If I never read another thing by that damned Michel Chion, I will be a very happy person. I’ve written two research papers on sound before and let me tell you what, filmy people must think Chion has Jesus’ ears. He’s referred to in almost every text on sound and I don’t understand why.
My main issue with Chion is that he can’t write about sound in a way I gain information from his texts. If learning wasn’t important in my approach to reading his articles, I’d at least want to be able to relate to what he’s writing, but I simply cannot. He is awesome for referring to when you need a little tidbit of flowery language about sound to quote for research papers though.
In this article, “Projections of Sound on Image” (for that matter, in everything else he writes), Chion tells us that adding sound, be that music, dialogue, or sound effects, to an image can drastically change the meaning. Who knew? I’m fairly certain in my assumption that as film scholars, we understand that sound is one of the most pivotal elements in cinema. I think Chion's issue is that the average movie go-er doesn't completely realize how much sound can change an image. The average movie go-er has probably also never edited raw footage, before all the fantastic elements of sound were added. The public doesn't seek out the opportunity to witness these differences. So, Mr. Chion, just calm down, us filmmakers and scholars know sound is important.
Also, Mr. Chion, the sad thing is, I completely agree with your sentiments about sound, but the fact that I had to eat 3 popsicles while reading this article to stay interested is not OK.
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