This week’s lectorial was one that definitely had to be listened to. And that’s because the topic being discussed is sound, an element that I think is somewhat underrated sometimes in film and television. The lecture touched base with ideas highlighted in our reading for the week, discussing topics from ‘what is sound?’ to different types of microphones.

Something that stood out to me was the music of John Cage. And in particular, the American musician’s song titled 4”3’. At first, I was wondering, ‘What is taking so long? Like, where the sound at tho?’. Before I finally clicked and I realised that it’s meant to be pure silence. And in that silence, I heard vague noises from outside the building, to the air conditioning, people typing, throat clearing here and there, even people breathing. It really emphasises the importance of listening, not just hearing. This was also a point that was made at the beginning of the presentation which continued to echo in my head throughout the lecture.

Hearing sounds is involuntary, but listening is a choice. For a quiet person, doing something like that wasn’t new to me. I quite enjoy silence as it allows me to just be with myself and also allows me to clear my head. Being a generally silent person helps me to be one with the world and helps me be comfortable with my surroundings, as well as encourages me to be more aware of the environment around me.

This ‘song’ really paved the way for the rest of the presentation as different types of sounds were discussed. We also did a small activity in class where we were given a picture and we had list sounds that may be heard in the background, middle ground and background, which based on our readings, can be described as perspective. I found this to be quite an interesting exercise because it allows us to reflect on our previous experiences with similar scenes that we’ve seen on film, as well as interrogating us to know how well we pay attention to sounds on screen and how they play as much of a vital role as its visual counterparts.