Walter Murch - Reading 5
Never before have I seen such an intricate take and understanding of sound in film and media before. Walter Murch has done a wonderful job bringing us into the world of sound in media. He explains multiple concepts of sound, such as musical elements finding it’s way into speech, or different colored sounds. While explaining this complex ideas, he also related in personal experiences.
In 1969, Murch was working on George Lucas’ film, “THX-1138.″ His job was to make an “other-worldly” soundtrack for next to nothing. One hurdle of the job was to make the robots in the film sound massive and hulking with thunderous foot steps. Being that they were only regular sized human actors in costumes, Walter needed to think of a way to engineer the sound. Going to the Museum of Natural History in San Francisco, and after making special metal shoes, he was able to record sounds that fit the bill. This was a very excellent story to share with the readers, as it shows that sounds in film and media can be more imaginative in post and can evolve the film’s creativity. It also shows on a personal level that in the field that we as students are pursuing, we will hit road bumps in our career path. However, thinking with an open mind can wield unexpectedly positive results.
Truly sound is a very complex and intricate process with a manifold of different approaches in delivering a scene. The choices a director needs to make over the course of filming and sound editing will truly be difficult, as the possibilities are endless. Sound is truly a mystical asset in story telling in media.
