Reading Summary: Amplification Of Sound

THE AMPLIFICATION OF SOUND

Copyright 2005

Metz defined image, dialogue, noise, music and written materials, as the five tracks of cinema. These five tracks are known as the "matter of expression," of a film, three of which are aural. Metz's definition sparked a new interest in sound as it related to the film and music industries, which is known today by most film historians as the "second sound revolution."

It was at this point in time where the film industry and sound/music industry merged on a commercial level. In 1975, George Lucas implemented stereophonic sound, discovered by Dolby (the use of multiple speakers and sound fields), to further enhance the theatrical experience of his first installment of "Star Wars." Spielberg was not far behind as he used the same Dolby technology on "Close Encounters." Not much later on, Walter Murch, created a 160-track sound track for the film "Apocalypse Now." Murch experimented and pushed the use of sound far beyond its conventions, most memorably in the first scene where Martin Sheen is laying on his bed beneath a fan, delivering a monologue, where Walter Murch shifted from objective (diegetic) to subjective (non-diegetic) sounds of a fan and helicopter.

Music has been used since the beginning of cinema, but was not analyzed until the 1980's. Music is a part of today's popular culture and at its base are "structures of feeling." It is a key that unlocks the inner emotions of a film, and the emotions of its audience. Soundtracks and musical scores can also help us "locate" a film, a time period, understand the filmmaker's point of view, and a variety of information within a film's story.

It is said that music in film "goes for the emotional jugular." "It directs our emotional responses;