Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound

In the first years of cinema there was no sound, and when it came it brought a problem: the microphone nailed the actor to one spot. The documentary starts there and describes how sound became an independent means of telling. In the seventies a group of people changed it; the helicopter in a war scene began to come from the back of the auditorium, a robot spoke a language of its own, and the sound of a motorcycle turned out to be a recording of something else. The film shows these people at work and separates the three jobs of sound: speech, effects and music. Midge Costin directs; she worked for many years as a sound editor and this is her first film as a director. Walter Murch, Ben Burtt, Gary Rydstrom, Sofia Coppola, David Lynch, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Barbra Streisand speak in it. It is an American production. The matter it treats is unseen labour; because the audience does not notice the sound, the work is not noticed either. The documentary takes well known scenes apart into their layers of sound and shows how they were made. The narrative gives a separate section to the place of women in the industry. The film simplifies the technical explanation and expects no prior knowledge. The documentary leans on American cinema of the seventies and gives little room to the contribution of other countries. The narrative lists a great many names and some are passed over. The film pushes you to listen; watching it on a good system makes a difference. The ending arrives at today's digital way of working. Its limit is reach; the narrative is tied to a narrow circle, it is celebratory, and the critical view is weak. Who it is for: people curious about the technical side of cinema and anyone interested in sound work. Who it is not for: it is technical, focused on one country, and the ending plain.