Now Hear This

These readings immediately reminded me of two things.

The first is the oft quoted (yet never credited) “God gave you two ears and one mouth so, that you could listen twice as much as you talk”. This device is most often used by the frustrated and tired schoolteacher in the hopes of inspiring one moment of semi-silence as though, who actually were listening, could chew on that sentiment for a moment before regurgitating some halfway sensible sentiment.

The second is Shannon’s obsession with sound. The sound journals in 302 were one of the best assignments that I have ever done. How often are we really forced to think and digest all the sounds pouring into our conscious? Often, we are not even aware of a sound that we make or hear all the time until someone else asks us what it is. How many times have we all had to take a moment to really think about that oh-so-familiar noise before we could finally respond with “Oh! That’s the dishwasher” or “Huh? Do you mean my neighbors pipes?”, or my personal favorite “I do not make that noise when I chew!”

Why don’t we think about sound more? And why are we so willing to make noise thoughtlessly? Would anyone really be less likely to honk their horn in rush hour traffic if they knew they were hampering the mating rituals of the birds in our environment? If we aren’t listening to these birds are they even really there?

Even now, I am focused more one the noise inside my head than the hum of the machinery, and the occasional trickling in of the conversation being had downstairs. Ironically, just like Gordon Hempton, I could not hear a “natural” noise right now no matter how hard I strained—I just tried.

So, what does this mean to us as filmmakers? What does sound do for us?

I really liked what Chion did in the beginning of the readings with Tati and Bergman. That was the perfect way to show the power of sound and image. I am not saying that silent films do not have the meaning and depth that talkies have—that’s ludicrous. Just that the filmmakers, who truly utilize sound are the ones that we really remember. Whether we like it or not, sound is a device that has become incredibly pivotal to filmmaking—and we should like it! Sometimes, the visual is not enough (and neither is slapping a song over incredible images).