8: SoundThis is a featured page

Chapter 8: Style & Sound
  • Butler, Jeremy G. "Style and Sound" In Television: Critical Methods and Applications, 227-252. 3rd ed. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 2007.

Chapter Outline/Notes

Reminder, televisions primary economic and technological predecessor is radio, not film or theater!

Types of Television Sound
contemporary sound editing is digital, non-linear, with multiple tracks
Speech
  • Dialogue is the primary form of speech. Characters can "break" with normal conventions either breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to the audience and/or doing narration/voice over.
  • Dubbing is when voice is recorded and added to the visual track (looping) later in the production process.
Music
  • Television almost always has music, especially if there is no speech/dialogue.
  • Popular music is difficult due to copyright issues.
  • In early television history avoided popular music due to the association with "subversive or counter-cultural elements" (p. 233).
  • Except in live productions, most music is added during post-production.
Sound Effects
  • anything not speech or music = sound effects
Purposes of Sound on Television
Capturing viewer attention.
  • Due to competing distractions, television must grab viewer's attention.
Manipulating viewer understanding of the image.
  • Sound and image support one another, for example laugh tracks.
  • Sound and image contradict one another.
  • Sound helps to emphasize select elements within the image.
Maintaining televisual flow.
Maintaining continuity within individual scenes.

Acoustic Properties and Sound Technology
General Acoustic Properties
  • Loudness/volume
  • Pitch
  • Timbre/tone
TV-Specific Acoustic Properties
  • Digital vs. Analog
    • Digital has less background noise
    • Digital has a larger dynamic range
    • Digital has a greater frequency response
  • Sound Perspective and Directionality
Space, Time, and Narrative
  • Sound and space--sound helps construct a larger world outside what we see on the screen
  • Sound and time--sound can be earlier, simultaneous, or later than the image
  • Diegetic and Nondiegetic sound--sound either a part of the "world" of the television show, or not related (like "mood" music)

Terms/Concepts to Know

  • speech
  • music
  • sound effects
  • tracks
  • dialogue
  • narration
  • voice over
  • dubbed
  • looping
  • subtitled
  • copyright
  • master rights
  • public domain
  • intellectual property
  • lip sync
  • ambient sound
  • Foley
  • laugh track
  • sweetening
  • fade out
  • fade in
  • cross-fade
  • segue
  • loudness
  • volume
  • pitch
  • timbre
  • tone
  • digital
  • analog
  • dynamic range
  • frequency response
  • sound perspective
  • overhead boom
  • lavaliere
  • hand-held
  • close-miking
  • diegetic space

Related Course Outcomes

  • Describe the functions and artistic responsibilities of each of the major members of a television crew. (1. Television Crew)--descriptions of different people who help with sound production
  • Describe and apply principles of aesthetics used in the critical analysis of a television show.(2. Aesthetics)--how/why sound functions in the narrative development of TV shows.
  • Identify the technical elements of a TV show and explain how those elements are used to stimulate different emotional responses from the audience and to illuminate the lives of the characters. (3. Technical Elements)--description of how sounds engage viewer's actions and emotions
  • Describe the use of live drama, vaudeville, radio, and movies as sources of material in early television advertising. (10. TV Advertising History)--impact of Radio's history on the importance of sound in TV
  • Describe programming strategies for success in commercial television and non-commercial programming. (13. Programming Strategies)--using sound to grab/keep viewers' attention.

Examples to Watch & Discuss



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rrodrigo Sound: Fighting for Your Attention 16 Dec 18 2008, 8:38 AM EST by IcePrincessLatina
Thread started: Nov 18 2008, 11:04 AM EST  Watch
Discuss how sound impacts your television viewing habits.
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rrodrigo Sound as World Construction 12 Dec 17 2008, 4:53 PM EST by Brittala
Thread started: Nov 18 2008, 11:03 AM EST  Watch
Discuss an example from a television show where what you heard really impacted your understanding of the "world" the television show was building. Obviously ambient sound matters (sound effects); however, speech and music might have been important as well.
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