Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema (Paperback)

by David Sonnenschein (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
With sound becoming more important in cinema exhibition and DVD release, Sound Design offers user-friendly knowledge and stimulating exercises to help compose a story, develop characters and create emotion through skillful creation of the sound track. Psychoacoustics, music theory, voice study and analysis of well-known films expand perception, imagination and the musical skills of the reader.

Psychoacoustics, music theory, and voice study are covered through the detailed analysis of well-known films, to expand perception, imagination and the musical skills of the reader.

KEY FEATURES:
* Understand the importance and significance of the soundtrack
* Learn how to place a musical piece within a film
* Exercises included to improve story composition, and character development when creating/choosing a soundtrack

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Michael Wiese Productions (November 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941188264
• ISBN-13: 978-0941188265
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #27,413 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For all film/video professionals, not just audio technicians, March 29, 2003

By	Larry Feign "cartoonist , author and disappoi... (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is one of the most eye (I mean EAR) opening and fascinating books I have looked at for a long time. I am an animation producer, and admittedly have always taken a hit-and-miss, often formulaic approach to sound as something secondary in importance to the visuals. This book changed my thinking. It provides a clear foundation in the narrative power of sound and music, is written with great insight and passion, and includes thought-provoking and playful exercises that you can't resist trying!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read! - Pro Sound Magazine, January 27, 2002

By	David Sonnenschein (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Pro Sound Magazine Review
by Steve Harvey

Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema by David Sonnenschein (Michael Wiese Productions; www.mwp.com) is a fascinating read for anybody who has even a passing interest in the subject. Whether you are considering a career in sound design or film, are already involved and want to improve your skills, or want to learn more about how sound propels a film's narrative, this book is a must-read.

The author, a musician, writer and director who lectures and consults in sound design for TV and film, and who is involved in interactive media sonification through Sonic Strategies, a company he co-founded, goes way beyond the nuts and bolts of sound design to also explore the perceptual and physiological effects of sound. Stemming from Sonnenschein's neurobiology undergraduate work at UC San Diego, the research informs his own unique approach to sound design and has also led him to an interest in the creation of therapeutic sound.

A constant thread throughout Sonnenschein's thesis is his plea that sound designer's be invited into the inner circle with the director, sound editor and music composer as early as possible in a project's life, preferably from the very start, the better to reinforce the story. A film can only be enhanced by the application at the project's inception of even just a few of the ideas presented in this book.

Exploring the emotional and physical perception of music, voice and sound, the author offers listening techniques and exercises to stimulate the imagination and for the creation of a sound design that takes the explicit and implicit sound cues of a script and strengthens its emotional impact. From the initial `realtime' reading of the written words through the drafting of a sound map to the final mix and print mastering, Sonnenschein offers a thorough exploration of every aspect of the process, with the help of real world commentary from sound designers such as Dane Davis (The Matrix), Gary Rydstrom (Artificial Intelligence and George Watters II (Pearl Harbor).

Sound is a frequently misunderstood aspect of film production. As any sound designer knows, budget, scheduling and political considerations can often mean that he or she is not called in until after the picture is edited. But the next time you watch a particularly dramatic scene, turn the sound off. Energy, tension and emotion all evaporate. As Sonnenschein points out, that's the power of sound.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bible of Aural Excitment, April 7, 2005

By	JBM (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

If you can only afford to purchase one book on Sound Design, This is the ONE.

The author's writing style is easy to read and flows well. You may only get stumped on concept from time to time.

Sonnenschein not only shows the creative side but also the business side in presenting yourself to the director and/or producer.

Some of things that he explains involve how contrast works, changing frequency (EQ'ing) to enhance moods, mapping out the script, searching for the writer's sound clues, consistency, and building your sound library.

The book won't teach you how to mix or what specific software tools to use but it will encourage you to expand your creative side with the tools you do have.

This book is recommended for those who have a background, or some experience, with sound and audio editing who want to move into the realm of sound design.