We’ve written before about how bad audio can ruin a perfectly good video, but we wanted to take it one step further and explain why carefully crafted sound design can have added value.
You might not notice the sound design in videos and movies, but you’ll certainly feel the impact.
Whether it’s the subconscious hum of strip lighting in an open plan office, or the revved up growl of a car engine just before a car chase – good sound design matters. Here’s why:
It’s 50% of the product
The unique combination of visuals and sound are what make a movie really work. To quote David Lynch ‘films are 50 percent visual and 50 percent sound. Sometimes sound even overplays the visual’.
Good sound design is meant to be paired so perfectly with the visuals that the sound often goes unnoticed.
Similar to what a cinematographer does, it’s all about creating an environment that viewers experience with their ears.
It helps create realism
This isn’t the goal in every video, but it’s worth pointing out that sound is a key factor in making certain interactions feel more believable.
Fight Club is a great example of how effective sound can be in a punching scene. Here, it adds an intense, painful aspect to an already violent film.
The video below shows how the professionals used new methods to create blood-curling punching sounds instead of using standard techniques.
It can build a new world
In a futuristic film, sound designers often need to make new worlds feel strange and mystical.
Did you know that the swishing sound of lightsabers in Star Wars was just a combination of a projector and the hum of a television?
The power of good sound design is combining these seemingly everyday sounds with the right visuals to allow the human brain to truly believe what is happening on the screen, even if it is in a galaxy far, far away.
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It evokes emotion
Even adding in ambient sound – such as cars in the background – is important for making your viewer feel at home.
Without these familiar sounds, it can feel like something is missing.
For example, whilst editing a clip on a farmyard you might want to add in the ambient sound of birdsong or cows ‘mooing’ to subtly remind the viewer where they are.
If you added in the sound of airplanes overhead or tractors screeching in the background it would have a different effect entirely.
This video explains the good elements of sound design, including some sounds you might not know about including a reverse gunshot for increasing tension.
It tells a story
The music in this video we made for the Green Party is a key factor in creating an uplifting, positive message.
Notice that the music doesn’t have any lyrics, just a powerful vocals and a strong beat which builds up as the video progresses.
The music is also set at a specific level which is quiet enough to let the voiceover be heard.
In other videos different aspects of sound design will more important such as sound effects and dialogue.
Want to learn more about audio? Watch our vlog: The Importance of Good Audio
