Paul Davis
- Paul Davis is a sound designer and he is great at articulating what sort of practice is necessary within sound design. He has this ability to explain why sound design in a really compelling way. He has this ability to explain why sound is not just an accessory to film, but a psychological force. Listening to him speak, you realise just how delicate the balance is between noises silence and music.
- The anti form of narrative or noise still has a emotional response. Sound design is crucial to evoke a feeling or creating the psychological response in the POV of the character
Why use music on film?
My response to this was multifaceted. I think it has several uses, one might be too evoke a feeling where it is needed. We are able to do this in several ways, like to have a sad song played at a sad part of a film. However, directors like David Lynch would play a really harmonic and happy song when sometimes something quite horrific is going on visually. Another great use of music could be to add narrative when the visual doesn’t. A characters motif is used in story telling a lot, the motif can change over time thus showing the development of this character sonically. Music can also help build the film up and to change the pace.
Walter Murch
Walter Murch has a bit of a different view when it comes to using silence in a film. He has worked on films like The Godfather and explains his reasoning into why silence is a powerful tool in film making. He explains the reasoning behind using silence in powerful scenes and because it can have the opposite effect if you add music where sometimes its not needed. Music is a powerful tool but you need to know when to use it. I think it’s important to know this and to be aware of music and be conscious about it.
- Subtext is very important with music. The music is in there at the correct place. however you as the filmmaker seem fit
- Rhythm of the film also applies to music, music has the ability to change the direction pace and feeling off the film
- Non-diagetic and diabetic sound are mixed together to show the POV of the character on screen
- When a film is visually main a statement there is no reason to for the music to follow
Reflection
Thinking about the ideas of David and Murch together has shifted my understanding of how I want to approach my own films sound. They both speak from experience, but they meet in one place: sound is emotional architecture. It holds the firm upright. It carries what the character cannot say. It shapes how we breathe with the images.
As I build the sound world for my film, the atmospheres and the music and Foley. I’m realising the responsibility of choosing what to include and what to leave out. I’m drawn to the idea that silence is not absence and that noise is not always presence. Sometimes the most powerful thing is restraint. Other times, it’s leaning into instability or contradiction like Lynch does.
Ultimately, I want the sound for my project to feel lived in, something that doesn’t just accompany the imagery but reveals it. My goal is to craft a sonic experience that reflects not only what is happening on screen but what is happening internally, psychologically and emotionally.