[Commlist] CfP Sound/Space: Sonic Spaces in Film and Audiovisual Productions

*CfP Sound/Space:*

*Sonic Spaces in Film and Audiovisual Productions*

*A Two-day Symposium*

*Thursday April 14 to Friday April 15, 2022*

*ENS Louis-Lumière, Cité du Cinéma, Paris / Saint-Denis*

Organized by Antoine Gaudin (Université Paris 3 Sorbonne nouvelle, IRCAV)

and David Roche (Université Montpellier 3 Paul Valéry, RIRRA 21)

in collaboration with Giusy Pisano (ENS Louis-Lumière)

  “One only experiences space that one can also hear,” Béla Balázs 
wrote at the turn of the 1930s in his theoretical investigation into the 
expressive potential of sound film. In /Entendre le cinéma/ (2010), 
sound engineer Daniel Deshays noted that working on the sound of a film 
always entailed working on the relationship between an object and a 
place and, generally speaking, on the creation of a sensible relation to 
the space of the world. In spite of the eighty-year gap and of the fact 
that one emphazed response and the other composition, both Balázs and 
Deshays express the same profound faith in *an intimate relationship 
between sound and space in film*.

And yet, *this question has received little critical and theoretical 
attention*, even though this relationship is fundamental in all 
audiovisual works, and works like /M./ (Lang, 1931), /A Man Escaped/ 
(Bresson, 1956), /India Song/ (Duras, 1975) and /Sound of Metal/ 
(Marder, 2019) have brought it to the fore. This can be put down to the 
tendency of film and media studies to give pride of place to the 
questions raised by images, but also to the fact that space itself, 
whether in objective sciences or in our natural perception, is often 
comprehended as a visual phenomenon. Considering spatial issues from the 
perspective of sound, which is what R. Murray Schafer did in his 1979 
/The Tuning of the World: Toward a Theory of Sound Design/, thus 
represents a fairly unheard of project.

The primacy of the visual in film and media studies reproduces the 
hierarchy of the senses which, for many human beings, positions sight as 
the main source of information about one’s environment and relegates 
hearing (and the other senses) to the secondary role of “supplement.” 
Thus, every evolution in sound technology has triggered its lot of 
discourses on the capacity of sound to reinforce the “realism” and 
“presence” of filmed space. Reducing sound in film and audiovisual 
productions to the function of naturalist “backdrop” leads us to ignore 
*the impact it may have on our representations and our experiences of 
space*, beyond what is expressed through the images alone. It is also a 
missed opportunity to emancipate our approaches to cinematic space from 
the visual categories inherited from writings on the other arts—the 
painterly landscape, the architectural decor, the theatrical scene—in so 
far as *the relations between images and sounds deployed in film and 
audiovisual productions are endowed with an expressive potential that is 
specific to these media*.

The question of space in film and audiovisual productions should clearly 
not be limited to what our eyes can see: the decisive role of sound 
gives way to another experience in which *the audio and the visual 
together produce a global sense of space that affects and engages our 
bodies* (by calling on proprioceptive, tactile, thermal and other 
dimensions). Of course, images should not be entirely dismissed from any 
consideration of cinematic space—after all, a soundtrack is never 
entirely “autonomous,” as Michel Chion (1985) reminds us; rather, we aim 
to foreground the paramount contribution of sounds in the audiovisual 
composition and materialization of cinematic space. The symposium will 
thus endeavor to answer an evident question with complex implications: 
*how do sounds participate in the spatial experience of films and 
audiovisual productions on the sensory, cognitive, political and 
cultural levels? *

*Noises*—ambient sounds or what Chion (1990) calls “territory 
sounds”—seem to play a central role in the creation of an audiovisual 
space, whether they belong to what composer Bernie Krause (2013) calls 
the biophonic, geophonic or anthrophonic categories. “Elements from the 
sonic decor” (Chion 1990) also play an important role, associated as 
they are with specific environments (car horns blaring in a city, for 
instance) or in nighttime spaces where sight is limited and noises are 
“exalted” (Jankélévitch 1983) (as in the long blackout sequence of /ABC 
Africa/ [Kiarostami, 2001]). But with this symposium, we would like to 
invite increasing attention to *the less obvious spatial effects and 
implications of the two other main types of sound*. Indeed, *voices* can 
express the acoustic atmosphere of a fictional place (like Xanadu in 
/Citizen Kane/ [Welles, 1941], where the voices of a divided couple 
resonate in the emptiness), establish specific spatial relationships 
because of their localization (the “acousmatic” reach of Dr. Mabuse’s 
offscreen voice, or the “close listening” position encouraged by the 
voice-overs of Patricio Guzman’s documentaries), and circumscribe a 
given place regionally through the use of accents and dialects. The 
other type of sound, *music*, can also contribute to the construction of 
a given environment, whether it is nondiegetic (as in /Spiegel im 
Spiegel/ [2002] d’Arvo Pârt or at the beginning of /Gerry/ [Van Sant, 
2002], in which it expresses the hot dry air of the desert) or 
translates from within the diegesis the physical dimension of a place 
(the “ecosystem” of the club in the final scene of /Mektoub, my love/ 
[Kechiche, 2017]) as well as its cultural and social dimensions (the use 
of Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” throughout /Do the Right Thing/ 
[Lee, 1989]).

