ABSTRACT
Whether you are cutting to only one music track or layering fi fteen tracks of audio, there is virtually no end to the contributions a well-crafted sound design can bring to a fi lm. Sound can establish a tone or mood with unmatchable nuance and it can vividly establish the legitimacy and emotional impression of a location. Sound is able to bring dramatic emphasis to actions or details inside or outside of the frame; in fact, sound can create an entire world off screen (how many times have we seen characters reacting to the sound of a terrible car crash just outside the frame’s edge?). Sound can contribute to establishing a character’s point of view even to the point of refl ecting their particular psychology. In short, sound is an essential cinematic storytelling component that deserves considerable attention throughout all phases of the fi lm production process.
