The world of cinema is traditionally ruled by actors, and secondly by directors. They always receive all the attention during galas and award ceremonies, and one could arguably say that they even overshadow the sheer array of other technical works in film; however, for someone hoping to start a career in filmmaking, aspects such as cinematography, original soundtrack or editing are just as important as being able to cast the right talent.

Be that as it may, the role of the sound designer and the importance of sound design in a film are ostracized to a secondary position, overlooking how crucial both aspects are in any audiovisual project. The mixing stage is where the true magic happens, where sound engineers manage to provide any thriller with the right amount of tension, whereas Foley artists resort to all kinds of tricks to craft all the sounds you hear in the moving images.

Perhaps one of the reasons why the sound design does not receive as much attention as any other profession under the filmmaking umbrella is because, traditionally, the film industry has referred to sound and other sound elements to invisible aspects.

Up to 70% of what you hear in a film is recorded or designed in post-production. It just allows filmmakers to achieve a much better quality of the overall sonic experience for the audience. It can often provide a mix engineer with the required flexibility to place dialogue lines in different environments, overcoming the complexities of the location where those lines were initially recorded. 

A green scene where the characters are supposed to be falling from a building will never sound like they are actually falling from a canyon unless those sonic elements are added later in post-production, taking care of reverb, equalization and more.

So, how to identify what is great sound design and what is not? We have picked 3 films that craft, capture and manipulate sonic elements to engage their audience and provide memorable pieces of their amazing storytelling puzzle.

Blow Out (Brian de Palma, 1981)

John Travolta plays a sound effects professional who, by accident, records a murder. Before ‘Blow Out’, no other film had involved the mechanics of sound design in a film so intensely. The film starts off with the sound crew interrupting the actors because the scream of one of the girls is not good enough.

This, although works as a gag in a way, particularly depicts the lengths sound professionals have to go in order to succeed at what they do and how artificial the development of sound in films can be.

The knife, the steps of the talent and the scream were crafted and recorded separately, using on the set sound only as a reference so that the sound crew could replace them later during post-production. Style and content are very hard to separate in this film, and the connection between sound and moving images is clever enough as it works perfectly in the film, but also as a reference to the perception in real life.

Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)

Perhaps you believe that after all these years everything has been said about Star Wars; however, although we’re talking about an incredible film, it never ceases to amaze us. The first sound designer screen credit was given to Ben Burtt for his incredible work in the franchise. Even if the role didn’t exist at that time, director George Lucas had to find a term for the work that Burtt and his team did for not only this film but also for the subsequent installments.

It is said that Burtt spent almost 12 months experimenting with all sorts of sounds to craft what George Lucas had envisioned. Ranging from a storm trooper’s blaster to the iconic lightsaber, Burtt ended up developing the art of Foley before it was even coined as a proper role under the audio post-production and sound design umbrella.

Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)

David Lynch is widely known for being a filmmaker who always pays special attention to sound design. The opening scene of ‘Blue Velvet’ is arguably one of his most noticeable projects sound-wise, and a perfect example of the use of Foley and other sonic elements as a deeper artistic expression.

The film opens with images of what could be called a perfect and clean neighborhood. The following scene shows the camera going down into the grass as it digs deeper and deeper. This scene was famous enough for being one of the most disturbing movie openings of that decade; however, it was not because of the action going on —it was because the action was paired with an amazing combination of distorted sounds and other disgusting effects of different animals and insects.

David Lynch is known for including all sorts of sounds for his movies. In fact, he seldom stays true to what the audience is used to. He strives to enhance the overall film experience by adding sounds that work with the action going on in the moving images, which creates a higher workload for sound designers and sound professionals alike.

*The images used on this post are taken from Pexels.com