Semiotics of motion picture sound design

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to determine the specificity of sound design as a sign system inthe structure of the film. The methodology of the study includes a semiotic approach and theinvolvement of some poststructuralist concepts (in particular, an "empty sign"), there is also a postphenomenological optics of view and a media theory of Boris Groys. Scientific novelty lies in thefact that for the first time an attempt has been made to reveal the conceptual core of sound designfrom the position of the simulated index field and the ontology of the submedial surface.Conclusions. If the movie as a whole is trying to create the impression of a "true story", it is logicalto assume that individual components of the film perform the same function, not excluding thesound. Sound design is designed not to create a "realistic" image (because we do not haveimmediate access to reality), but an image that inspires confidence. More precisely, the feeling thatbalances between trust and suspicion (using the media-theory of Boris Groys). Therefore, instead ofthe word "reality", the word "credibility" should be used, which is primarily a function of thecontext (especially with regard to the sounding of phenomena and objects that do not exist in thereal world). In relation to sound in cinema, "reality" is not an epistemic category (as it isimpossible to get to the "real" sound of things), but ethical. At least, the sense of "likelihood" has adirect bearing on the ethical dimensions of human existence. From the point of view of the signsystem, sound design is a unique example of an index field simulation, because it combines two"materialities" — an image without sound (events on the screen) and sound without an image (thedubbing of events on the screen in studio conditions).Key words: motion picture, sound design, film sound image, sound engineering, soundrecording, simulation