Attention can also be paid to a practice that is becoming increasingly 
common, the creation of a “sonic continuum” (Dallaire 2012); composed 
like an organic whole, such soundtracks blur the distinction between 
voice, noise and music and trouble the boundary between sounds that are 
« in », « off » or offscreen. Paradigmatic instances of this approach to 
the soundtrack include /L’Homme qui ment/ (Robbe-Grillet, 1968) and 
/Elephant/ (Van Sant, 2003); in these films, which abound in free sonic 
occurrences, it is not so much the nature of sounds and their 
localization (the semantics of sound) that is at stake as their 
materiality and texture (sound as phenomenon).

Focus can also be put on *the spatializing impact of the treatment of 
the sound signal*: reverb and delay, the play on the distance from and 
proximity to the sound source, variations of intensity, and what Rick 
Altman (1992) calls “sonic perspectives” (the roaming camera scenes of 
/Scarface/ [Hawks, 1932] and /Frenzy/ [Hitchcock, 1972] come to mind), 
the sonic signature of a place (the capture of “room tone,” which is 
poked fun at in /Living in Oblivion/ [DiCillo, 1995]), and sometimes 
even of a shot (as in the glass box scene of episode 1 of /Twin Peaks: 
The Return/ [Showtime, 2017]).

This symposium will also encourage *interest in the creative decisions 
bearing on the creation of cinematic space during the various stages of 
sound production while working on a film or an audiovisual production* 
(sound recording, creating sound effects, using soundbanks, sound 
mixing). In so doing, the importance of the sound crew (the perchmen, 
engineers, composers and sound designers) in composing a soundtrack will 
be put in relief, thereby underscoring *the wide variety of spatial 
options chosen during production and post-production* (shooting in 
studio or on location, direct or postsynchronized sound, etc.).

Attention to technique and technology may provide a welcome opportunity 
to examine *the exchanges and draw comparisons between practices common 
in cinema and audiovisual media and of those common in other media* such 
as radio and the music industry—/Apocalypse Now/ (Coppola, 1979) 
provides a famous example of a film whose soundtrack responds to the 
technique and aesthetics of record production. “*On the air” sounds* 
(Chion 1990) in particular can carry this transmedia legacy with them, 
all the while expressing other “spaces” (public, national, social, etc.) 
within the diegesis.

Beyond matters of composition, special attention will be paid to 
proposals that attempt to *resituate cinematic and audiovisual spaces 
within their reception contexts*. Studies of how *the criteria of 
realist spaces based on sound* may have evolved and varied depending on 
the historical eras and geographical and cultural areas in which they 
emerged are particularly welcome. Equally welcome are talks  emphasizing 
the impact of *the* *acoustic technology that allows us to watch and 
listen to films and audiovisual productions*, from the collectivity of 
movie theater audiences (the position of speakers, the type of paneling 
that is used, etc.) to more familial or individual devices (TV, 
computers, smartphones), for which sound is often “adapted“ (for 
instance, the high compression ratio used for television productions).

In the end, *each significant (r)evolution of sound technology* 
(microphones, amplifiers, multi-track recording and mixing) *has brought 
about profound changes in the expression of cinematic space, *from the 
experiments of the early 20th century to the invention of Dolby, which 
created a “superframe” (Chion 1990) and endowed silence with a 
paradoxically “heightened presence.” This is patent in the quality of 
sound itself (increased dynamics, abroadening of the sonic spectrum, the 
possibility to distinguish and distribute sound sources more precisely 
or to enhance the sensation of  emptiness), as well as in the quality of 
the images themselves (for instance, ambient sounds have been made it 
possible to do without the traditional master shot [Altman 2014]).

