Sound for AV

Yesterday we had a lecture with Danny about sound and the aesthetics of sound when it comes to filming. 

The audiovisual relationship is not natural but rather a sort of symbolic pact to which

 the audio-spectator agrees to forget that sound is coming from loudspeakers and

 picture from the screen. The audio-spectator considers the elements of sound and 

image to be participating in one the same entity or world.  

The result of the audio-visual contract is that one perception influences the other and

 transforms it. So that ... 

We never see the same thing when we also hear.  

We don't hear the same thing when we see as well.

(Edited excerpt: Michel Chion, Audio-Vision)

Part 1: Mechanics

Loudness: Av sound constantly manipulates sound volume. For example, in many films a long shot of a busy street is accompanied by loud traffic noises, but when two people meet and start to speak, the loudness of the noise is characterized as much by the difference in volume as by the substance of the talk. 

Pitch: The frequency of sound vibrations governs pitch, or the perceived highness or lowness

 of the sound.  

Most sounds in life are "complex tones", made up of different frequencies. Pitch helps us

 to distinguish music and speech from other sounds. Pitch also serves to distinguish among 

objects. Low pitched sounds can often suggest dull or hollow objects,

Timbre: These are often sounds that give feeling or color to a scene i.e. warm sounds for

happiness or dull cold sounds for fear.

Ambiance: Ambiance is the atmosphere of a place so this includes the background noise, 

the sounds heard when no diegetic sound is present.

Room Tone:  A locations’ "aural fingerprint“ Each room has a distinct presence of subtle

 sounds created by the movement of air particles in a particular volume. Room tone is recorded during 'production sound recording' Room tone is used to match the production sound track so that it may be inter cut with the track and provide a continuous-sounding background.

Hyper-real Sound: These are sounds that are over exaggerated in order to be more 

prominent,or give more emphasis in a scene. 

Establishing Sound: These are sounds that establish a scene, so it may be sound of a busy 

street or a quite country side, so even if the audience cant necessarily see the location the 

establishing sound will make it known.

Foley: Foley are sounds which are added in in post production, they are artificial sounds 

created using a number of objects in order to mimic the sound present in a scene e.g.

coconuts shells used to mimic the sound of horses.

Production Sound: These are sounds which a present when filming so any background sounds 

you might encounter while shooting a scene e.g. birds, wind. Outdoor locations can be especially difficult due to the very limited control the film-makers have of the environment. 

Natural Sound: These are the sounds of objects that are unaltered so sounds which aren't 

emphasized to enhance there present within the film. They are rarely used because they 

can be disappointing compared to an altered version.