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…
It’s entirely likely that a few of you out there have heard me say this before, but…
If you want to be a better dialog editor, study a different language. Many of our readers are bi (or even tri) lingual. Congratulations, because you’ve got a head start. Chances are though, even those people learned their second language before they got into sound. If that’s the case, maybe they’re not so far ahead. In the course of my life, I’ve studied and (mostly) forgotten Spanish, French, Irish Gaelic and Japanese…in that order. I also took a class or two in linguistics in my undergraduate studies; Anthropology was one of my majors.
I didn’t start sound editing until somewhere in between Gaelic and Japanese, and the connections that affected the way I listened to and edited dialog didn’t occur until I started learning Japanese. There are no silent consonants in this language. They are all either dependent upon an attached vowel, or are voiced…which is very different from the way consonants sound in English. There are no consonant mouth/reproduction mechanics in Japanese that don’t exist in English, however, and listening to and learning them changed the way I listened to spoken English.
If you don’t speak another language, I encourage you to study one. If you do, then take a moment to compare the way similar phonemes are used between the two. It will change the way you cut dialog, and some of the skills you can develop in this way will translate over to effects design as well.
At least, It did for me.
Shaun you have quite an ego to write these “Sunday Sound Thoughts” with such a shallow substance on the site which is considered to be one of the best in the industry.
An attempt to learn four languages and “mostly” forgot them? Wow, what an achievement to talk about.
Come back in ten years.
Erik-
Shaun’s contributions to this site are a major factor in your perception of DesigningSound.org being “one of the best in the industry”. I include these Sunday Sound Thoughts in those contributions, and hope he doesn’t change a thing despite anyone else’s negativity.
Sure
I named it one of the best in the industry because of what Miguel did several years ago.
And I hope criticism will help to maintain that quality.
If you are writing for the serious site be prepare for any feedback.
Just don’t forget that.
Constructive criticism is always welcome. Please form your thoughts constructively.
Hi, Erik. I’m sorry if I’m wasting your time on these posts. As I mentioned when I started these, they are meant to keep me thinking about aspects of sound and our work that don’t sit in the foreground of my consciousness in my day to day exercise of that work. That’s also why they’re posted on the weekend…so that they can’t take up space that could be better used for more substantive posts. It’s not ego making me post these things, it’s a fear of stagnation. If they start even a small conversation, as some have, I see that as a great bonus.
As for the language thing… I mentioned that I’ve forgotten them, because I didn’t want to claim to be some amazing multi-linguist. I’m definitely not, and you’re right. It’s not an achievement to learn and forget multiple languages. If you don’t use these things, thing definitely go away. I thought it was also important to point out that studying a different language in the past didn’t have an impact on my editing. My brain didn’t reach back to those experiences when I started. It wasn’t until I started studying a new language, while I was editing, that it had an effect.
Thanks for the reply.
Well, maybe the ego part in my comment was exaggerated, I agree.
But the point was (maybe it is just my own thing) that huge amount of people nowadays are trying to tell everybody every thought they have in their head without even trying to estimate it or grow it.
Maybe it is a standard already and I am just staying far in the past. I mean a standard of current globalized thinking and communication. Like when people across the ocean who saw each other once or twice in their life, reading about each others politic or food tastes.
And for a person who for example doesn’t have facebook or twitter account it might look just as a constant and big noise.
For me it just looks like people for some reason decided that they just HAVE to talk and speak every time, even when there is nothing really to talk about.
I can totally understand where you’re coming from, and I can see how this might look like just more noise. When I stepped back from writing more substantial contributions to the site, because of time constraints caused by having more and more work (no complaints there), I found that I was taking less time to step back and process thoughts that could impact the way I approached the work. I chose to attempt this little series for the span of a year in order to get myself back in the habit of taking the time to do that again. So, in a sense, you’re right. This series is a decision that I have to talk…or really, self-reflect. The purpose of the posts is to give myself an accountability mechanism to make sure I’m following through in creating that behavioral change. The feedback I’ve gotten from other people up to this point has been that it helps them do the same. I hope this doesn’t sour you on the other content that exists here on the site.
And hey, we’re shameless about soliciting people within the community to contribute their thoughts and experiences. If you can find the time, would you consider a writing guest contribution?
I quite enjoy these little sunday thoughts…throwing out ideas at the community and awakening little trains of thought is a good thing in my opinion. Not to be condescending but it is often said “Great minds discuss ideas (ideas start as little ramblings?) ; average minds discuss events (plugins, microphones); small minds discuss people (‘how to record the perfect sound effect’ type articles :p )
Anyways…consider that my own little rambling :p
I stopped to follow this blog for this kind of post. I agree with Erik, this web used to be one of the best in the field.
Shaun is correct to my ear: learn to forget, remember to forget, forget in order to remember – especially if one is moving within sounds and languages, on many planes, at many times, and all simultaneously. Although this has a distinct Irish accent, and a Dubliner’s one at that, the only way to hear it is in four or five constantly shifting different ways:
riverrun, past Eve and Adam’s, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.
Sir Tristram, violer d’amores, fr’over the short sea, had passencore rearrived from North Armorica on this side the scraggy isthmus of Europe Minor to wielderfight his penisolate war: nor had topsawyer’s rocks by the stream Oconee exaggerated themselse to Laurens County’s gorgios while they went doublin their mumper all the time: nor avoice from afire bellowsed mishe mishe to tauftauf thuartpeatrick: not yet, though venissoon after, had a kidscad buttended a bland old isaac: not yet, though all’s fair in vanessy, were sosie sesthers wroth with twone nathandjoe. Rot a peck of pa’s malt had Jhem or Shen brewed by arclight and rory end to the regginbrow was to be seen ringsome on the aqua face.
The fall (bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntro varrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!) of a once wallstrait oldparr is retaled early in bed and later on life down through all christian minstrelsy. The great fall of the offwall entailed at such short notice the pftjschute of Finnegan, erse solid man, that the humptyhillhead of humself prumptly sends an unquiring one well to the west in quest of his tumptytumtoes: and their upturnpikepointandplace is at the knock out in the park where oranges have been laid to rust upon the green since devlinsfirst loved livvy.