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… This week, I'm returning to the little thread of visual analogs that I had going for a while. I recently … [Read more...]
Invasive Insects and Immersive Sonics – Ren Klyce on the Sound of Gone Girl
Director David Fincher and sound designer Ren Klyce has worked together for more than 20 years, and their ongoing partnership is one of most acclaimed collaborations in the modern film sound community. Klyce has been nominated for five Oscars – one for Fight Club, one for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, one for The Social Network and two for The Girl with the Dragon … [Read more...]
An introduction to Alvin Lucier – and his impact on the sound of Se7en
Better late than never. Last month’s theme at Designing Sound was Acoustics but one person we really wanted to include during July had to get moved slightly – so here is a belated feature on one of the world’s true pioneers when it comes to exploring acoustic phenomena and auditory perception: Alvin Lucier. The American avant-garde composer was born in 1931 and composed … [Read more...]
Thanks to our November Contributors
We just wanted to take the time to thank our guest contributors this month: For our featured Backgrounds and Ambiences articles...Chris Groegler, Chris Didlick, Douglas Murray, and Tim Prebble...Yann Seznec, Peter Chilvers, Robert Thomas, and Stephan Schütze for discussing interactive mobile applications...and thanks to Chuck Michael and Craig Henighan for sharing their … [Read more...]
Ambiences with Dolby Atmos
Sitting there as credits rolled after a Dolby Atmos presentation of Brave this past summer, I felt excited for the potential of this budding format. Before the film, a few seated moms and dads were even verbally excited as the usher announce that we would be watching the film in a new sound format. During the film, the theater was saturated with sound, I truly felt immersed at … [Read more...]
Dangerous Ambiences
Guest Contribution by Tim Prebble I suspect growing up in a very quiet location on a farm in the South Island of New Zealand may have something to do with it, but I feel I have always been very aware of ambient sound. I have vivid sound memories from childhood, of ambiences! Waking up before the birds and waiting for them… The sound of the wind in blue gum trees and the … [Read more...]
Backgrounds: Sound Design Under the Radar
Guest article by Douglas Murray Remember, all rules are meant to be broken! With that principle in mind, let's scratch the surface of the grammar and possibilities of an aspect of film sound design: backgrounds (also called BGs, atmospheres or ambiences). Backgrounds offer a powerful opportunity to use sound for maximum impact. Movies essentially need to have background … [Read more...]