Soundtrack, The - Volume 2, Issue 1, 2009

The exploration of chance as part of the creative process emerged as an increasingly important element in art practice during the twentieth century. It can be regarded as one of many approaches by which the avant-garde expressed its desire to create new forms in opposition to the aesthetic and conceptual values of the past. Film was not immune to this interest in chance procedures. This article focuses on notions of chance in the context of exploring the relationship between film image and music. More specifically, I discuss Jean Cocteau's method of accidental synchronisation and Harry Smith's notion of automatic synchronisation, distinctive approaches to the use of music with film predicated on chance procedures. These methods can be viewed in terms of a longer history of experiments with sound, images and colour, that is, as precursors of the light-shows and multi-media events of the 1960s and other more contemporary media forms. Cocteau and Smith's experiments open up important questions about the processes by which audiences perceive and make sense of music in relation to film.

The use of music in films has become almost ubiquitous in both drama and documentary. Music is used regularly in cinema, broadcasting and more recently, in interactive media. Yet audiences often criticise makers for its overuse, especially in actuality television. The problem is not merely concerned with the volume and placement of music, but of the internal nature and structure of the musical material itself. This article contextualises the history of western music in a way which may be able to help inform film-makers and broadcasters about how music might be used more advantageously to accompany moving pictures.

Throughout its evolution, cinema sound has changed the way we watch and understand films. Initially sound carried little narrative information. Today's multi-channel soundtrack, on the other hand, is able to enlarge the diegetic space and immerse the audience in it. However, it could be argued that the multi-channel soundtrack's potential as a narrative tool has yet to be fully explored. This article reports on our research into the possibilities and limitations of the multi-channel soundtrack as a carrier of large sections of narrative information. We identify three areas of interest: spatialisation of sound sources; surround ambiences with a narrative relevance; and separation of sound streams. A short film has been created exploring these topics and feedback has been elicited from a small audience. We conclude that this potential could be fully unlocked if considerations regarding the surround soundtrack are taken into account in the early stages of production.

This article discusses the nature of sound in theatre, and how the human perception of live and recorded sound relates to the theatrical experience. It suggests a model for listening to, and for staging the theatrical soundscape.

Feminist film scholars have long argued that there is a visual bias as to how the female body is represented on screen. This article explores the extension of this bias to include sound: how sound is used to represent women in American cinema. It explores sonic representation in several key films including Singin' in the Rain, Mulholland Drive, Blue Velvet and Citizen Kane.

Hail the Conquering Hero is the culmination of the great comedies Preston Sturges wrote and directed for Paramount in the period from 1940 to 1944. This article examines the soundtrack in the first part of the film, and considers how Sturges' deliberate arrangement of sound as well as diegetic and non-diegetic music enhances and amplifies the ambiguities of Sturges' comedy.