Sound design

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(Redirected from Sound Designer)
This article is about the craft or profession of Sound Design. There was also a sound editing software application produced by Digidesign named "Sound Designer."

Sound design is a technical/conceptually creative field. It covers all non-compositional elements of a film, a play, computer game software or any other multimedia project. A person who practices the art of sound design is known as a Sound Designer.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes the finest or most aesthetic sound mixing or recording with the Academy Award for Best Sound.

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Film

In motion picture production, a Sound Designer is a member of a film crew responsible for some original aspect of the film's audio track. The title is not controlled by any industry organisation, as with the title of director or screenwriter in the American film industry.

The term "Sound Design" and "Sound Designer" was in already use in theatre and was introduced to the film world when Francis Ford Coppola directed (and his father, Carmine Coppola, arranged the music for) a live production of Noel Coward's Private Lives at the American Conservatory Theater (ACT) in San Francisco where sound designer Charlie Richmond was resident, while the final cut of the The Godfather was being edited in 1972. In the original film world meaning of the title, as established in the 1970s by Coppola and Walter Murch, a sound designer is an individual ultimately responsible for all aspects of a film's audio track, from the dialogue and sound effects recording to the re-recording of the final track. The title was first granted by Coppola to Murch for his work on the film Apocalypse Now, in recognition for his extraordinary contribution to that film; in this way the position emerged in the same way the title of production designer came in to being in the 1930's, when William Cameron Menzies made revolutionary contributions to the craft of art direction in the making of Gone with the Wind

This "strong" meaning of the title is meant to imply that the person holding the position is a principal member of the production staff, with tangible creative authority, equivalent to the film editor and director of photography. This development can be seen as a natural part of the evolution of film sound. Several interacting factors contributed to this:

  • Cinema sound systems became capable of high-fidelity reproduction, and particularly after the adoption of Dolby Stereo. These systems were originally devised as gimmicks to increase theater attendance, but their widespread implementation created a content vacuum that had to be filled by a competent professional. Before stereo soundtracks, film sound was of such low fidelity that only the dialogue and occasional sound effects were practical. The greater dynamic range of the new systems, coupled with the ability to place sounds to the sides of the audience or behind them, required more creative decisions to be made.
  • The new filmmakers were inspired in no small part by the popular music of the era. Concept albums of groups such as Pink Floyd and The Beatles suggested new modes of storytelling and creative techniques that could be adapted to motion pictures.

As many of these new filmmakers worked in the San Francisco Bay Area, the strong meaning of film sound designer has become associated with films made there, and the production companies situated there, such as American Zoetrope, Lucasfilm Limited (and its subsidiary Skywalker Sound), and the Saul Zaentz Film Center.

The role of sound designer can be compared with the role of supervising sound editor; many sound designers use both titles interchangeably. The role of supervising sound editor, or sound supervisor, developed in parallel with the role of sound designer. The demand for more sophisticated soundtracks was felt both inside and outside Hollywood, and the supervising sound editor became the head of the large sound department, with a staff of dozens of sound editors, that was required to realize a complete sound job with a fast turnaround. It is far from universal, but the role of sound supervisor descends from the original role of the sound editor, that of a technician required to complete a film, but having little creative authority. Sound designers, on the other hand, are expected to be creative, and their role is a generalization of the other creative department heads.

See also:

  • Sound editor for a discussion of the mechanics of film sound
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Theatre

Sound design is one of the youngest fields in technical theatre, second only to the use of projection and other multimedia displays. The idea of sound design has been around since theatre started, however the first person titled the "sound designer" at a North American Regional Repertory Theatre was probably Dan Dugan, and certainly his successor Charlie Richmond, at the American Conservatory Theatre (ACT), San Francisco, in the late 1960s and the first sound designer credit on Broadway was given to Jack Mann for his work on Show Girl in 1963 [1]. Since then the field has been growing rapidly. The term "Sound Design" was introduced to the film world when Francis Ford Coppola directed (and his father, Carmine Coppola, arranged the music for) a production of Private Lives at ACT, while the final cut of the film The Godfather was being edited in 1972.

Currently it can be said that there are two variants of Theatrical Sound Design. Both are equally important, but very different, though their functions usually overlap. Often a single Sound Designer will fill both these roles, and although on a large budget production they may work together, for the most part there is only one Sound Designer for a given production. Where such distinctions are made, the first variant is "Technical Sound Design" (which has also been termed Theatre Sound System Design by the United States Institute for Theatre Technology's (USITT) Sound Design Commission), which is prevalent on Broadway, and the second "Conceptual Sound Design" (which has also been termed Theatre Sound Score Design by the USITT), which is prevalent at Regional Repertory Theatres. Both variants were created during the 1960s. These terms are really examples only, and not generally used in practice since most Sound Designers simply call themselves Sound Designers, no matter which role they are filling primarily.

Technical Sound Design requires the sound designer to design the sound system that will fulfill the needs of the production. If there is a sound system already installed in the venue, it is their job to tune the system for the best use for the given production using various methods including equalization, delay, volume, speaker and microphone placement, and this may include the addition of equipment not already provided. In conjunction with the director and musical director, if any, they also determine the use and placement of microphones for actors and musicians. A Technical Sound Designer makes sure that the performance can be heard and understood by everyone in the audience, no matter how large the room, and that the performers can hear everything they need to in order to do their job.

