Useful Books on Sound in Film

Chion, M. (1994) [1990] Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen. New York NY, Chichester, UK, Columbia University Press

An excellent resource from Michel Chion (click his name for a book review from filmsound.org); a theoretician who has helped broaden the vocabulary for discussing the role of sound within film-making.

Of particular interest for me is the chapter The Real & The Rendered. In this chapter Michel Chion argues that sound, mediated through technology, has an indelible influence on our perceptions of sound in "real life". Also included in this book is a fascinating forward by Walter Murch who distinguishes the film practices and theories of North American and European cinema, post World War 2.


Sonnenschein, D. (2001) Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice, and Sound Effects in Cinema. Studio City CA, Michael Wiese Productions

Interesting book by David Sonnenschein with a lot of practical tips for the sound design practitioner, including step by step work flows, what to pay attention to when scoring sounds for moving pictures, the importance of rhythm, pitch, tonality, etc. in musical scoring for film. Also included are excerpts from interviews with Hollywood sound designers like Gary Rydstrom (Terminator) and Dane Davis (The Matrix).



LoBrutto, V. (1994) Sound-On-Film: Interviews with the Creators of Film Sound. Westport CT, Praeger Publishers