The Invisible Half of Film

When walking out of a movie theater, what do you talk about? It's safe to assume that you talk about how good, or bad, the film you just saw was. Some statements you say could be, “oh that fight scene looked so cool,” or, “that actor did a terrible job,” or even, “I wonder where they filmed the end scene.” All of these conversations have something specific in common: they are all about things you saw in the film. I’m about to tell something that may be shocking:

Visuals only make up fifty percent of the film.

Now you may be asking about what makes up the other half. It's not what you see, but what you hear. A sound designer, along with their team of mixers, editors, recordists, and other various positions both on and off set, work to create the aural accompaniment to the visual world of the film. If the team does their job adequately, the work done becomes “invisible” to the normal moviegoer.

Image via Premium Beat 2021

Sound design in film is quite a particular art form that can be hard to comprehend at first. Sound is such a huge part of our lives that we don't think about it-- it is something we experience every day. Just like how it's an important part of our daily lives, sound is also important for telling stories in a visual medium like film. Take a look at this scene from 1917 (2019) down below. (I should also mention that this film won the award for Best Sound Mixing in 2020.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5e4Ep_xexw

This is a really interesting scene where the main character, a soldier during World War I, is on a mission to deliver a message deep in enemy territory. Part of his journey is him walking through this heavily bombed town where he is being chased by enemy soldiers. It is a visually stunning scene and feels extremely realistic. Now watch it again: but this time mute the sound.

Does it feel just as powerful as the first time you saw it?

If you said no, you would be right. You are missing the enemy gunshots, the heavy gasps of air, the burning church, and we cannot forget the Academy Award nominated score that helps build the scene. When you take away the audio, what you are losing is that feeling of it being real. Instead of feeling like you are deep in the trenches with the character, it feels like you are an outsider, separated from the story. This breaks the magic of film.

Sound is such a vital part in film that many take for granted. We never really notice the power it has until it is not there. Next time you are at the movie theaters, take a moment to close your eyes and listen. Appreciate not only what you see, but what you hear. Remember that though it may seem invisible, sound is a large part of what you see.