DISLOCATIONS IN SOUND DESIGN FOR 3-D FILMS: SOUND DESIGN AND THE 3-D CINEMATIC EXPERIENCE DAMIAN CANDUSSO. MPSE Master of Arts Practice (Sound Design and Production) Bachelor of Fine Arts (Electronic Arts) A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University April 2015 Certificate of Authorship I Damian Candusso, Hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at The Australian National University or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by colleagues with whom I have collaborated on during my candidature is fully acknowledged. I agree that the thesis be accessible for the purpose of study and research in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Australian National University.* Signature Date * Subject to confidentiality and copyright provisions as approved by the Australian National University. ii Table of Contents Certificate of Authorship ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................................... viii Ethics Committee Approval.......................................................................................................................... x Abstract ............................................................................................................................................................... xi Terminology ................................................................................................................................................... xiii Terminology relating to cinema technologies ............................................................................. xiii Terminology relating to the various roles within a film sound crew ................................ xvii Accompanying Blu-ray and DVD Track Listings ............................................................................. xxii Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview of the Research Framework ................................ 1 Introduction to the research ........................................................................................................................ 1 Author background ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Establishing the framework ......................................................................................................................... 4 Project overview ............................................................................................................................................... 8 The research aims ....................................................................................................................................... 8 The research objectives ............................................................................................................................ 9 Locating the research ................................................................................................................................. 9 Chapter outline ............................................................................................................................................... 10 Methodology .................................................................................................................................................... 11 How I went about my research ........................................................................................................... 11 Research parameters ................................................................................................................................... 14 The current industry status quo: Film and film sound .................................................................. 14 Bridging sound and vision .................................................................................................................... 14 Identifying differences between sound for 2-D and 3-D visuals ........................................... 16 Industry methodologies .............................................................................................................................. 17 Motivation for seeking change ............................................................................................................ 18 Who dictates how the industry works? ................................................................................................ 19 International film industry ................................................................................................................... 19 Australian film industry ......................................................................................................................... 21 The internet: Education and collaboration .................................................................................... 22 Industry leadership ...................................................................................................................................... 23 Studio backing ............................................................................................................................................ 24 Developments and experimentation ................................................................................................ 24 Opportunities beyond the current state of play in cinema ...................................................... 25 Challenges and opportunities ................................................................................................................... 27 iii Chapter 2: Evolution of Sound and Vision: Film Technologies .......................................... 29 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 29 Analogue film: Physical limitations ........................................................................................................ 31 Invention of the 3-D image ................................................................................................................... 31 Pre-synchronous sound ......................................................................................................................... 33 Synchronised sound: Changing the audience experience ........................................................ 34 Sound on film: Synchronisation between image and sound ................................................... 35 The birth of early surround sound: Increasing audio channels ............................................ 36 Magnetic sound and Cinerama ............................................................................................................ 37 The birth of colour and surround sound 3-D feature films ..................................................... 38 Widescreen 2-D challenges 3-D .......................................................................................................... 39 Dolby expands into film sound ............................................................................................................ 41 Digital sound: Establishing format standards ................................................................................... 44 Digital film: Digital 3-D and the Digital Cinema Package .............................................................. 46 Immersive sound: Expanding opportunities...................................................................................... 48 What is industry doing to address sound for 3-D? .......................................................................... 51 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................ 52 Chapter 3: Soundtrack Language and Space ............................................................................ 54 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 54 Part 1: Literacies in audio and vision .................................................................................................... 55 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 55 Defining the soundtrack ......................................................................................................................... 55 What language already exists? ............................................................................................................ 56 Defining 3-D sound and sound for 3-D ............................................................................................ 59 Lack of sound design language ............................................................................................................ 59 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................