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Sunday Sound Thought 32 – The Minimalist Sound of Samurai Jack

August 7, 2016 by Shaun Farley

As the year continues, many of these posts will be philosophical in nature. Some will be in contradiction to previous postings. These are not intended as truths or assertions, they’re merely thoughts…ideas. Think of this as stream of consciousness over a wide span…

I recently started watching through Samurai Jack again, and the minimalist approach to the sound (in particular, the dialog) really struck me. The approach is very similar to other Cartoon Network shows of the era (Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Lab, etc.) in that only very foreground action elements are cut, background ambiences are almost non-existent, and music often takes the foreground. Samurai Jack takes these ideas to their extreme though. The pilot episode has virtually no dialog, sound effects adhere to that aforementioned “foreground action only” approach (though sparse even then), and music pretty much drives the entire episode. In fact, music in this show frequently hearkens back to the days of Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies. Musical stings often replace sound effects to support the action on screen. And it works in a way that prevents me from wishing they’d had time for more effects coverage. The adherence to music works within the shows aesthetic, and keeps you rooted in the movement of the story. This sparseness carries over to the rest of the series. While not quite reaching the extremes of the pilot, it still goes farther in this direction than other shows of the time period.

Which got me wondering. How the hell did Genndy Tartakovsky get this approved by network execs?! Would that even be possible to pull off these days? I sincerely doubt it.

Filed Under: featured Tagged With: aesthetic, cartoon network, genndy tartakovsky, looney tunes, merry melodies, minimalism, music, samurai jack, sound, sound design, story-telling, sunday sound thought

Comments

  1. Jonny H says

    August 8, 2016 at 3:56 am

    And they’re bringing the show back for one last hoorah as well. Can’t wait.

  2. Jack Menhorn says

    August 14, 2016 at 2:08 am

    I think about the sound design in this show often. I think it is hit or miss but very often a hit. The pilot episode is a great example of it going well. The final fight scene is nothing but music, explosions, and sword son metal. It works quite well.

Trackbacks

  1. Minimalist Exposition: Samurai Jack - The Art of Silence | Minimalisticle says:
    February 24, 2017 at 4:01 pm

    […] watching a scene from episode 5 of season 4. By focusing just on the audio one can realize how the minimalist sound design creates a narrative by itself. And this is because in Samurai Jack you hear exactly what’s […]

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