Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound

source: Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound

This one drew me in, it was interesting and it explored a chronological order of the full sounds utilized in movies from days of yore to present, a lot of people weighed in so you were never bolted down to one point of view, but then just when the final chapter started it began with the social justice messaging, how people are oppressed still today and sound is not gender specific and it shouldn't be just a man doing it. They just couldn't help themselves it's what makes this type of storytelling forgettable - if I knew it was going there I would have stayed away - it was done well and again interesting till the additional nonsense was laced into it - rather than just let it be they need it to make into something not needed or enhancing the documentary.

For a film nerd, this is fascinating. It is entertaining, intriguing and educational. For non-film nerds, this is probably a bore, though it may open some eyes and ears. Sound is the forgotten and overlooked aspect of filmmaking and for the vast majority of filmgoers it will sadly, for these very essential artists, always remain so. One note of concern for me. This is all about sound in film in this digital age of being able to control and alter nearly everything including voices and the same applies to audio recordings and the alteration of singers' voices to make then sound better, to improve their vocal quality. This was brought to mind by the appearance of Streisand and her "My Man" comments. She has one of the great voices of the modern era, but she hasn't made a recording in many years that doesn't sound over-manufactured. It's all very pretty, but much of it sounds artificial without any real feeling involved. It sounds dishonest. I use her as an example as I've followed her since the 60's and can hear the difference, but I'm sure this is much more true with far less talented singers than her, but who can tell?! This is something that I don't like about the manipulation of sound that we have nowadays, but this documentary is about film and it is what I said it was. A must for film nerds. The Star Wars and Saving Private Ryan examples were awesome, but so are some others. These are very important and creative people in the creation of making films.

An in-depth exploration of the evolution of sound in cinema over the years, Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound offers an informative & interesting insight into the creative process of a filmmaking component that plays as integral & essential a role in storytelling as any and it also covers the various breakthroughs & advancements that made it an inseparable part of cinema. Directed by Midge Costin, the documentary acquaints the viewers with the visceral & emotional power of sound in a film and how the aural elements enrich the imagery & elevate the cinematic experience by influencing our reaction & response almost subconsciously. It features interviews from legendary sound designers & filmmakers and also incorporates clips from films that raised the bar. The film also provides an overview of the origins of sound in cinema, technological limitations in those early years, ups n downs throughout the decades, groundbreaking feats during the 1970s, and also details the different aspects of sound design (voices, SFX, ADR, editing, mixing, score) and how these separate pieces together work in tandem to deliver the aural experience that works best with the visuals. Overall, Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound is an illuminating, entertaining & enthralling documentary that illustrates the collaborative effort that goes into making a motion picture and showcases how sound makes as important a contribution as camera in the filmmaking medium. After all, we experience films as much with our ears as we do with our eyes. An absolute delight & a definite must-see for every film lover.

While this was well made, it could've been better. I enjoyed the interviews done with various people, sound editors, at least one composer and directors; more archival footage of actual interviews with Humphrey Bogart, Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, etc., would definitely have increased the quality of this documentary. Although, I do realize that there may be no footage that exists, or at least that could be found in time, where those individuals who are no longer with us talk in detail about the sound (voice, sound effects and music) and all of the editing involved in their specific films, their overall body of work, their own influences, etc. I think it would have been a great idea if the story of sound was told chronologically. It jumped around quite a bit (Although, not wildly; still...), it would have made more sense to not have gone exactly chronological only to jump back to something, a radio broadcast, TV show, movie, whatever, that influenced someone with its sound & that influenced them professionally, in a specific movie or movies of their own. And this played a little more loose & fast with the chronology than I think is reasonable.

I have a great deal of interest in this field having done my own sound design and scores for some short-films. On the whole, there was a lot of good in this documentary, but it was obvious that they deliberately and somewhat clumsily prised women into the documentary rather than concentrating on the subject matter. The same is true of race politics at one point, again irrelevant for this documentary. Which is a shame as it's a very interesting topic. Worth watching, but missed a few beats. Hopefully society will learn that its ok for fields to not be well represented by one sex or there other, so long as there is opportunity for all to get into it in the first place, which is largely the case.

I love music and I love music in movies, but besides music there are lots of people working on a movie that do nothing else but get the sound right of people talking, wind rushing throuhg the trees, robots squeeking and water streaming. Amazing to see how BIG these sound studios are in which all these sound artist create the perfect sound that accompanies the images. Sound is emotion and I really value good sound in a movie. This documentary features some of the biggest classics in American cinema, like "The Godfather", "Apocalypse Now", "Star Wars", but also some movies that might not seem so classic but still truly are because of the use of new techniques in sound editing, like "Toy Story", which was the first movie which was totally digitally edited. Even Barbara Streisand of all people has played an important part in movie sound history because one of her seventies movies was the first to be recorded IN STEREO! Lots and lots of interviews with sound editors, who show HOW they created sounds for the biggest movie classics in history. What a joy to watch! Recommended for the fans of the technical parts of a movie, but also for the casual viewer because it is a revelation to learn how they create these magical sounds in these classic movies that have mesmirized me to this very day!

Fantastic history of cinematic sound. Excellent presentation of clips. Reminds me of why I got into Home Theatre, opened a video store, and championed sound. Guess I need to switch gears again.

Currently embarking on a film production course and sound was this weeks topic and I can tell you that after watching this I feel like I will never take sound for granted again. We hear things everyday, but do we really listen to what is happening around us? I know I barely did until watching this. So thank you for allowing me to listen and hear clearly again !

A must watch for anyone who wants to make films it is a reminder of how all the things you don't see in movies are so important and actually compose the medium, which is about emotion. An inspiration that challenges one to exploit all resources to one's disposal in pushing the art forward and to utilize sound in a profound way in telling your story.