Academy Award®-winning sound artist Mark Mangini on composing with sound.
In this video, sound artist Mark Mangini (Dune, Mad Max: Fury Road) draws parallels between sound design, screenwriting, and composing. To Mangini, sound effects are like words in a screenplay or notes in a score: elemental building blocks of a story that must be carefully chosen and arranged to support the narrative. Here’s a summary of Mangini’s thoughts on the art of sonic storytelling.
Content:
0:00 - The Role of Sound in Storytelling
Mangini begins with a simple comparison: “Sound is used in storytelling in the same ways that words are used for screenwriting and fabrics and colors are used in costuming,” he says. “We are leveraging sounds that all of us recognize in service of telling a story, supporting a story, or augmenting a story.”
0:30 - Narrative Sound Design
Just like a screenwriter assembles words into paragraphs, paragraphs into scenes, and scenes into acts of a screenplay, “so too do we assemble sounds or design or create sounds in a very specific order, in a very specific structure, for a very specific length of time to achieve a certain narrative effect,” Mangini says.
1:14 - Composing With Sound
“You can also look at this from a very musical standpoint,” Mangini explains. “Sound designers are no different than composers.” Composers choose the notes to use, the instruments to voice those notes, the timing of the music, and the timbre of the sounds so that you can hear them clearly.
“Sound design is every bit as deliberate and creative,” Mangini adds. “There is never anything arbitrary in a soundtrack. Every sound you hear is orchestrated and composed for a specific reason, to achieve a specific result.” The difference, he explains, is that composers typically work within a 12-tone framework, whereas “in sound design, we have the universe at our disposal.”
Keep Learning
If you found this video enlightening, check out our blog and YouTube channel for more wisdom from world-renowned sound artists:
- Finding Inspiration for Sound Design with Richard King
- Richard Devine on Creative Sound Design Tools and Staying Inspired
- How to Connect with Your Audience Using Sound
Explore our newest library from Mark Mangini - Between the Notes
Many thanks to Mike James Gallagher for leading this interview! Mike is an Emmy-nominated sound effects editor & sound designer (Weird, Selena) and creator of INDEPTH Sound Design. Check out his work here: mikejamesgallagher.com
