ABSTRACT
Let’s say the director walks up to you, the production sound mixer, and says that he/she wants to brainstorm with you about ways to develop a story idea using sound. What would your reaction be? Obviously, you would faint and have to be revived with smelling salts, but I’m talking about after that, when you’re fully conscious again. The cinematographer, production designer, and editor have conversa-
tions like this with the director all the time. The composer sometimes has similar discussions, but usually way too late for the music to function as anything better than a nicely applied decoration to a fait accompli. I propose that the way for a filmmaker to best take advantage of sound
is not so much to hire a sound designer to fabricate sounds, but rather to design the film with sound in mind. A good first step is to try to become more aware of the ways sound
can function in a movie. Most directors who like to think they appreciate sound still have a pretty narrow idea of the potential for sound in storytelling. They basically think that it’s useful to have “good” sound in order to enhance the visuals. But that isn’t collaboration. It’s essentially slavery. And the product
it yields is bound to be less complex and interesting than it would be if sound could somehow be set free to be an active player in the process. Only when each craft influences every other craft does the movie begin to take on a life of its own.
