Sound Design - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia 8/25/10 3:38 PM

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Sound design - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 8/25/10 3:38 PM

Sound design

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sound design is the process of specifying, acquiring and manipulating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including film, theatre, music recording, live music performance, and computer game software development. Sound design most commonly involves the manipulation of previously composed audio, such as previously recorded music and sound effects. In some instances it may also involve the composition or manipulation of audio to create a desired effect or mood. A Sound Designer is one who practices the art of sound design.

Contents

1 History 1.1 Recorded sound 1.2 Digital technology 2 Film 3 Theatre 3.1 Technical vs. conceptual design 3.2 Professional organizations 4 Music 5 Awards 6 Notable sound designers 7 See also 8 External links 9 References

History

The use of sound to evoke emotion, reflect mood and underscore actions in plays and dances began in prehistoric times. At its earliest, it was used in religious practices for healing or just for fun.[1] In ancient Japan, theatrical events called kagura were performed in Shinto shrines with music and dance.[2]

Plays were performed in medieval times in a form of theatre called Commedia dell'arte, which used music and sound effects to enhance performances. The use of music

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_design Page 1 of 7 Sound design - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 8/25/10 3:38 PM and sound in the Elizabethan Theatre followed, in which music and sound effects were produced off stage using devices such as bells, whistles, and horns. Cues would be written in the script for music and sound effects to be [3] played at the appropriate time. Karel Dujardins, commedia dell'arte show, 1657

Italian composer Luigi Russolo built mechanical sound- making devices, called intonarumori, for futurist theatrical and music performances starting around 1913. These devices were meant to simulate natural and man-made sounds, such as trains and bombs. Russolo's treatise, The Art of Noises, is one of the earliest written documents on the use of abstract noise in the theatre. After his death, his intonarumori were used in more conventional theatre performances to create realistic sound effects.

Recorded sound

Possibly the first use of recorded sound in the theatre was a phonograph playing a baby’s cry in a London theatre in 1890.[4] Sixteen years later, Herbert Beerbohm Tree used recordings in his London production of Stephen Phillips’ tragedy NERO. The event is marked in the Theatre Magazine (1906) with two photographs; one showing a musician blowing a bugle into a large horn attached to a disc recorder, the other with an actor recording the agonizing shrieks and groans of the tortured martyrs. The article states: “these sounds are all realistically reproduced by the gramophone”. As cited by Bertolt Brecht, there was a play about Rasputin written in (1927) by Alexej Tolstoi and directed 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, Charlie Richmond, 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 (http://www.richmondsounddesign.com/txt/sound-design.txt) 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.

Digital technology

MIDI and digital technology helped to drive the rapid evolution of sound design during the 1980s and 1990s. Features of computerized theatre sound design systems were recognized as being essential for live show control systems at Walt Disney World and, as a result, Disney 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, an open communications protocol used to interact with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_design Page 2 of 7 Sound design - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 8/25/10 3:38 PM diverse devices. 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 (often) 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. Film

See also: Director of audiography, Sound effect, Sound editor, and Foley artist

In motion picture production, a Sound Designer is a member of a film crew responsible for some original aspect of the film's audio. In the American film industry, the title of Sound Designer is not controlled by any industry organization, unlike titles such Director or Screenwriter.

The terms sound design and Sound Designer were introduced to the film world in 1972. The title of Sound Designer was first granted to Walter Murch by Francis Ford Coppola in recognition for Murch's extraordinary contributions to the film Apocalypse Now. The original meaning of the title Sound Designer, as established by Coppola and Murch, was "an individual ultimately responsible for all aspects of a film's audio track, from the dialogue and sound effects recording to the re-recording (mix) of the final track". The position of Sound Designer emerged in a manner similar to that of Production Designer, which was created in the 1930s when William Cameron Menzies made revolutionary contributions to the craft of art direction in the making of Gone with the Wind.

The sound designer is a principal member of the production staff, with creative authority equal to that of the film editor and director of photography. Several factors led to the promotion of sound design to this level:

Cinema sound systems became capable of high-fidelity reproduction, 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 competent professionals. 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 produce sounds at the sides or behind the audience, required more creativity.

Directors wanted to realize the new potentials of the medium. A new generation of filmmakers, the so- called "Easy Riders and Raging Bulls"—Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and others —were aware of the creative potential of sound and wanted to use it.

Filmmakers were inspired 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.

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New filmmakers made their early films outside the Hollywood establishment, away from the influence of film labor unions and the then rapidly-dissipating studio system.

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. Theatre

See also: Sound reinforcement system and Architectural acoustics

Sound design, as a separate discipline, is one of the youngest fields in stagecraft, second only to the use of projection and other multimedia displays, although the ideas and techniques of sound design have been around almost since theatre started. The first person known to have received a credit as Sound Designer on the poster and in the programme alongside the lighting and scene designers was David Collison, at London's Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith in 1959.[citation needed] The first person to be titled Sound Designer in Broadway theatre was Jack Mann for his work on Show Girl in 1963 [5], and for regional theatre to Dan Dugan at the American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco in 1968. Since then the field has grown rapidly.

Modern audio technology has enabled theatre sound designers to produce flexible, complex, and inexpensive designs that can be easily integrated into live performance. The influence of film and television on playwriting is seeing plays being written increasingly with shorter scenes, which is difficult to achieve with scenery but easily conveyed with sound. The development of film sound design is giving writers and directors higher expectations and knowledge of sound design. Consequently, conceptual sound design is widespread and accomplished sound designers commonly establish long-term collaborations with directors.

