Anna Semmelrath, November 2023
Music has always been some kind of language that is stepping out of cultural and linguistic barriers to touch people all over the world. As someone who is passionate about sound design, I find myself connected to this world of sound and music. In this blog entry, I will dive a little into my personal connection to music, my interests in sound design, my journey into studying it, the role I aspire to play in this creative work, and my mission and vision regarding sound design.
Music has always been a part of my life. In school I started playing violin and drums. We played little concerts and got used to the stage from a young age, we had a very passionate music teacher. After writing my first couple of songs, I decided to dive deeper into this topic. At his time, I lived in Vienna, so I started a Music Production degree there. It was not a very intensive course so after one semester I applied for a Music Production degree in the UK. Against all my expectations I got a place, and a few months later I found myself on a plane to England, leaving my family and most of my belongings behind.
But even that exiting time went by faster than I wanted it to. Back in Austria my way led to Graz, a new city, again. But this time at least I was closer to my family. After taking on a degree to become a medical massage therapist I started missing the creative work and the working with sound and music. After a long search and not knowing, I found the Sound Design degree at FH Joanneum Graz. A few days before the deadline and on my summer holiday trip I stressed to get my application in on time. Music, in its various forms has a unique ability to trigger emotions and memories and communicate what words often cannot. It is a powerful medium that resonates with us. Here are some aspects of music that touch me: Music has the capacity to stir emotions within us. It has the ability to elicit a wide range of feelings, from joy and happiness to sadness and nostalgia. The cultural differences in music are broad, but at the same time it can unite people across the globe, no matter where you are from or what language you speak, music or sounds can connect you to someone on the other side of the world.
How music and sound is a storyteller. It can convey a narrative, a feeling, or an experience without any words. The combination of instruments, melodies, and harmonies creates a sonic landscape that can transport listeners to another time, place, or emotional state. Music can bring me far back into memories, remind me of stories and situation. Bring me happiness or make me sad. It is such a powerful tool.
Interests in Sound Design
Sound design is an art form that fascinates me due to its ability to shape the experience of the audience. It involves the creation and manipulation of sound elements to convey specific emotions, atmospheres, and narratives. I do not just have one interest in sound design but some different sides of it get my attention.
Sound design is crucial in creating immersive experiences in various forms of media, including film, video games, and virtual reality. Soundscapes can be crafted, enhancing the overall impact of the visuals, and deepening the audience’s engagement and experience.
As mentioned before sound design is a powerful tool to elevate storytelling. The choice of sound effects, ambient sounds, and music can greatly influence the viewer’s understanding of a narrative. For example, one can shape a scene in a movie to a completely different story/background story, depending on what sounds are chosen. It provides another layer that is often taken for granted but impacts the viewer’s emotional connection to the story. My interest comes from the fascination of the power of sound in this context.
Sound design is a playground for creativity, which makes me excited. Sound is everywhere and always present. We can not shut our ears like we can with our eyes. Unconsciously we get a lot of information from sounds around us and there is sound design everywhere, more than one might think.
The Role of Sound Design in my Creative Work
Sound design plays a central role in my creative work, it for example is a bridge between the auditory and visual elements of various projects. Here are some key functions I envision for sound design in my creative ambitions.
Enhancing emotional impact: Sound design has the power to trigger emotions or enhance the emotional impact of a visual narrative. I aim to touch the audience and make sound design the emotional anchor of a story. Is it a film, a soundscape an audioguide or even a podcast, I want to tell stories with my work.
Doing sound design to supporting visuals. Sound design is not just an accompanying but also a supporting element to visuals. It provides depth, context, atmosphere, and emotion that enrich the overall experience. The right sound choices can put life into the visuals and create a sense of authenticity.
In my point of view, sound design in cities is something important. For example to minimize noise pollution or to place sound based helping tools to make life easier or better for people.
In the next semesters I want to explore and go deeper into storytelling with sound. My vision for this project is to create a room where people get to experience a story that connects more layers. It should contain a narrative that is spoken and ambience sounds, both influencing the experience of the story. It should be interactive in some ways so that everybody entering is leaving with a slightly or completely different experience.
At the moment, some different ideas are present. Of course they have to be defined more and looked into if some of those are doable and how.
The basic idea at this point is to have a room with different zones and pathways which represent the story lines. Depending on where people go, and which zones are entered the story line will be different.
Ambient sounds play an important factor as well, they should be interactive in a way. If two people hear the same story, but both with different ambient and mood in the background, they probably will have a very different experience. The story should also in a way be told with sounds and music, not just with spoken word.
My idea for this is to have different objects in the room, depending on what people touch the sounds change.
My Mission and Vision Regarding Sound Design
My mission is to create memorable and impactful experiences that resonate with the audience on an emotional level. My mission is to create sounds that connect and communicate and, in some cases, maybe helps people.
Sound design is a field that continuously evolves, I aim to always learn new techniques and skills, to stay curious, so that I can become better in my work.
In my opinion sound design is a collaborative art form, and I envision working closely with others like visual artists, and fellow sound designers to create cohesive, holistic experiences. Effective communication and collaboration will be at the heart of a creative process.
The field of sound and music is so wide and big. I want to explore alternative approaches, and music/sound from different cultural backgrounds. Taking inspiration from and incorporating this into my work.
As I am going on this exciting journey into the world of sound design, I am driven by a passion for creating immersive and emotionally resonant auditory experiences. It is my hope that, through sound design, I can contribute to society and to the powerful language of music and storytelling.
