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guardian.co.uk: "It's becoming par for the course these days - at least in some venues - to arrive at a theatre and pop a set of headphones over your ears, or watch actors wearing headphones, speaking words fed to them down a wire."
Although I have never really thought about it, sound design is playing a much bigger role in theater. When done correctly, sound can bring the audience closer to the performance, entrapping them in the same environment that the actors find themselves in. With film and digital media, we are used to being submerged into a scene, surrounded by environmental sounds and effects. Adding these to the theater can make it more realistic and add to the validity of the acting.
In addition, sound and music are used by filmmakers all the time to change the audiences emotions or feeling about the setting or characters present. While I think that theater needs less of that because of its intimacy, it could still be useful.
Sound can be a very powerful tool in the theatre, and I am surprised it took so long for its recognition as a design took so long. Alot of its power I believed is derived from the fact that it is often overlooked and not given as much attention as other elements of a show. The use of headphones however, I never saw coming. This seems like an interesting idea, though it just seems mostly limiting in that its only stereo and the use of frequency changes to tell where a sound is coming from varies from ear shape to ear shape.
I think that sound design is crucial to a show, if you don't have the proper sound or it is mixed or played incorrectly, it can ruin a moment, maybe even ruin the scene. But if used correctly, sound enhances the experience, drawing the audience into the play more deeply, making them live in the world of the play, not just watch it.
One thing that I'm not sure I agree with that the article mentioned was the use of headphones for actors that need to be fed words. I would probably need a more accurate description of this, but I think that it takes away from the meaning of the show. If the actor is focused on the words he hears in his ear, he is not going to be totally in tune with what is going on around him, with what he needs to be reacting to. If he is to be reacting to the words in his ear, then my statement is altogether false, but I would just need more convincing of the positive use of that.
I think this is an awful idea, for the same reason why I think it is very rude and socially inappropriate to wear your ipod headphones all over during the day. When people have headphones in, it disconnects them with everything around them. Theatre is partly about feeling something with the people in the same room as you and connecting with those onstage. Although one might be able to hear better, it physically and subconsciously creates a barrier. If i had headphones on during a whole production I know I would feel much less connected with the performers and the other audience members.
I have always been curious as to why sound design as an art has taken so long to get reconigized, and why it still isn't quite as standarized everything else. I have two theories. One as it is very tech based and this technology is much newer that cloth. Two as humans we are very, extremely used to sound. To some extent we hear it and understand it without every really processing it. Sound exists but everyone is so used to it one forgets to listen to it. People don't see their house lights change from red to green everyday, or see people flying... but you listen to sound constantly. i am of the firm opinion that sound design is crucial to good theatre, that it sets the tone, mood and color for the piece ... and without it the audience would totally feel something missing. I just think that for most people it is a hard thing to quantify because as humans generally underscoring, reverb, sound is mechanically processed ... you hear it without thinking about hearing it. in the reverse everyone would notice if sound wasn't there instantly. Sound it a tricky thing to explain but for the most part i think people take it for granted, assuming that it should be there and forget all the design that goes into it.
It's interesting to see this look back at sound design - It's amazing how rapidly technology has been changing the world of sound. The growth of computing as an industry really has had a giant effect. I can't imagine what it would have been like to work only with the older gear to make cues.
We have been discussing this in our Stagecraft Mini on Sound. More specifically how sound is not always viewed as an art and simply a technology. We came to the general consensus that it is really difficult to try and capture what sound is like in the live theatre. Even in the case of a recording, it is impossible to capture the original sound designer's intent and feel of the sound in a space. Perhaps this is why it took the Tony's 62 years to acknowledge it.
Although I have never really thought about it, sound design is playing a much bigger role in theater. When done correctly, sound can bring the audience closer to the performance, entrapping them in the same environment that the actors find themselves in. With film and digital media, we are used to being submerged into a scene, surrounded by environmental sounds and effects. Adding these to the theater can make it more realistic and add to the validity of the acting.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, sound and music are used by filmmakers all the time to change the audiences emotions or feeling about the setting or characters present. While I think that theater needs less of that because of its intimacy, it could still be useful.
Sound can be a very powerful tool in the theatre, and I am surprised it took so long for its recognition as a design took so long. Alot of its power I believed is derived from the fact that it is often overlooked and not given as much attention as other elements of a show.
ReplyDeleteThe use of headphones however, I never saw coming. This seems like an interesting idea, though it just seems mostly limiting in that its only stereo and the use of frequency changes to tell where a sound is coming from varies from ear shape to ear shape.
An interesting movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDTlvagjJA
I think that sound design is crucial to a show, if you don't have the proper sound or it is mixed or played incorrectly, it can ruin a moment, maybe even ruin the scene. But if used correctly, sound enhances the experience, drawing the audience into the play more deeply, making them live in the world of the play, not just watch it.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I'm not sure I agree with that the article mentioned was the use of headphones for actors that need to be fed words. I would probably need a more accurate description of this, but I think that it takes away from the meaning of the show. If the actor is focused on the words he hears in his ear, he is not going to be totally in tune with what is going on around him, with what he needs to be reacting to. If he is to be reacting to the words in his ear, then my statement is altogether false, but I would just need more convincing of the positive use of that.
I think this is an awful idea, for the same reason why I think it is very rude and socially inappropriate to wear your ipod headphones all over during the day. When people have headphones in, it disconnects them with everything around them. Theatre is partly about feeling something with the people in the same room as you and connecting with those onstage. Although one might be able to hear better, it physically and subconsciously creates a barrier. If i had headphones on during a whole production I know I would feel much less connected with the performers and the other audience members.
ReplyDeleteTheatre is different from TV. Keep it that way.
I have always been curious as to why sound design as an art has taken so long to get reconigized, and why it still isn't quite as standarized everything else. I have two theories. One as it is very tech based and this technology is much newer that cloth. Two as humans we are very, extremely used to sound. To some extent we hear it and understand it without every really processing it. Sound exists but everyone is so used to it one forgets to listen to it. People don't see their house lights change from red to green everyday, or see people flying... but you listen to sound constantly. i am of the firm opinion that sound design is crucial to good theatre, that it sets the tone, mood and color for the piece ... and without it the audience would totally feel something missing. I just think that for most people it is a hard thing to quantify because as humans generally underscoring, reverb, sound is mechanically processed ... you hear it without thinking about hearing it. in the reverse everyone would notice if sound wasn't there instantly. Sound it a tricky thing to explain but for the most part i think people take it for granted, assuming that it should be there and forget all the design that goes into it.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see this look back at sound design - It's amazing how rapidly technology has been changing the world of sound. The growth of computing as an industry really has had a giant effect. I can't imagine what it would have been like to work only with the older gear to make cues.
ReplyDeleteWe have been discussing this in our Stagecraft Mini on Sound. More specifically how sound is not always viewed as an art and simply a technology. We came to the general consensus that it is really difficult to try and capture what sound is like in the live theatre. Even in the case of a recording, it is impossible to capture the original sound designer's intent and feel of the sound in a space. Perhaps this is why it took the Tony's 62 years to acknowledge it.
ReplyDelete