Sound design means something different for everybody. For some it is something to earn money and for the others it´s a passion. In the best case it is both;) The creative work of sound design should evoke an illusion for the viewer to be part of the event. Especially the human’s emotional level should be addressed through the frequency, rhythmic shape, volume and dynamic development of sounds.
Today Matt tells us his personal sound design story and explains what is special about sound design in movies and especially what you can achieve with good sounds. Moreover he talks about his plans for an own movie and wherefore he would use our BOOM Library sounds – well, hopefully he will use our sounds because Matt is the winner of a contest and got the Cinematic Trailers Bundle and Cinematic Horror Bundle to add sound to his own projects. We wish him good luck for his projects and that he will accomplish his objectives. Have fun reading this nice text whereby Matt won the well-deserved first place!
“Movies can be iconic and many things contribute to their iconography cinematography, direction, score and specifically sound design. Imagine watching the fight in Marion’s bar in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” without such beautiful sound design. Imagine the entire movie “Aliens” or “The Birds”. Sound design can make or break a movie. If your film has the wrong sound design it can take the audience entire out of the movie. One misplaced and generic sound effect can take away from the power, impact or suspense of a scene. The pure art behind sound design is how it is woven into the production where is seems almost natural. The human ear has never heard dinosaurs before, but after watching “Jurassic Park” we can all swear that we have heard a T-Rex roar. Gary Rydstrom was tasked with making the T-Rex sound real and mixed numerous real animal sounds to do so. He placed T-Rex into our recognized audial spectrum. That is what sound design can do, transform a movie from a simple story to a tangible event of our lives.
I am specifically interested in this set (Cinematic Trailers Bundle and Cinematic Horror Bundle) and have seen them online but do not have the money to buy them. I am planning on making a horror film that needs to be grounded in reality. Even the antagonists in my story, though seemingly ethereal, need to belong to this world since this is from where they came. I am hoping to turn this into a horror franchise of sorts, numerous short films and some feature length movies telling different tales of horror and suspense. The main feature we are working on will do for your house and your neighborhood what Jaws did for the Ocean and the Beach….hopefully. I have always been a big horror fan, specifically psychological horror and these sound design products would take my films from low budget scary films to truly frightening and immersive films.
The best example that comes to mind of sound design used in a film is “Saving Private Ryan”. As a veteran I look for the authenticity in movies dealing with the military. “Saving Private Ryan” was spot on and the sound design was a MAJOR contributing factor to that. Simply the landing on Omaha beach in the opening sequence was so rife with authentic and accurate sounds that work seamlessly with the image. That type of scene, tried similarly in many movies, could have been a cacophony of noise overlaid too much to the point of distraction. The sound design in that opening scene was perfect. From the ricocheting bullets to the exploding mortars to the dipping below and raising above the water as soldiers tried to get on shore..just magical and so powerful. I was serving when I first saw “Saving Private Ryan” and it was such an emotional experience that I saw the movie three times and was emotionally overcome each time. The sound brings that layer of reality that pulls us into the film.
There may not be a finer example. However, a subtle piece in the movie that many overlook was when the squad is walking through the French countryside and there is a close up of rain falling on the leaves. You heard the pattering of the rain and Gary Rydstrom once again blends the pattering rain into distant machine gun fire. That little bit of sound design calms you and immerses you in the country setting during a quiet rain and then pulls your ear and your mind into the horrors of more combat. Just beautiful. Those are just a few examples of why I feel “Saving Private Ryan” is the best example of Sound Design.
That also makes me want to make my war film from my personal experience….but I need to get the story out of my head and on paper. One day.” – Matt
If you want to know more about Matt´s work check out:www.prodynamix.com
