Movie Magic: The Invisible Illusion of Sound Effects

Movies add (or correct) most of the soundtrack after the images are shot. Many of these techniques originated in live stage productions and radio dramas and have developed to make movies, television, video games and streaming video the engaging entertainment they are today. Do you know which sound effect uses coconut shells? Why do movie sound technicians record a sample of at least 10 seconds of silence on the set? Why do actors repeat and record many of their lines off-camera? What kind of music is used when the camera pans across a Western landscape?

This class will offer an overview of how the continuity of sound holds a sequence of film/TV edits together, how sound effects and music generate emotional response and why you rarely see the microphones in the movies. We’ll look at why soundtracks are added after production and the many ingenious ways the illusion of ‘being there’ is preserved, created and enhanced with post-production sound.

Barry Cook, Ph.D., was hired by the NBC television network research department to evaluate, improve and implement research methods used for decision support and advertising sales. His work at NBC included research on network and local TV news programming, the TODAY Show, primetime programming predictors, the Olympics and the validity of the Nielsen TV ratings. Following that, he served as vice president of research at the USA cable network, and as chief research officer at Nielsen. In his retirement, he still watches a lot of TV. He also put sounds, dialogue and music to picture as a hobbyist video producer.