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Sound design blog on Silence+OtherSounds website

GiuseppeS+OS

Active Member
Hi everyone,
just wanted to inform the community that I've just started a sound design blog on my website Silence+OtherSounds. Maybe someone of you knows our sample libraries (Relict, Transfer, Stringache), we decided to create a space where we could share thoughts and ideas about sound design. It will range from more technical aspects to 'philosophical' ones, you might want to have a look!

https://silenceandothersounds.com/what-is-sound-design/
Thank you in advance
Best
Giuseppe
 
Its interesting subject & I suspect every person has a different idea as to what sound design is...

The term originated from Walter Murch, and came from the idea of a sound director for film
ie someone who oversaw all of the elements of a film soundtrack (apart from score & source music)
ie ambiences, foley, sound effects etc... So along with re-recording mixers they are head of department in film sound post production.

The term then expanded in film to include people who are really 'special sound effects designers' and/or 'musical sound designers' ie people who contribute particular elements to a film soundtrack, but don't fill the role as per Walter Murchs definition.

The term also began to be used by people who create sound effects for video games...

And it is only more recently the term has been used to describe people who program synths etc

Very obviously the different uses of the same word are not interchangeable, ie someone who is great at programming/developing synth sounds may not have any experience or idea about how a film soundtrack is developed... which is why IMDB exists - film producers & director like to verify track record etc....

Context is everything!
 
Its interesting subject & I suspect every person has a different idea as to what sound design is...

The term originated from Walter Murch, and came from the idea of a sound director for film
ie someone who oversaw all of the elements of a film soundtrack (apart from score & source music)
ie ambiences, foley, sound effects etc... So along with re-recording mixers they are head of department in film sound post production.

The term then expanded in film to include people who are really 'special sound effects designers' and/or 'musical sound designers' ie people who contribute particular elements to a film soundtrack, but don't fill the role as per Walter Murchs definition.

The term also began to be used by people who create sound effects for video games...

And it is only more recently the term has been used to describe people who program synths etc

Very obviously the different uses of the same word are not interchangeable, ie someone who is great at programming/developing synth sounds may not have any experience or idea about how a film soundtrack is developed... which is why IMDB exists - film producers & director like to verify track record etc....

Context is everything!
Hi Tim, thank you for your reply! Yes I see your point about how a very free use of the definition and its recent interchangeability may create some confusion. Let's say that the point of the article is to focus about the more 'philosophical' aspect of sound design rather than define it rigorously from the professional perspective, but it's clear that the two aspect are strictly connected. I didn't know of the true origins of 'sound design' as a professional definition, very interesting! :)
 
If its of use, I wrote a blog post a while back, specifically about becoming a sound designer for film... but applicable to many aspects of career advancement etc...

https://www.musicofsound.co.nz/blog/career-advice-part-2
That's very useful Tim, thank you very much for your precious advices and comments. I think this is one of the first articles I found when doing my first researches about becoming a sound design pro. :)
 
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