By Philip Craig Robotham
Hi folks,
I’m taking another look this week at the advice offered by Erik Barnouw in his Handbook of Radio Writing (1947). This time the attention is focused on sound effects. Here are my notes… Enjoy…
Introduction to Sound Effects
The Peculiarities of Sound Effects
Self-identifying sounds
Self-identifying sounds are those which create a picture in the listener’s mind without requiring explanation or causing confusion. These include horses hoofs, doors opening and closing, a fog horn, an angry crowd, telephone dial, the tinkle of glassware and silver, a locomotive whistle, or a howling wind.
Sounds needing identification
Many sounds are ambiguous. Crackling cellophane can be used both to indicate a fire, and a thundershower. What makes the difference? The listener’s imagination, prodded by the script writer!
Ambiguous sounds require “stage-setting” or guidance from the writer. This stage-setting should generally occur before the sound is introduced to prevent confusion. If the listener is thinking conveyor-belt before the sound is identified as a waterfall, then confusion will result.
Generally the identification of a sound is made through dialogue or narration, but occasionally through other sounds. It doesn’t need to be explicit; an implied identification is often all that is required.
In many cases, sounds become clear through context (through the plot itself), via perfectly natural references in dialogue and narration.
Sounds which always need identification include rain, a waterfall, a river, manufacturing noises, thunder, an automobile, and an aeroplane.Selectivity in Sound Effects
Just like the mind, radio ignores sounds in which it is not immediately interested. By this selection, radio scripts control and direct the listener’s attention. It is important to only introduce sounds that serve a dramatic purpose. If this does not happen the story is rendered confusing. Listeners are forced to pay attention to the irrelevant and lose track of the important.
Sounds as backgrounds
Sounds can serve a purpose in setting the scene: establishing the presence of a babbling brook, or busy roadway.
In short scenes this is very effective. In longer scenes it is better to establish the background noises and then fade them under the dialogue, possibly fading them back into the foreground at the end of the scene.Stylisation through Sound Effects
Sounds can be mistimed for comic effect. The opening and closing of a door, too fast to actually get through, or the rush of wind that pressages the arrival of someone who was, a moment ago, on the other side of town, are examples of such unrealistic/stylised use of sounds or their timing.
Expressionistic use of Sound Effects
Sometimes a sound works symbolically, standing in for, or expressing, an idea. For example the ticking metronome became a standard aural shortcut for indicating that time was running out for the protagonists of a story.
Wording of Sound Effect Directions
Word your sound effect directions as simply as possible. In a live broadcast, the success of the effect can depend on how quickly the direction can be interpreted by the Sound Effects Engineer.
For example BEGIN DISTANT THUNDER is much better than AT THIS POINT THE SOUND OF THUNDER BEGINS TO BE HEARD FAR IN THE DISTANCE.Summary
Mr Barnouw writes in summary…
“All the colour and movement and flavour of an action often seem caught in its very sound, so that the sound is an instant picture.
Even when this isn’t so, the mind is ever anxious to supply what’s missing; it only needs a steer from the writer.
Thus, properly handled sound effects, whether used for plot action or to suggest a locality by its characteristic activity, are of value in steeping the scene in a sense of reality.
Sometimes, conversely, they can create an imagined desirable unreality.
The mind may also be persuaded to accept them as having a symbolic, not realistic meaning.”Sound-Effect Experiments
Listen to some sound effects.
1. Play to yourself, or to a group, a rain effect. Now, knowing it is rain, try listening to it as something else. For instance, tell yourself it is a sewing machine. See if you cannot make the illusion compelling. Now try to persuade yourself it is a waterfall, a fire, an assembly line, or distant applause.
Find a sound effect that sounds like waves on a beach. Now try to persuade yourself it is a train going into a tunnel, or a car sloshing through mud in the rain.
Try playing a scene with the wrong sound and see if you can’t make the effect believable anyway, just through the right mental suggestions.
This experiment should strengthen your realisation of the collaboration between the script and the properly guided listening imagination.
2. Spend a day jotting down sounds you come across, cataloguing them as self-identifying and non-self-identifying. This should help you develop an alertness for the use of sound in radio.
Of particular interest are Barnouw’s comments on the ambiguity of sound. For my own work, designed to be performed at the dinner table, this ambiguity is not something I have needed to worry about particularly (since the effects are explained in the script and no-one is left guessing), but for public performance it is critical that the audience do not find themselves struggling to make sense of what a sound effect is trying to evoke.
Well, that’s all for this week. I hope you find Mr Barnouw’s insights of as much value as I do.
If you’d like to see an example script that makes use of sound effects directions be sure to visit http://www.weirdworldstudios.com/products.html .
Do you have a comment or insight you would like to add. Post a comment below. I’d love to hear from you.
– Philip Craig Robotham
