Sound Design is the New Score

Author(s):  
Danijela Kulezic-Wilson

Sound Design Is the New Score explores film soundtrack practice that blurs the boundary between scoring and sound design, subverting long-established hierarchical relationships between dialogue, music, and sound effects. The new methods associated with this practice rely on the language and techniques of contemporary popular and art music rather than traditional Hollywood scoring and mixing practices, producing soundtracks in which it is difficult to tell the difference between score and ambient sound, where pieces of pre-existing musique concrète or electroacoustic music are merged with diegetic sound, sound effects are absorbed into the score or treated as music, and diegetic sound is treated as musique concrète. The book argues that the underlying principle that binds together all the different manifestations of this practice is a musical approach to soundtrack conceived as an integrated whole. The aesthetic concerns of this practice, demonstrated in a resistance to the familiar tropes of classical narrative and scoring, are illuminated through the concept of the aesthetics of reticence, which encourages an intellectual, affective, and sensuous engagement with film. The sensuous aspect of this practice is theorized using the concept of the erotics of art, arguing that the sensuousness of film form—its sonic and visual textures, composition, rhythm, movement, and flow—is much more complex and sophisticated than simply being an emphasis on excessive sensory stimulation facilitated by the use of digital technology or the aesthetics inspired by it.

Author(s):  
Danijela Kulezic-Wilson

Chapter 3 focuses on methods of replacing diegetic sound with electroacoustic music and/or musique concrète, or their seamless merging, arguing that they represent a significant development in the practice of erasing the line between score and sound design. The main case studies—Katalin Varga and Berberian Sound Studio—come from the work of British director Peter Strickland, whose methods of “scoring with sound design” are informed by his interest in avant-garde and experimental music. Connecting Strickland’s methods with a growing tendency among some filmmakers to reject the conventions of traditional scoring and its values of passive spectatorship, this chapter introduces the aesthetics of reticence as a conceptual framework embraced by artists who encourage the audience’s active intellectual and emotional engagement with the text.


Author(s):  
Danijela Kulezic-Wilson

Chapter 2 provides a historical context for exploring core questions about the production of soundtracks in the digital age, focusing on the relationship between score and sound design and the various ways in which their functions can overlap under the influences of technology and the musical approach to soundtrack. The blurring of the line between score and sound design is examined from two different angles: one looks at scoring techniques that move the score towards the realm that is usually covered by the sound department, including ambient sound and sound effects; the other involves the musicalization of sounds that are traditionally tasked with a purely mimetic role and the creation of a “realistic” sound environment.


Tempo ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 68 (270) ◽  
pp. 57-67
Author(s):  
Makoto Mikawa

AbstractIndifferent to the aesthetic dispute between the Parisian musique concrète and the Cologne elektronische Musik schools in the mid twentieth century, Mauricio Kagel took a synthetic approach to his second electroacoustic composition Antithese by combining these compositional principles. His aim was not to offer an eclectic solution to the controversy, but to express his musico-political and musico-social commentary. A close observation of Kagel's sketches, archived at the Paul Sacher Foundation, suggests that his choice of compositional materials and painstaking structural plan were shaped by his critical view of the politics of electroacoustic music.


1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Hunt ◽  
Ross Kirk ◽  
Richard Orton ◽  
Benji Merrison

The challenge of composing both sound and moving image within a coherent computer-mediated framework is addressed, and some of the aesthetic issues highlighted. A conceptual model for an audiovisual delivery system is proposed, and this model acts as a guide for detailed discussion of some illustrative examples of audiovisual composition. Options for types of score generated as graphical output of the system are outlined. The need for extensive algorithmic control of compositional decisions within an interactive framework is proposed. The combination of Tabula Vigilans Audio Interactive (TVAI), an algorithmic composition language for electroacoustic music and realtime image generation, with MIDAS, a multiprocessor audiovisual system platform, is shown to have the features desired for the conceptual outline given earlier, and examples are given of work achieved using these resources. It is shown that ultimately delivery of new work may be efficiently distributed via the World Wide Web, with composers' interactive scripts delivered remotely but rendered locally by means of a user's ‘rendering black box’.


