For audiences, the underappreciation of sound likely stems from the fact that film sound is “routinely designed to appear to be natural” (Murray 49). Mary Anne Doane explains that a soundtrack is done well when an audience is fully engaged and immersed in a film. This immersion also works to hide “the cinematic apparatus itself.” In her words, “the invisibility of the work on sound is a measure of the strength of the soundtrack” (Doane). While audiences frequently have access to behind-the-scenes footage that shows camera shots before visual effects or the explanation of a stunt, they are rarely exposed to anything but completed sound design. Even if exposed to a work in progress, it would be unclear as to what end is being achieved by the work. Overall, it is very difficult for the average moviegoer to understand the work that has actually been done on a soundtrack (Murray 6).

 

Filmmakers also have a tendency to undervalue the art of sound design. While there are many factors for this perception, a primary cause is likely filmmaker education. As Wanda Lazar points out, “Education in sound for film students who do not intend to specialize in audio engineering is a neglected subject at the university level” (Lazar). Director of Skywalk Sound Randy Thom says that “in virtually all film schools sound is taught as if it were simply a tedious and mystifying series of technical operations, a necessary evil on the way to doing the fun stuff” (Thom). Similarly, Dr. Song Hwee Lim believes film sound is undervalued in film school and “unheard” in academia unless talking about film music (Lim). Lazar, in 1998, explained that universities disregard film sound courses because they do not produce audio engineers who would pursue sound design as a career. Even when these courses are developed, future audio engineers tend not to take those classes because they cover the same basic information taught in introductory audio engineering classes. This results in a comparatively few number of people receiving education on film sound and an overall lack of understanding for the art (Lazar). Despite the increased development of sound design programs in recent years, the decades of neglect has a continued impact on the perception of sound practice among established filmmakers. 

 

We have already identified the issue of audiences being unaware of sound practice. Surprisingly, there is also a lack of understanding among people in the film industry. Leo Murray explains that the vast majority of people on a film crew are working with visual aspects of the production. Upon video playback, all of their work can be immediately appreciated. For sound, however, there are often only two people on set who are aware of what is being recorded, leaving the rest of the crew in the dark. Even for those who have a basic understanding of sound, there is still a commonly held belief that sound design is a merely technical endeavor. In contrast to other technical work such as cinematography that is often looked at as artistic, sound is rarely considered in such a way (Murray 3). This line of thinking is reflected in the 1938 Motion Picture Sound Engineering handbook. The handbook explains that if a director and producer watch a re-recording mixer work, they will only see the mixer’s hands performing highly mechanical operations despite the creative thoughts in their head (Murray 7). 

 

Even among film theorists, there is a long history of both neglecting and dismissing sound. At the advent of talkies, theorists and filmmakers such as Sergei Eisenstein were fearful of sound and claimed that sound posed a risk to the figurative language of film (Murrary 37). Of course, sound was widely accepted by audiences and soon became commonplace at the cinema. However, an image-first attitude persisted among theorists. Sound theorist William Johnson notes that “film studies continue to be based on the assumption that the image is the essence of cinema” (Johnson). While sound has become an increasingly popular topic for analysis in recent years, it does not erase the decades of neglect by theorists. 

These observations by sound practitioners and theorists have reflected my experience as a student sound designer. Student filmmakers often fall victim to the same attitudes as established filmmakers and theorists. Despite these attitudes, in reality, sound is far more of a creative endeavor than a technical one. Like cinematography, there happens to be technical tools that are required to achieve the creative end goal. Click here to learn more about the immense narrative impact that sound can have on motion pictures.