Editing by tom baker

“Sound affects us in a deep way, almost more than image does” (Watler Murch) Sound is one of, if not the most important aspects of our daily life. Making Waves showed me that sound is so natural to us that we the best sound design is one that you most often do not notices. We are constantly hearing noises throughout our day, and our brain is able to process them instantly. This is why it is important for films to have sound that the viewers do not have to try and process, and ask them selves what it is they are hearing. As Pat Jackson say’s in the documentary, sound should always be “Flying under the radar”.

Sound is a huge aspect to cinema and how a film is perceived by the audience. As George Lucas say’s “The point is to convey an emotion” This shows that each and every sound added to a film, is added to help convince the audience of a certain emotion that the characters are experiencing. This is hugely important in genres such as horror or thriller films. These films often use quiet and subtle sounds to help build suspense and fear throughout, genres such as action often use loud sounds such as explosions or gunshots to help build excitement.

Making Waves also helped me to realise how important sound can be to giving context to the viewer. “Sounds play a huge role in the abstract cinema” (David Lynch) This shows that when what the audience see’s may not always be clear, the sound will always help them to understand. This as helped me as a sound designer as it reminds me to remember that making sure the sounds I am creating or editing have to be clear and in line to the image being shown, else the audiences will be left confused and unsure.

In conclusion, Making Waves was extremely insightful into the world of sound design, it showed that I have to remember that the sounds I create have to corralate with what is on the screen the majority of the time. It also reminded me of how much sound effected how the audience conveys emotion and how emotions can be built from sound.