Author(s):  
Rolando Vazquez ◽  
Miriam Barrera Contreras

RESUMEN Hay que pensar la decolonialidad en relación a las artes. En esta entrevista exploramos cómo las artes decoloniales se diferencian de la estética moderna/colonial. La decolonización de la estética conlleva la liberación de a la aiesthesis, es decir de las formas de relacionarnos con el mundo y de hacer mundo a través de los sentidos. La aiesthesis decolonial se distingue de los principios del arte contemporáneo y en particular de su sujeción a la temporalidad moderna, abriéndonos hacia las temporalidades relacionales. Los artistas decoloniales ejercen una temporalidad distinta que conlleva no sólo una crítica radical al orden de la representación y de la visualidad modernas sino que también nos dan la posibilidad de entender a la decolonialidad cómo un movimiento cargado de esperanza, cargado de la posibilidad de nombrar y vivenciar los mundos interculturales que han sido negados. PALABRAS CLAVE Decolonialidad, tiempo relacional, esperanza, cuerpo, interculturalidad KAI SUTI AESTHESIS ÑAGPAMANDA KAUSAKUNA TUKUIKUNAWA TAPUCHI SUG RUNATA ROLANDO VÁSQUEZ SUTITA SUGLLAPI Kaipi kawachinakumi iska ruraikuna ñugpamanda chasallata kunaurramanda. Kai suti aiesthesis, kawachiku imasami pai kawa kawachimanda ukusinama paipa iuaikunawa. Aiesthesis kame tukuikunamanda sugrigcha.Lsx artistxs kawachinakumi ñugpamanda kausikuna munankuna kawachingapa charrami kausanakunchi parlanakumi ñugpata imasami mana lisinsiaskakuna allí ruraikuna tukuikunamanda. IMA SUTI RIMAI SIMI: Ñugpamanda, parlaikuna sullai, nukanchi kikin, tukuikuna. DECOLONIAL AESTHESIS AND THE RELATIONAL TIMES. INTERVIEW WITH ROLANDO VÁSQUEZ ABSTRACT We have to hink the decoloniality in relation with the arts. This interview explores the difference between the modern/colonial aesthetic and the decolonial arts. The aesthetic decolonization leads to the release of the aesthesis, ergo it relates in every way to the connection and creation of a world through the senses. The decolonial aesthesis is particularly different from the contemporary art principles in the way it grasps the modern temporality consenting the creation of a path toward relational temporalities. The decolonial artists exercise a different temporality that results in not only a radical criticism to the modern representation and visuality but it makes possible to understand the decolonialization as a hopeful movement, full of possibilities for naming and experiencing neglected intercultural worlds. KEYWORDS Decolonialization, relational time, hope, body, interculturality ESTEHÉSIE DÉCOLONIALE ET LE TEMPS RELATIONNELS. ENTRETIEN À ROLANDO VASQUEZ RÉSUMÉ Il faut penser la décolonisation en relation aux arts. Dans cet entretien on explore comment les arts décoloniaux sont différents de l’esthétique moderne-coloniale. La décolonisation de l’esthétique entraîne la libération de l’estehésie, c’est-à-dire, la libération des façons de nous mettre en relation avec le monde et d’en créer un nouveau à travers les sens. L’estehésie décoloniale se différence des principes de l’art contemporain, principalement pour son fixation à la modernité en nous emmenant vers les temporalités relationnelles. Les artistes décoloniaux exercent avec une temporalité qui n’implique pas juste une critique radicale à l’ordre de la représentation et de la vision moderne, mais aussi de la possibilité de comprendre la décolonisation comme un mouvement plein d’espoir, chargé d’une possibilité de nommer et de mettre en relief les interculturalités qu’ont été niées. MOTS-CLEFS Décolonisation, temps relationnels, espoir, corps, interculturalité ESTESIA DESCOLONIAL E O TEMPO RELACIONAL ENTREVISTA A ROLANDO VAZQUEZ RESUMO Temos que pensar a descolonização em relação as artes. Nesta entrevista é explorado como as artes descoloniais são diferentes da estética moderna-colonial. A descolonização da estética conduz a emancipação da estesia, isto é, das formas de relacionamento com o mundo e da fôrma de fazer mundo a partir dos sentidos. A estesia descolonial distinguese dos princípios da arte contemporânea particularmente pela fixação o tempo moderno, abrindo-nos para a temporalidades relacionales. Os artistas descoloniais exercem uma temporalidade diferente que implica não só uma crítica radical à ordem da representação e à visão moderna, mas também à possibilidade de entender a descolonização como um movimento cheio de esperança, carregado da possibilidade de designar e viver os mundos interculturais que foram negados. PALAVRAS CHAVES Descolonização, esperança, tempo relacional, fôrma, intercultural.   Recibido el 20 de enero de 2015 Aceptado el 26 de febrero de 2015


2021 ◽  
Vol 263 (3) ◽  
pp. 3562-3570
Author(s):  
Ryoma Morisaki ◽  
Osamu Terashima ◽  
Toshiro Miyajima

