“7 Sounds”…It’s all around Us!

Take a moment to listen where you are right now…you should be able to pick out at least 7 different sounds that make up the soundscape surrounding you. It may be the furnace kicking in, the wind in the trees, the dog barking down the street, two magpies having an argument outside your window, the airplane high overhead, a horn in the distance, your teenager playing “Call of Duty” in the basement (OK…maybe that’s just my house!). The point is, the world we live in has many layers of sound that combine to make rich environments. These soundscapes are what we identify as “real”.

 

As sound designers, we need to be keen auditory observers of the world around us. We use these observations to help create soundscapes that are believable.

 

This “Reality Sound Re-Creation” is critical to television and film production.   If done well, it goes un-noticed…and should be crafted to allow the audience to follow the storyline without distraction. Like having the right background visually, it supports the believability of a scene.

 

In application, this discipline takes hours of work to craft, and can be a thankless endeavor…if they don’t notice you…you have done a terrific job!

 

Yet without it, the production would feel incomplete.

 

Go ahead and listen…can you hear 7 sounds?

 

Passionate about the craft of audio

 

Brad Belcher

 

 

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