Audio Video Recording And Editing 4(1+3)

Lesson 06: Sound Design

Functions of Sound Track

There are three functions that the soundtrack performs:

1. It provides enough information for the viewer to grasp the message even without the picture. It does so by way of using aural clues such as dialogue, a particular pitch, or even using a particular rhythm. For example, the signature of a newscast or even the title song of our favorite soap is good enough to indicate that the programmes have begun. Dialogues are obvious aural clues. The news presenter reads the headlines at a pitch higher than the stories that follow them to lend significance to them and attract the attention of the viewer. Commer­cial breaks are often timed every 10 minutes of a programme.
2. It creates an expectation that anything really important will be cued by the sound track. For example, a moment of suspense in a crime­ thriller is accompanied most often by a piece of appropriate music.
3. It provides recognizable continuity in the type of sound and material presented throughout an individual programme or over succeeding programmes. This is particularly true of TV channels. You would have noticed that each channel has a sound of its own. Cartoon Network and the BBC both have different sounds from that of National Geo­graphic or even Sanskar.