Audio & Sound (for UT Tyler)

Audio and sound are an often overlooked component of multimedia that evoke emotions and set the desired mood for scenes and segments in film and documentaries (not to mention podcasts, audiobooks and the whole of multimedia.)

While attention to audio varies in importance depending on the type of production, it is always parallel to video in necessity - and 'silence' can be used just as intentionally as sound when used appropriately and is practically essential for delivery of specific elements (ie. suspense, thrill, horror, etc.)

Sound can often get overlooked due to the ever-improving visual quality of films, the attention to details within the visual effects (VFX) world and our sight-dominant nature, but sound is pivotal in evoking emotion and immersing a viewer in a production.

Audio is more emotionally charged than standalone visuals because audio is received 'internally' and thus it penetrates the 'bubble' of the viewer... while visuals are perceived 'outside' of the user's personal space. A listener can attune their hearing and choose to immerse themselves in the audio (closing the eyes, for example.) while a viewer (watching without audio,) will have a much more difficult time muffling the silence and/or focusing completely - this, though, is my speculation and personal opinion... everyone is different.

Music is, in my opinion, the most important element in drawing your viewers into the emotion of a moment - it could be 'uplifting, melancholic, suspenseful, energetic, childlike, etc.' the list is as extensive as there are adjectives in the English language... which is phenomenal for audio engineers and producers alike because this enables such nuanced detail to be possible of multimedia production... and if a producer knows what their vision is meant to be, they're going to want that type of control and precision to deliver their vision to their audiences.

Sound effects (SFX) and audio can also negatively impact a film by being 'a distraction' if the quality is not up-to-par or if the audio doesn't 'match' what's on screen... (or if the sounds aren't appropriate or consistent with the rest of the sound.

Humans are very sensitive to what's organic and natural and as such, we naturally detect when things are 'off.' An example of how audio can distract a listener easily would be if the audio throughout a production was stereo (two source) and then a piece(s) of some of the audio were mono (one source) due to inattention... like a hiccup... or if one segment was too loud and interference was heard within the production, or if some audio was crude and unrealistic, when it was placed in a $5 million movie - not good!

All this to say that audio is an awesome, if not overlooked, component in multimedia production that has the potential to separate one production from another, in terms of quality and delivery... While it's easy to focus on visual elements, without the audio the film can not be taken seriously.

Audio = GOOD!!