It would thus seem that *“sonic space” in film and audiovisual 
productions is not entirely a matter of sound but, more generally, of 
mise en scène and editing* (e.g., the clear-cut acoustic breaks between 
sequences in films like /Safe/ [Haynes, 1995] and /Tropical Malady/ 
[Weerasethakul, 2004]). Beyond the composition of the soundtrack itself, 
a decisive question pertains to *how a particular arrangement 
contributes to the creation of a special place or space for audiences*, 
and how we are invited to hear and listen to them. It is possible to 
argue that contemporary Hollywood blocksbusters like /Gravity/ (Cuarón, 
2013) and /Arrival/ (Villeneuve, 2016), because they are set in fantasy 
or non-terrestrial environments, share the ambition of certain 
20th-century experimental and avant-garde films (Jordan Belson, Bill 
Viola, Derek Jarman) of creating audiovisuals spaces that are quite 
simply “unheard” of, i.e., that have no equivalent in natural 
perception; however, it remains to be seen whether the spectacular 
regime that constitutes their framework allows for the same perceptive 
attention to sonic creations.

Speakers are invited to *combine technical, aesthetic and cultural 
perspectives* on film and audiovisual productions and a focus on a wide 
variety of works (fiction, documentary, experimental cinema, video 
installations, amateur films, family films, series, music videos, etc.). 
Proposals in English or French, including a 300-word abstract, along 
with a brief bio blurb and works cited section, should be sent to the 
conference organizers ((antoine.gaudin /at/ sorbonne-nouvelle.fr) 
<mailto:(antoine.gaudin /at/ sorbonne-nouvelle.fr)>, (david.roche /at/ univ-monpt3.fr) 
<mailto:(david.roche /at/ univ-monpt3.fr)>) by November 30, 2021. The symposium 
is a collaboration between the IRCAV laboratory in Paris and the program 
“Films and series: Politics of Audiovisual Forms” within the RiRRa21 
laboratory in Montpellier.

Our keynote speaker will be *James Buhler*, Professor of Music Theory at 
the University of Texas at Austin, and author of /Theories of the 
Soundtrack/ (2018) and co-author of /Hearing the Movies/ (2016).

*Possible themes include:*

- the evolution of sound technology and spatial rendering in film and 
audiovisual productions;

- the poetics and politics of sonic space;

- the spatial stakes of recorded and fabricated sounds;

- “signature sounds” in indoor and outdoor, daytime and nighttime spaces;

- the spatial dimensions of the treatment of the sound signal;

- how sonic spaces solicit embodied spectators:

- sonic space and visual mise en scène;

- sound ecology and the politics of sound;

- the spatialization of sound in reception contexts (movie theaters, 
video installations, etc.)

- noises, music, voices and spaces;**

- /sound design/ in film and audiovisual productions;

- the relationship between sound spaces in film and other media 
(recorded music, radio, etc.);

- the film or audiovisual production as a space of listening.

*Scientific Committee*

James Buhler (University of Texas at Austin), Serge Cardinal (Université 
de Montréal), Pietsie Feenstra (Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3), 
Chloé Huvet (Université d’Evry Paris-Saclay), Giusy Pisano (ENS 
Louis-Lumière), Emmanuel Siéty (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle).

*Selected Bibliography*

Adjiman, Rémi. “Les usages des ambiances sonores dans les films de 
fiction.” /Communications/, vol. 102, no. 1, 2018, pp. 137-151.

Altman, Rick. “Technologie et représentation : l’espace sonore.” In 
/Histoire du cinéma : nouvelles approches/, edited by Jacques Aumont, 
André Gaudreault and Michel Marie, Publication de la Sorbonne, 1989, 
pp.121-130

--- . “Sound Space.” /Sound Theory, Sound Practice/. Routledge, 1992, 
pp. 46-64.

---. “Establishing Sound.” /Cinémas/, vol. 24, n. 1, 2014, pp. 19-33.

Balázs, Béla. /Early Film Theory: Visible Man and the Spirit of Film/. 
Berghan Books, 2011.

Barnier, Martin and Jean-Pierre Sirois-Trahan (ed.). /Cinémas/, 
« Nouvelles pistes sur le son : histoire, technologies et pratiques 
sonores », vol. 24, n. 1, 2014.

Bridgett, Rob. /Leading with Sound: Proactive Sound Practices in Video 
Game Development/*.*  Focal Press, 2021.

Buhler, James. /Theories of the Soundtrack/. Oxford University Press, 2018.

Buhler, James, David Neumeyer. /Hearing the Movies: Music and Sound in 
Film History/. Oxford University Press, 2010.

Cardinal, Serge. /Profondeurs de l’écoute et espaces du son : cinéma, 
radio, musique/. Presses Universitaires de Strasbourg, 2018.

---. “Médiation ou modulation sonore ?” /Cinémas/, vol. 9, n. 1, 1998, 
pp.95-115.

