Behind The Vision Is The Sound

Sound design is getting more detailed with every big budget movie Hollywood can crank out. With each release, sound designers are almost teasing each other to see who can produce the best auditory experience. These masters of sound work behind the scenes to ensure that audience is enveloped in sound suitable for each genre of film.

Sound is important to film; without it the audience would never receive the full story. Take for example the film Lincoln. Such a period piece needs to have the most accurate sound design in order to fully immerse oneself in the film. The sound designers for that film were tasked to create the most convincing sounds possible.

The sound designers of that film used real life objects that once belonged to the president, they even recorded the floors Lincoln once walked on. Wanting to get the most authentic sound possible, items such as Lincoln’s personal pocket watch was used. Even door hinges from the White House made it into the film. This type of devotion to accuracy is what help propel the movie Lincoln in to a major Hollywood blockbuster and helped it win several awards.

However period piece movies like Lincoln aren’t the only type of films that require such level of detail in terms of sound. The 2012 mega-hit sci-fi film, The Avengers received equally well-designed sound effects. The sound designers stayed true to the previous films and used many sounds from the other stand-alone Marvel films. Layering those previous effects with new ones, helped establish continuity within the films. In final battle scene, as Ironman fires his repulsor rays at Captain America’s shield, both the distinctive ring of the shield and high-tech buzz from Ironman’s rays combine and produce a new sound that believably incorporates both signature sound effects into a new one.

From it’s humble begins as just simple music in a film to full-on audio immersion production, sound design is constantly evolving to further engage audiences and help bring them into the film’s world. What the future holds for the sound design field is yet to be seen, because it does not rely on what equipment or technology is present, instead it is dependent on the skills of the sound designer and their imaginations in order to make the films truly come alive.