Sound evokes emotions, therefore foley, which is the reproduction of everyday sounds for the use of filmmaking, is effectively used within the film industry to intensify the emotions of a certain scene and to make connections with the audiences. Film editors and sound designers like Walter Murch use the technique foley in effective ways that capture the attention of the viewers, for example Murch’s editing of Apocalypse Now, in particular the sound of tanks moving in this film is created by people banging tin trays, although tanks don’t actually sound like the noise that is portrayed in the film, it is purposely designed this way because people believe an army tank should have a ‘tin’ sound, therefore making the scene more relatable and realistic to the viewer. Another cleverly designed example of foley is in the film Saving Private Ryan, in the scene where the leading character loses his hearing, the muffled and disorientated effects emote a strong feeling in the viewers as they feel that they can sympathise with the man. So it is evident that sound contributes to visual culture as much as imagery does.
The idea that sound is not directional and that silence is not the absence of sound, was tested by John Cage, regardless if everyone is silent there is still noise, background noise cannot be shut out, Cage’s composition of “4’33” developed on this. The composed piece consisted of the sounds of the environment that the listeners hear while it is performed, however it is commonly perceived as four minutes thirty-three seconds of silence. Cage wanted to prove a point that silence is sound, and that art is a provocation, although it is debatable whether or not one perceives this as a highly composed piece of music. “4’3” raised much controversy, some viewed it as a masterpiece, while other simply viewed it as silence, honestly I think it did take a lot of patience to compose yourself perfectly for exactly four minutes and thirty three seconds, however I do believe that a piece of music were an orchestra plays is a lot more technical, it involves a high standard of talent. So I do see the significance of “4’3” but I believe that it is only designed to let people listen to the normal noises that they block out, so really this can only be a one off piece because if it was to be repeated people would most defiantly loss interest, even four minutes thirty-three seconds was long enough to listen to.
Furthermore ‘sound as an event’ was also discussed in class, in Northern Ireland sound can be used for a sectarian purpose, as sound is used to reinforce our cultural belongings, as Catholics in Northern Ireland are recognised with the Bodhrán drum and protestants are associated with the Hash drum. Catholics and Protestants also noticeably pronounce the letter ‘H’ differently as Protestants are associated with a harsh industry sound, while Catholics are associated with a tranquil soft countryside sounds. Personally I have never noticed the difference but after asking a few friends to spell the word church I realised that in the majority of cases this was true, however I don’t think someone should be automatically judged by the way they say certain words.
But overall it is clear that sound is an important element in the contribution to visual culture, as they go hand in hand, so therefore everything you produce should be a provocation, not a representative, in other terms don’t add Coldplay or Snow Patrol to the background of moving images because you need to evoke a response and be authentic, although I do think that the likes of Coldplay or Snow Patrol are not “bed wetter’s.”
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