Cenciarelli, Carlo. /The Oxford Handbook of Cinematic Listening/. Oxford 
University Press, 2021.

Chion, Michel. /Le son au cinéma/. Étoile, 1985

---. /Audio-vision: Sound on Screen/. 1990. Columbia University Press, 2019.

---. /Un art sonore : le cinéma/. Cahiers du cinéma, 2003.

---. /Des sons dans l’espace : à l’écoute du /space opera. Capricci, 2019.

Chouvel, Jean-Marc and Makis Solomos (ed.). /L’Espace : 
musique/philosophie/. L’Harmattan, 2000.

/Cahiers du cinéma/, “Écouter le cinéma,” n°749, November 2018.

Collins, Kasey. /Playing with Sound: A Theory of Interacting with Sound 
and Music in Video Games/. MIT Press, 2013.

Dallaire, Frédéric. “Son organisé, partition sonore, ordre musical : la 
pensée et la pratique cinématographique d’Edgar Varèse et de Michel 
Fano.” /Intersections/, vol. 33, n. 1, 2012, pp. 65-81.

Deshays, Daniel. /Entendre le cinéma/. Klincksieck, 2010.

Doane, Mary Ann. “The Voice in the Cinema: the Articulation of Body and 
Space.” /Yale French Studies/, n. 60, 1980, pp.33-50.

Gaudin, Antoine. /L’espace cinématographique : esthétique et 
dramaturgie//./ Armand Colin, 2015.

Hanson, Helen. /Hollywood Soundscapes: Ffilms, Sound Style, Craft and 
Production in the Classical Era/. Bloomsburry, 2017.

Harpole, Charles H. “Ideological and Technological Determinism in 
Deep-space Cinema Images: Issues in iIeology, Technological History, and 
Aesthetics.” /Film Quarterly/, vol. 33, n. 3, 1980, pp.11-22.

Huvelle, Didier and Domique Nasta (ed.). /Le son en perspective : 
nouvelles recherches / New perspectives in sound studies/. P.I.E./Peter 
Lang, 2004.

Jankélévitch, Vladimir. /Music and the Ineffable/. 1983. Princeton 
University Press, 2003.

Jullier, Laurent. /Les sons au cinéma et à la télévision : précis 
d'analyse de la bande-son/. Armand Colin, 1995.

Kracauer, Siegfried. /Theory of Film: The Redemption of Physical 
Reality/. 1960. Princeton Universirty Press, 1997.

Krause, Bernie. “The Voice of the Natural World.” TED Global, 2013. 
<https://www.ted.com/talks/bernie_krause_the_voice_of_the_natural_world/transcript?language=fr#t-1025 
<https://www.ted.com/talks/bernie_krause_the_voice_of_the_natural_world/transcript?language=fr#t-1025>>. 
Accessed 18 Sept. 2021.

Lankjaer, Birger. “Spatial Perception and Technologies of Cinema Sound.” 
/Convergence/, vol. 3, n. 4, 1997, pp.92-107.

Lastra, James. /Sound, Technology and the American Cinema: Perception, 
Representation, Modernity//./ Columbia University Press, 2000.

/Ligeia/, “Art et bruit : théâtre, magie, cinéma, musique, radio, opéra, 
performance, ciné-danse,” n°141-144, 2015.

Maury, Corinne. /Du parti pris des lieux dans le cinéma contemporain/. 
Hermann, 2018.

Millet, Thierry. /Bruit et cinéma/. Presses de l’Université de Provence, 
2007.**

Ondaadtje, Michael. /The/ /Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of 
Editing/. Knopf, 2004.

Pisano, Giusy. /Une archéologie du cinéma sonore/. CNRS, 2004.

­---. “In Praise of the Sound Dissolve: Evanescences, Uncertainties, 
Fusions, Resonances,” In /Indefinite Visions: Cinema and the Attractions 
of Uncertainty/, edited by Martine Beugnet, Allan Cameron and Arild 
Fetveit, Edinburgh University Press, 2018, pp. 103-16.

Rosario, Filipa and Ivan Villarmea Alvarez (ed.). /New Approaches to 
Cinematic Space/. Routledge, 2019.

Schafer, R. Murray. /The Soundscape: Our Sonic Environment and the 
Tuning of the World/. 1977. Destiny Books, 1993.

Thomas, Benjamin. /Faire corps avec le monde : l’espace 
cinématographique comme milieu/. Circé, 2019.

Weis, Elizabeth and John BELTON (ed.). /Film Sound: Theory and 
Practice/. Columbia University Press, 1985.

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