Shaping Stories With Sound

A song, a chirp, cheering, the beat of drum, a cat’s purr, a scream, a laugh, a whisper… We live in a sound rich world that often directly impacts our emotions, but because it’s so present we hardly notice how much these different sounds affect us.

It’s only in the absence of sound that we begin to feel peculiar. If you’ve ever been home alone, you have probably experienced that feeling of a heavy weighted silence. You may begin to “hallucinate” sounds or hear a creek that will make your imagination immediately point to- ghost or robber.

While searching for news related slideshows for class, I noticed a common trend in those that were more and less effective.

Audio brought the photographs to life. They were still shots, but somehow the sounds opened my mind, took me into the story and created motion and feeling.

Timothy Allen created a compelling presentation of his photography for the television series Human Planet.

The subject alone provided him access to extraordinary places and people. He traveled across the world to about 40 different countries and experienced some of the most extreme environments. Overall it portrayed the differences in which people experience the world, but also showed how they are the same in many ways.

In his narration he explained how he was able to take certain shots. At one point Allen recalled how he was standing in water tied to ropes that were attached to trees from all angles in order to take a photograph of a man crossing the rushing waters of the Mekong River.

In addition, the background music moved the story forward. It made you feel a sense of hope, and understanding and awe.

The third element was by far the strongest, and could have been used in even greater amounts. Natural sounds like the ones I mentioned above were played throughout the slideshow. At one point there were villagers talking in the background, and you could feel the sense of community building through the sound.

The photographs were stronger and resonated with me more when narration, music, and natural sounds were used to help shape the story.