Sound-On-Film: Interviews with Creators of Film Sound

by Vincent Lobrutto

Sound-On-Film contains interviews with 27 prominent men and women who discuss their careers and the art and craft of film sound. These sound creators represent many of the crafts working in film sound, including production sound, sound editing, sound design, automatic dialogue replacement (ADR), Foley, re-recording mixing, and sound engineering. The interviews are presented in an order that attempts to give the reader a historical perspective on the development of film sound from the studio era to contemporary productions.

The interviews explore how sound creates an aural look to the film in the same way that production design and cinematography creates a visual look to a film. The discussions focus on the relationship with renowned Hollywood film directors and how sound was conceived and executed for specific films. Among the highly acclaimed and seminal films discussed are Star Wars , Nashville , The Conversation , Apocalypse Now , Raging Bull , and Terminator 2 . In addition to the interviews, the book contains biographical background and a selected filmography of each sound creator as well as a glossary of terms and a bibliography for further study. It is essential reading for film students, academic scholars and film educators as well as industry professionals and moviegoers who want to understand the aesthetic and technical role of those who work in film sound.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music, Film

320 pages, Paperback

First published August 23, 1994

Reviews

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book in the late 90's, put it down for a decade or so, then made a concerted effort to get thru it recently. Interesting film-nerd reading, just a bit slow-going at times as all the essays are pretty much the same: someone involved with film sound talking about how awesome their job is. It could've used a bit more nuance, but I still enjoyed the stories people told about their experiences making and capturing sounds.

[Brian Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sound-On-Film gave me an interesting view of sound within the film industry. The book primarily focused on the process and facilities involved in the work. I found that the book lacked details on equipment, but I can understand that the average reader may find that boring. Overall the book was easy to read and with each chapter interviewing different creators it was good for short readings.