| Title | : | Film, a Sound Art (Film and Culture Series) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 023113777X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780231137775 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 560 |
| Publication | : | First published October 1, 2003 |
| Awards | : | Limina Award Best Italian Translation (2008) |
The first half of "Film, A Sound Art" considers developments in technology, aesthetic trends, and individual artistic style that recast the history of film as the evolution of a truly audiovisual language. The second half explores the intersection of auditory and visual realms. With restless inventiveness, Chion develops a rhetoric that describes the effects of audio-visual combinations, forcing us to rethink sound film. He claims, for example, that the silent era (which he terms "deaf cinema") did not end with the advent of sound technology but continues to function underneath and within later films. Expanding our appreciation of cinematic experiences ranging from Dolby multitrack in action films and the eerie tricycle of Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" to the way actors from different nations use their voices and words, "Film, A Sound Art" showcases the vast knowledge and innovative thinking of a major theorist.
Film, a Sound Art (Film and Culture Series) Reviews
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Chion is my homeboy. Seriously, some of most interesting and compelling theoretical stuff on film sound ever.
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It is always refreshing to read Chion. He is a thought-provoking theorist whose interest in sound is hugely apparent. While his broad knowledge of the history of film is somewhat daunting, I am happy to skim some of the closer reads of films I do not know—much like relaxing into Shakespeare, paying less attention to the specific words being used and more to the general intentions and themes. As a composer himself, his writing on sound is layered with lyrical interpretations and impressions. Sometimes the impressions are so fundamental it is surprising viewers(listeners) have forgotten what it is he points out.
This is an immensely useful read for those stalwart few that love the intricacies and nuances of sound in film, and the wide variety of possibilities it lends. Chion gives first-rate analysis and examples throughout this diligent text. -
Some very interesting ideas in here (particularly about the rise of Dolby), and of course Chion has listened more closely to films than just about anyone, but I still find his non-stop impulse to categorize and compartmentalize rather unsettling. Nonetheless, he offers an unique model for how to approach films - or rather, moments from films: as aesthetic examples to be fed into his ever-expanding glossary of theoretical terms.
