Such is the case in the film Blow Out (1981), a thriller/mystery which upon its initial release carried the promotional tag line “Murder has a sound all its own.” But what if a character in a film is unaware of the film genre in which he finds himself? Without a specific context or narrative intent, even a trained sound designer may be listening intently to various sounds, but never really grasp their significance. The entire history of cinematic genres can be found in these descriptions. For this reason, the descriptions of sound effects in sound libraries often read like poetic verse: Man on Fire. The act of listening is further complicated when layers of additional meaning are added as effects are edited and re-mixed to create specific visceral intents.
Therefore, listening is simultaneously an act of appreciation and evaluation. While collecting the raw materials for a film sound track, sound designers must consider the narrative potential of a sound by seeking to identify its onscreen corollary as well as its thematic and emotional resonance. Click to view film clip in : “BLOW OUT: A Conspiracy of Sound”įilm sound personnel have a unique relationship not only to sound creation, but also to the act of listening.
