EDUCATIONAL BOOK REVIEW

« Le Son au Cinéma » by Laurent Jullier,  published jointly by Cahiers du Cinéma and SCEREN-CNDP

For those who can read  French, the series « Les Petits Cahiers » published by the Cahiers du Cinéma in France, and edited by Joel Magny, are useful educational material. Simply written  and interesting to read, with many concrete  examples from movies and useful annexes with interviews and analyses, they are aimed at cinema students and teachers as well as cinema fans who want to learn about film making.

'Le Son au Cinéma' (Sound in Cinema) is one of the many booklets of the series, published in 2006 and written by Laurent Jullier, Professor of Cinema  at the University of Paris III- Sorbonne Nouvelle. It begins  by giving a historical overview of the development of sound in film, from Alan Crossland's  1927 film « The Jazz Singer », (the first full-length film to use synchronised sound), to digitalised sound, (which started in France though perfected by Hollywood), but quickly moves on to the techniques and practices of sound recording, the professions involved, the choice of sound effects and music, and the post-production process, matching sound and image.

Very many different sound solutions are possible for a film today. At one extreme, no specialised sound profession may be needed if filming is solely by video camera and only directly recorded sound is used. At the other extreme, for Hollywood blockbusters, as many as fifty people may be involved in the recording, re-recording and adding music. A chapter is dedicated to the different options available (eg location sound vs.postproduction sound, capturing vs fabricating sounds, etc) , and the sound profesions in cinema, which can generally be divided into three groups: the first group record during filming and are the boom operators and production recordists; the second group add, replace or improve sounds and are the sound editors; the third group finally bring together all the audio inputs and are the sound mixers.

Further chapters analyse sound tracks, the creation of background noises and sound effects, the choice  of music, the use of dialogue,and tha audio- visual combination. Tha last third of the booklet is dedicated to articles, interviews,analyses of sequences (eg. on the power of the voice-over in Sam Mendes « American Beauty »), and a short bibliography.

Though informative,  'Le Son au Cinéma' remains a rather basic text. For those who wish to go much deeper into the important issue of sound, the following are recommended reading in English, and are all available from www. amazon.com:

« Sound for Film and Television » by Tomlinson Holman

« Sound -on -Film: Interviews with Creators of Film Sound » by Vincent LoBrutto

« Audio Post-Production for Television and Film- An introduction to Technology and Techniques » by Hilary Wyatt and Tim Amyes.

Additionally, the internet site www.filmsound.org is an extremely useful resource for anyone studying sound or starting out to make a film. Billed as a « Learning Space dedicated to the Art and Analyses of Film Sound Design », it offers a wide range of educational material, articles, and references on all aspects of film sound, as well as practical information and tips for film making.

 by Joanna Tachmintzis