As I am starting to think of mixing I am questioning my use of multichannel sound.
How can I make use of it in the best way? Does it need to be in multichannel?
I am quite set on sticking to simple sounds (clicks, sines, breaths), which I have failed last year ending up with a less coherent piece. However, this can lead to the mix to sound quite sparse and empty.
There’s this paragraph I read in the Sound for Screen class that refers to the implications and advantages of using surround sound in cinema:
‘The overriding characteristic of this acoustical space is intimacy. Where the acoustic limitations of pre-Dolby, monaural tracks created a unity of sound, the precision of Dolby presents sounds discretely, accentuating the silence between them. This intimacy and the emotional intensity of silence present a challenge to filmmakers used to relying on continuous dialogue or ubiquitous music. For it is this silence that must be filled by the audience creating, in Murch’s words: ‘a purposeful and fruitful tension between what is on the screen and what is kindled in the mind of the audience – what Chion calls sound en creux (sound ‘in the gap’)’ (1994: xix). Intimacy makes the individual image more prominent and allows the viewer to take in the separate elements of sound and vision, interpreting them in his or her own time. More often than not, this calls for less dialogue, longer shots, more considered composition – all of which means the soundtrack impacts on areas of filmmaking not confined to post-production sound. ‘
Now my piece of course does not involve visuals but my reasons for using multichannel sound are similar. Movement can help create interest in a minimalist composition and the possibilities for silence are extended.
Another way I am planning to justify this piece’s existence in multichannel is through the use of some psychoacoustic effects. So far this has proved quite difficult as the simple high frequency, high volume tones are generally uncomfortable to listen to and arranging them into a listenable, aesthetic piece is a rather laborious task.