it induces us to focus our listening to that particular layer in the music.
Often without any change in the sound, a video camera allows the spectator an
articulation of listening. The fact that there is synchronicity between the
sound of a bowed string and the movements of a cello player brings this event
into the foreground and hence we adapt and dynamically filter our listening.
The
opposite situation is also possible when sound stimuli conveys more accurate or
acute time information that images can; e.g.: the precise moment in which a gun
is fired is conveyed by sound alone. The ticking of a clock is often what we
identify as the passing of time regardless of whether there is a visual
reference or not.
Examples:
Crouching
Tiger Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee 2000)
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony/crouching_tiger_hidden_dragon/tr_lg.htm
In
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon sound is essential in conveying the notion of
speed in the fast fight flying scenes.
Rdn#06
Underworld (onedotzero_select dvd)
Visual movement/speed
is perceived in two different modes by virtue of two contrasting sound
environments.
Discrepancy
between both stimuli can convey complex relationships between space and time or
challenge our perception of a particular scene. A disorienting effect is common
in situations in which sound interacts with image in non-linear ways. For
example, a dialogue which is partially obscured by the sound of a train passing
has the effect of opening the scene onto a larger, more complex environment;
this can be also be used as a mode for ÒoccludingÓ particular bits of
information from the audience (GoddardÕs Weekend).
8 1/2
Women, Peter Greenaway1999
Opening credit sequence features a shot of nigh-time urban cityscape with the sound of birdsong.
Sound design for visual media is particularly context specific as we constantly derive connections by relating the visual and the sonic streams. John Cage and Merce CunninghamÕs collaboration was known for a rather pragmatic attitude towards the experience of multimodal phenomena. While both artists would defend that we can perceive two separate structures (one rendered in sound and the other in movement), they were very much aware of the interconnections that our mind inevitably forms when receiving two types of media simultaneously. Accidental points of synchronicity are bound to happened, as well as more complex relationships to do with physical, action-based content of both sound and movement. An exercise worth pursuing, which Chion refers to as ÒForced MarriageÓ involves playing the same film segment with different soundtracks (pieces of music), to find that it is not so much a matter of suitability but of relationship. Especially present in the domain of concrete sound (if one is to make a distinction between concrete sound and tradition ÒmusicalÓ sound), are factors which relate physical characteristics of both sound and image/movement. Sonnenshein identifies some of the of the characteristics of visual elements which can be rendered in sound: Òmovement, weight, size, solidity, resistance, contact, texture, temperature, impact, release, etcÉÓ (Sonnenshein, 2001, p. 27).
The Cage/Cunningham collaboration is valuable in its attitude to the notion connection or relationship between sound and vision. By defining a context (which does not have the function of defining the complexity of a situation but rather identify elements which are rich enough to be explored separately), we establish a ground upon which we can suggest different types of relationships. By simply defining a duration (given the situation was to be one of performance typically with live music and live dance), Cage/Cunningham open the audio-visual environment for a series of possibilities though grounded on recognisable contexts (e.g. the fact that a piece will have a specific duration implies it will have a beginning and an end). Sound design for the screen, in its most inventive moments, suggests an approach in which image and sound interact by a counterpoint of editing and a process of layering that brings forward both sound and image at different times.
1. The
Soundtrack
Things to
think about:
Chion, Michel;
Gorbman, Claudia (editor). 1994 Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen. Columbia Univ
Press
Sonnenschein, David. 2001. Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema.: Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions