"The ultimate metaphoric sound is silence. If you can get the film to a place with no sound where there should be sound, the audience will crowd that silence with sounds and feelings of their own making, and they will, individually, answer the question of, "Why is it quiet?" If the slope to silence is at the right angle, you will get the audience to a strange and wonderful … [Read more...]
Walter Murch at Chicago Humanities Fest 2011
Walter Murch will be talking about sound at Chicago Humanities Fest 2011. The event is scheduled for Nov 13. Price is $10 in general admission and $5 for students. As a film editor and sound designer, Walter Murch has worked on classic films of our time, includingApocalypse Now, The Godfather, and The English Patient, among many more. The winner of multiple Academy Awards, … [Read more...]
The Sound of “Apocalypse Now”
While there have been numerous videos and interviews on the sound of "Apocalypse Now", Andrew Quinn's posted two awesome videos on his blog, featuring discussions between Walter Murch, Francis Coppola and the rest of the team. It does show how important collaboration, ideation & conflict is when trying to achieve what is best for a film. Also featured are interviews with … [Read more...]
Walter Murch: “The Perfect Sound Film has Zero Tracks”
Wise words of Walter Murch: I think it's generally misleading to say, "Well, that sequence had eighty tracks, it must be great." Ideally, for me, the perfect sound film has zero tracks. You try to get the audience to a point, somehow, where they can imagine the sound. They hear the sound in their minds, and it really isn't on the track at all. That's the ideal sound, the one … [Read more...]
Speaking the Language of Horror Film Sound, New Book
Time to get yourself a new book, huh? Look at this: "A fascinating behind the scenes look at the previously unexplored territory of horror film sound.. Through in-depth analysis of sound in the films of Dario Argento and discussions with leading practitioners, this book explores our inherent relationship with sound; examining how and why specific sounds are chosen and utilised … [Read more...]
The Washington Post: Use of Sound Effects in 'Secretariat' and Other Films
The Washington Post has published an article by film critic Ann Hornaday, who talks about the use of sound in film, specially the sound effects. She talks about the importance and good use of sound in several films such as "Secretariat, "Buried", "The American","Inception", "The Social Network", "Cast Away", "Pearl Harbor" and more. This might be not too much new stuff for a … [Read more...]
"SOUNDSCAPE: The School of Sound Lectures 1998-2001" Book Reprinted and Available Now
The School of Sound has announced the release of a reprinted version of "SOUNDSCAPE: The School of Sound Lectures 1998-2001", one of the most amazing books to read if you're involved with sound design or sound in general. SOUNDSCAPE is a compendium of presentations given during the first four years of the School of Sound investigating the modern soundtrack and the ways sound … [Read more...]