Conceptual Sound Design is very different from technical sound design, but equally important. The designer must first read the play and talk to the production's Director about what themes and messages they want to explore. It is here that, in conjunction with the director and possibly the composer, the designer decides what sounds he will use to create mood and setting of the play. He might also choose or compose specific music for the play, although the final choice typically lies with the director, who may want nothing but scene change music or, on the other extreme, will want ambient beds under every scene, such as Robert Woodruff of the American Repertory Theatre or William Ball, Ellis Rabb and Jack O'Brien who were active at ACT and the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, in the mid 1960s where Dan Dugan initially began his art.

On occasion, the director may be very hands-on and will tell the sound designer what sounds to use and where to play them. In such cases, the sound designer becomes little more than an audio editor, but this depends to a large degree on the director and his relationship and level of trust with the sound designer. There are also collaborations such as exist between Ann Bogart and Darron West in the Siti Company, where he is in rehearsal from the day one and sound is really another character of the play. Also, the Conceptual Sound Designer must build the "prop sounds" (telephones rings, answering machines, announcements etc.) and figure out how to fit them into the established themes with regard to when and where the action is supposed to be taking place. For example, using a modern cellular phone ringtone would be out of place for a phone ringing in the 1940's. A Conceptual Sound Designer uses sound to enhance the audience's experience by conveying specific emotion or information without using words.

Above all, both the Technical Sound Designer and the Conceptual Sound Designer must call on experience and "uncommon" sense to ensure that the sound is contributing constructively to the production and is in harmony with the work of the actors and other designers.

The union that represents theatrical sound designers in the United States is United Scenic Artists (USA) Local USA829 which is now integrated within IATSE. Theatrical Sound Designers in Canada are represented by the Associated Designers of Canada (ADC). Charlie Richmond assembled a set [2] of Definitions, Communication Standards, Recommended Working Procedures, Information List, and suggested Contract Addenda to the ADC in 1990 in order to assist them in creating a Sound Design contract which finally occurred in 2004.

Other audio positions in a production that may or may not be filled by the designer include that of the production engineer.

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History

It's known that in India and China around 3000 BC there were theatre productions accompanied by music and sound. The Commedia Dell'arte style also used both music and sound effects.

The first production that used recorded sound, as cited by Bertolt Brecht, was a play about Rasputin written in (1927) by Erwin Piscator that included a recording of Lenin's voice. It would not be however until the 1950s, when Hollywood directors started directing Broadway productions, that sound design would start growing. Still, there was no sound designer in those plays; it was the stage manager's duty to find the sound effects and an electrician played the recordings during performances. But even though the sound designer has basically assumed these roles, time and technology have not ruled out non-sound designers having a hand in sound production. For instance, since today's audiences are savvier and can readily distinguish between live and recorded sounds, live backstage sound effects are still used (e.g. gun shots) by the stage manager (or assistant stage manager) for premium "aural illusion."

Between 1980 and 1988, USITT's first Sound Design Commissioner oversaw efforts of their Sound Design Commission to define the duties, responsibilities, standards and procedures which might normally be expected of a theatre sound designer in North America. This subject is still regularly discussed by that group, but during that time, substantial conclusions were drawn and he wrote a document which, although now somewhat dated, provides a succinct record of what was expected at that time. It was subsequently provided to both the ADC and David Goodman at the Florida USA local when they were both planning to represent sound designers in the 1990s.

MIDI and digital technology helped the field to evolve exponentially during the 1980s and 1990s. Features of computerized theatre sound design systems were recognized as being essential for live show control systems by Walt Disney World when they utilized systems of that type to control many facilities at their Disney-MGM Studios theme park, which opened in 1989. These features were incorporated into the MIDI Show Control (MSC) specification, ratified by the MIDI Manufacturers Association in 1991. The MIDI Show Control standard is an open, industry wide communications protocol through which all types of show devices may easily interact.

To create the MSC spec, Charlie Richmond headed the USITT MIDI Forum on their Callboard Network in 1990, which included developers and designers from the theatre sound and lighting industry from around the world. This Forum created the MIDI Show Control standard between January and September, 1990. This was ratified by the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) in January, 1991, and the Japan MIDI Standards Committee (JMSC) later that year, becoming a part of the standard MIDI specification in August, 1991. The first show to fully utilize the MSC specification was the Magic Kingdom Parade at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in September, 1991.

Also, the World Wide Web has greatly enhanced the ability of sound designers to acquire source material quickly, easily and cheaply. Nowadays, a designer can preview and download crisper, more "believable" sounds as opposed to toiling through time- and budget-draining "shot-in-the-dark" searches through record stores, libraries and "the grapevine" for (oftentimes) inferior recordings. In addition, software innovation has enabled sound designers to take more of a DIY (or "do-it-yourself") approach. From the comfort of their home and at any hour, they can simply use a computer, speakers and headphones rather than renting (or buying) costly equipment or studio space and time for editing and mixing. This provides for faster creation and negotiation with the director.

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Awards

Even though there have been continual, extraordinary advances in technology and even more demand for top-quality sound, sound design is still struggling to obtain acceptance (there is no Tony award yet for sound design[3]). Sound design has fast become an integral part of the design process for many theatres and sound designers often hold similar, if not superior positions in the creative team to the lighting designer and other designers.

Some of the major North American theatrical award organizations that recognize sound designers are

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External links

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Film

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Theatre

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Multimedia

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