Artistic Creation Of Film Post-production Sound: Selection And Combination Of Sound Elements

Cinematics is an audiovisual art consisting of light and sound. In today's movie-making industry, what is traditionally known as "sound recording" has transmogrified into a means by which artistic creation of cinematic sound is carried out. Cinematic sound is an all-embracing concept, which includes the physical aspect of sound creation, sensual experience and emotional feedback of the audience. Also falling under the category are elements such as sound design, technology and audio aesthetics.This dissertation sets out to explain the postproduction of sound in movies as it is a subject matter that leaves much to the imagination and the creator's personal flair. The dissertation centers on the selection and combination of sound elements. Through exploring cinematic sound from a theoretical point of view in conjunction with a number of concrete examples, this paper aims to shed some light on the guidelines in sound creation, techniques and sound arrangement. To give you a rough idea, the paper is divided into three parts, namely, introduction, body and conclusion.The introduction largely covers the implication and status quo of this topic as well as how the paper is organized and what practical significance it carries.The first chapter is an overview of cinematic sound, which provides a theoretical basis for the research on the selection and combination of sound elements by means of analyzing how cinematic sound came about and evolved, what purposes it serves and what unique features it has. What's more, it is also a prelude to the reseach on the selection and combination of sound.The second chapter explores the topic of the postproduction of sound in movies. It aims at defining the various stages of the postproduction of cinematic sound and its implication from an artistic standpoint. This implication shows a true picture of the artist's attempt at achieving authenticity in the process of artistic creation.Chapter three revolves around the selection and combination of sound elements. Coming at the subject matter from different angles, the first part of this chapter entitled methods of the selection and combination of sound, clarifies, summarizes and utilizes a host of concrete examples to illustrate the selection and arrangement of sound elements. The chapter further explains some of the techniques adopted by various movies and tenets underpinning these techniques. The second part of this chapter is titled synergy of sounds elements. As the title suggests, various sound elements synergize to appear as eight different formats. A further attempt in this chapter is to propose a "functional framework" for sound elements. This framework discusses the three elements of sound in a specific context in hopes of getting across the notion of sound layering. In addition, the chapter tries to corroborate the framework by drawing upon movies of various genres and expound on underlying principles in the postproduction of movies as well as its practical significance. The conclusion summarizes the subject matter and sets its sight on the future regarding the research and practice of cinematic sound creation.