Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice, and Sound Effects in Cinema

SONNENSCHEIN, David (2001) Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice, and Sound Effects in Cinema. United States of America, Michael Wiese Productions

This book was an excellent read because it goes into great detail about how important sound design is. It mentions that sound is very important to film as it gives the audience a sense of realism. The book talks about the sound design of Motion Pictures nowadays as it changed from Dolby Stereo to Dolby Digital and this has changed how people watch and ‘listen’ to films. The book contains many examples of Science Fiction films which have been praised when it comes to Sound Design.

In Chapter 1 (Origins and influences) goes into detail about Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and how the film has influenced many other films to do with sound and how sound can work as a narrative aid. The chapter mentions a term called Sound Montage and how Walter Murch used it in THX 1138 (1971). Murch was inspired by 2001. He experimented with different sound techniques and mixed it with dialogue.

This book will influence me into thinking about the smallest of sounds that can be used in my own soundtrack. It was an interesting read because it goes into great detail about major blockbusters that have changed how we listen to pieces of text.