This study investigates the difference of performance sounds of an electric guitar with a metal pickguard. The sounds of the open strings of the guitar are measured, showing that the damping time becomes shorter than that obtained with a commonly used plastic pickguard. Further, it was also found that the sounds of the 1 and 2 strings were distinct and those of the other strings were slightly suppressed when the metal pickguard was used. Therefore, the metal pickguard is effective in making sharp, clear, and distinct sounds. We changed the material of the pickguard from plastic to copper. In the experiments, simultaneous measurements of the vibrational acceleration of the peg, pickguard, and output voltage of the guitar with a constant plucking force of the strings were performed. It was found that the profile of the RMS value of the vibrational acceleration of the pickguard changed when the copper pickguard was used. Moreover, the vibrational modes of copper the pickguard were different than the others. In conclusion, it was determined that the sound quality is affected by the vibrational characteristics; thus, it can be adjusted by varying the means by which the pickguard is attached to the guitar body.


2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 60-69
Author(s):  
Salar Salah Muhy Al-Dın ◽  
Hourakhsh Ahmad Nia

The aim of this study is to extend the rationale and comprehensive understanding in respect of the notion of functionality and beauty in the smart skin buildings. Smart skin in buildings plays a key role in improving building functionality, and the future lies in the use of innovative smart skin strategies. The methodology focused on the objectivity and subjectivity of human perception to assess the aesthetic value of a building's smart skin. A theoretical analysis has been conducted based on the results of the investigation model and fortified by comparing the results with the findings obtained through the opinions of experts based in AHP methodology. The study demonstrates that there is a relation between both the aesthetic value and the functionality of the smart skin of a building. The findings revealed the difference in the aesthetic evaluation between the subjective functionality and the objective functionality of the building skin. The findings contribute useful evidence for the promotion of our understanding regarding the aesthetic value of the smart skin of a building, based on its functionality.


2020 ◽  
pp. 91-102
Author(s):  
Noah Kellman

Each video game has its own unique, visual aesthetic, and it’s up to the composer to complement this visual world by creating a sonic atmosphere. Many of the greatest games have incorporated musical elements into their sound effects and ambiences. As the field of game music continues to grow, so does the importance of sound design as part of the composer’s skill set. This chapter explores how music and sound effects have interacted throughout the history of game music, defining these relationships for the reader in understandable terms with clear distinctions and accessible examples. This chapter explores FEZ (2012) as an example, along with a variety of other examples in which the music and sound effects were conceived with different levels of interconnectivity.


Artful Noise ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 107-117
Author(s):  
Thomas Siwe

With the end of World War II came the rebirth of European radio. Government stations in both France and Germany established experimental studios for research, from which arose a new kind of music, “electronic music.” The station in France, Office de Radiodiffusion Télevision Française (ORTF), was directed by the engineer/composer Pierre Schaeffer and his partner, Pierre Henry, who called their musical creations musique concrète. In Germany the Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) studio produced music through the process of “synthesis.” This chapter will explain the difference between the two approaches used to create electronic music with examples from the percussion solo and ensemble repertoire. Early experiments using wire recorders, test records, and tape recorders by composers Halim El-Dabh, John Cage, and Edgard Varèse precede the major electronic works of Karlheinz Stockhausen, Mario Davidovsky, and the American composer Stephen Everett, whose use of computers in “real time” brings the reader into the next century.


2021 ◽  
pp. 157-172
Author(s):  
Milena Droumeva

This chapter argues that the vocal performance of Lara Croft’s character in Tomb Raider 2013 manifests a particular type of media femininity requiring her fear and fragility and contrasts with similar games featuring male leads. Extending the discussion of the male gaze to sound brings new insight to the relationships between a character’s look, her movements and mechanics, and her vocalizations, to embody the character’s gender or act as gendered corporeality. The chapter argues that by virtue of being sound “effects,” women’s voices and feminized sounds in games draw on and solidify some of the most deeply entrenched gendered norms of sound design and voice-over work. Lara Croft’s excessive breathiness, as well as the overuse of environmental reverberation, codes her gendered sonic position as “feminized.” Players experience Lara Croft’s vocalizations as coded with abundant emotionality and fragility—sounds of strain, inner monologue, gasps, reactions, and battle cries—especially when compared with a similar narrative and game character, Nathan Drake, from the Uncharted series. By comparing the gendered sonic positioning of Lara and Nathan, the chapter shows her embodied vocal fragility by linking these characteristics to a transmedia historiography of feminized vocal typologies.


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