Setting– Ambience, immersion and sense of place (Harrison)
Ambience or atmospheres are what make up a films ‘setting’, this is the sense of time and space the story takes place in. Everything in film is constructed, the near constant challenge of the practice is presenting the work as ‘real’. An audience will only accept and follow a story if it takes place in a realistic space, there are some exceptions in the case of experimental film but generally an accurate presentation of space and time is necessary for immersion. I use the term immersion in the sense of sustaining the suspension of disbelief.
Film sound settings can be divided into two categories, beds and details. Beds are the very quiet blanket sounds that fill a space, a general wash of noise. The primary bed used in most films are room tones, this is quiet hum of an empty room, sometimes described as ‘dead air’. This very minimal sound is ripe for emotional expression, different tones express different feelings. It’s even possible to harmonise multiple room tones, perhaps layered dissonantly for disconcerting scenes. Details are the events that take place in the space, this might be a clock chiming, a dog barking or a car driving past. All of these sounds carry vital information about the space, they provide a narrative for the environment making it more believable and textured. These sounds can also provide the audience with information regarding time, horse and carts could indicate a specific era.
Setting can act as a character, specific sounds can trigger emotions in characters and reference earlier narrative points. Each detail in the soundscape is an opportunity for narrative engagement.
Ambience also provides film with a sense of continuity between shots, the sound construction is not contained within the picture. It is a space conceptualised by the designer, therefore the designer must add not only the sounds that are onscreen, but the sounds that might exist offscreen. This is extension. Extension can be used as a compositional device, removing the outer world to focus on the narrative.
The most important things to consider from this research are:
- Accurate field recordings (Era/space)
- Accurate/Immersive stereo spread
- Extension beyond the screen
- Identifying events