Question 2.
Select from one of the readings, up to but not including Week 5, and briefly describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you.

The reading that I have chosen is that of Week 3’s ‘Creating the Sound Design’

• Firstly, I did not realise how important Sound Design was in film. The effort that goes into sound design is astronomical. For every genre of film, different sound plays a varied role. In horror films, sound is used to build suspense, scare and dramatisise events. For every scene, one must consider the scene itself when deciding on recording sound.The Sound director must match the sound to the ambiance in the scene. ‘In this scene a mic that made the couple’s voices sound sharper or harsher would convey an emotiona edge to their dialogue, regardless of it’s content’ (Wadsworth, 1994 p.6). As Wadsworth explains, ‘a sound designer must be sensitive to all sound, pleasant and unpleasant’  (Wadsworth, 1994 p.7).
• Secondly, the discussion on ‘What Listening Is and Is Not’. Wadsworth explains that if you are not listening, sound remains a part of the environment around you. ‘It can be argued that most sounds are a part of the environment and many offer so little aesthetic satisfaction that they are not worth listening to’ (Wadworth 1994, p.7). Listening is selective, you must pay attention to properly listen to something. ‘Sound in speech conveys such qualities as confidence, fear, anxiety, arrogance, humour and concern’ (Wadworth 1994 p.8).