Technical vs. conceptual design

There are two variants of theatrical sound design, technical and conceptual, which both came into existence in the 1960s. Often a single person will perform both of these functions. In practice, these terms are not used in job titles; most sound designers are simply titled Sound Designer regardless of the type of design practiced. Both the technical and the conceptual sound designers are tasked with ensuring that the sound and music enhance the production and are in harmony with the work of the actors and other designers.

Technical design

Technical sound design comprises the design and implementation of a sound system that will fulfill the needs of the production. If a sound system is already installed in the performance venue, it is the sound designer's

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_design Page 4 of 7 Sound design - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 8/25/10 3:38 PM job to tune the system for the best use for a particular production. Sound system tuning employs various methods including equalization, delay, volume, speaker and microphone placement, and in some cases, the addition of new equipment. In conjunction with the director and musical director, if any, the technical sound designer determines the use and placement of microphones for actors and musicians. The technical sound designer ensures that the performance can be heard and understood by everyone in the audience, regardless of the shape, size or acoustics of the venue, and that performers can hear everything needed to enable them to do their jobs. Technical sound design is also called theatre sound system design by the United States Institute for Theatre Technology's (USITT) Sound Design Commission.

Conceptual design

Conceptual sound design involves the selection of music and sounds for a production based on intimate familiarity with the play. The conceptual sound designer and the production's director work together to decide the themes and messages to be explored. Based on this, the conceptual sound designer, in collaboration with the director and possibly the composer, decides upon the sounds that will be used to create the desired moods. In some productions, the sound designer might be granted the artistic choice of using existing music or composing new music for the production, though this decision most often lies with the director. On occasion, the director may dictate the sounds to use and where to play them; in such cases, the sound designer serves as little more than an audio editor. Some productions might use music only during scene changes, while at the other extreme, a production might specify ambient "sound beds" under every scene. The latter is exemplified by productions directed by Robert Woodruff of the American Repertory Theater or Bill Ball, Ellis Rabb and Jack O'Brien, who were active at ACT and the Old Globe Theatre in the mid 1960s, where Dan Dugan initially began his art. Many sound designers are accomplished composers, writing and producing music for productions as well as designing sound. Conceptual sound design is also called theatre sound score design by the USITT.

Professional organizations

United Scenic Artists (USA) Local USA829, which is integrated within IATSE, represents theatrical non-Broadway sound designers in the United States. Sound Designers who work on productions falling under Broadway League contracts are represented by IATSE Local One. Theatrical Sound Designers in English Canada are represented by the Associated Designers of Canada (ADC), and in Québec by l'Association des professionnels des arts du Québec (APASQ). Music

In contemporary music, especially rock music, ambient music, progressive rock, and similar genres, the record producer and recording engineer play important roles in the creation of the overall sound (or soundscape) of a recording, and less often, of a live performance. The record producer is chiefly responsible for extracting the best performance possible from the musicians and for making both musical and technical decisions about the instrumental timbres, arrangements, etc. On certain ambitious and complex recording projects, artists and producers have relied on sonic consultants, often credited as "sound designer", to help them to create specific auditory effects, landscapes, or to ensure an overall consistency and quality of some of the (usually unconventional) sonic elements. In such arrangements, the producer may put almost all of his or her attention http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_design Page 5 of 7 Sound design - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 8/25/10 3:38 PM on managing the recording session and working closely with the musicians on their performances and interpretations of the material; the recording engineer may dedicate all of his or her time to capturing these performances on tape (or hard disk); the sound designer may then help to create the overall sound, the integration of recording technology with musical instrument technology, the presentation that is the phonographic equivalent of decisions in movie-making about what type of lens to use on the camera, whether or not to use soft focus, and what kind of lighting to use on a scene.

In applied research in electrostatics and computer programming for contemporary music or electronic music, the Sound Designer is a specialist who is usually there to help the composer to do the electroacoustic portion of the composition. Often, the composer comes with an idea (concept + score) and the Sound Designer assists the composer with new technology and unique equipment. Examples include sound synthesis, interaction between acoustic instruments and computers, realization of a computer program in many different languages (often Max-MSP/Jitter), gesture capture with sensors or cameras, video treatment and interaction between video and sound. Historically, the Sound Designer was often called the "Musical Assistant". Some of the many examples of research centers working with Sound Designers include Forum Neues Musiktheater (http://www.fnm.de) of Stuttgart, IRCAM (http://www.ircam.fr) in Paris or synArt (http://www.synart.org) in Antibes.

Notable examples of sound design are the contributions of Michael Brook to the U2 album The Joshua Tree, George Massenburg to the Jennifer Warnes album Famous Blue Raincoat, Chris Thomas to the Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon, and Brian Eno to the Paul Simon album Surprise.

Awards

Sound designers have been recognized by awards organizations for some time, and new awards have emerged more recently in response to advances in sound design technology and quality. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes the finest or most aesthetic sound design for a film with the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing. In 2007, the Tony Award for Best Sound Design was created to honor the best sound design in American theatre.[6]

North American theatrical award organizations that recognize sound designers include these:

Dora Mavor Moore Awards Drama Desk Awards Helen Hayes Awards Obie Awards Tony Awards

Major British award organizations include the Olivier Awards.

Notable sound designers

John Gromada Walter Murch Charlie Richmond http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_design Page 6 of 7 Sound design - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 8/25/10 3:38 PM