Sound Design

History

Used as far back as 4000-2000 BCE in early theatre in China and India where they used little scenery but used music and sound for accompaniment and underscore.

Greeks (c. 500-46 BCE)

Used more of a vocal sound taking advantage of the great acoustics in the Amphitheater.

English and Italians Renaissance (c. 1300-1620 CE)

Italians: Commedia dell'arte used music to support the action both during and before plays

Sound effects: slapstick to heighten physician comedy

History

Elizabethan Theatre: Created atmosphere with music and used it for Scene transitions and pantomimed dumb shows during the play

Sound effects: scripts called for sound effects like bells, chimes, thinder and gunshots which were made offstage.

Realism (late 1800s) and Expressionism (early 1900s)

Starting in Moscow Art theatre's (1898) "The Seagull" required a large number of practical sound effects

History

In 1938, first production of "Our Town" used sound effects were created offstage by actors and stagehands.

-Prerecorded sound effects became available on Shella C records in the 1930s

-Cues were played on double turntables, records with cues on them were often specially made for productions.

1950s- Tape recorders came into widespread use because there weren't sound designers or audio crew effects were found by the stage manager and run by stage electricians

1990s- Digital playback and recording was introduced to the theatre with CDs , MiniDiscs, DATs, samplers, Nd DAWs (soundboard)

Sound Designer- Sound Designer plans and provides the sound effects in the play

Responsibilities

-Read script and meet with director to discuss the sound effects for the show and begin to make cue list

-Communicate with other designers to make sure other works don't interfere with sound design

-Acquire pre-recorded sound effects and decide where they go during the production

- Record own sound effects⤵️ Must know how to record sound effects onto different Types of playback equipment- Must attend all rehearsals to make sure all cues are taken at the proper times

Key PlayersAbe Jacob

-Born in Tucson, AZ -became involved in theatre at age six- did sound for Jimi Hendrix, Peter Paul and Mary, the Beatles last touring concert( August 1966)-Did sound Design for shows like: The Rocky horror Show(1975) The Act(1978) Les Miserables (2003) Rain (2011)How is what he did different? Nobody else was doing sound design before 1971. Brought the concept of Sound Design as another creative element in theatre.

Key PlayersBen Burtt

-Born July12,1948 in Jamesville ,NYEducation: university of Southern California Allegheny CollegeAwards:Academy Award for Best Sound Edititng, SpecialAchievement Academy Award, and Satellite Award for Best Sound

Has Done sound Design for movies like:-WALL-E- Super 8- Raiders of the lost Ark

Interesting fact: To create the rumbling sound of the gigantic boulder in "Raiders of the Lost Ark", he placed a microphone close to the tire of his Honda Civic as it coasted slowly down his gravel driveway. the recording was later engineered at various speeds to best replicate a rolling boulder

CultureChina:

Sound Designers focus more on the sound effects for video games

Many China developers have no dedicated sound team - Programmers, artists and musicians fill in

Works Cited• "AACT: Sound Designer (Job Description)." AACT: Sound Designer (Job

Description). N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

• "Sound Designer." UO Department of Theatre Arts. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

• "Student Technical Theatre Handbook." Sound Design. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

• N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

• "A LIFE IN THE THEATRE: Broadway Sound Designer Abe Jacob - Playbill.com." A LIFE IN THE THEATRE: Broadway Sound Designer Abe Jacob - Playbill.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

• "Abe Jacob | IBDB: The Official Source for Broadway Information." Abe Jacob | IBDB: The Official Source for Broadway Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

• "Ben Burtt." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013