Sound Design

The concept of sound design developed in the mid-1970s. Under this concept, the sound designer is perceived as the primary creative authority, someone who controls all of the aspects related to the design of speech and sound recording within a film (except for the music) and integrates them into a comprehensive, overall sound composition. This includes recording and editing individual sound objects, monitoring the work of the Foley artist, cutting and editing the original dialogue recordings, as well as participating in the final mix. In short, the sound designer’s task is to develop an individual style of sound that provides an optimum basis for the narration as well as deepening and expanding the emotional effect. Key figures in this revolution were Walter Murch, who worked with Francis Ford Coppola on both The Conversation (US, 1974) and Apocalypse Now (US, 1979), as well as Ben Burtt, who designed the sound for the Star Wars universe.