Realism has been a primary objective of human art since the
conception of the medium. Through the process of
evolution, and thousands of years passing, the human race has been able to
replicate and create reality at an increasingly higher standard. We became adept at
creating realistic art by employing a look that was rough and grainy. The images felt "unplanned and unpolished" which
lead to the viewer to feeling that the image is closer to reality. By exaggerating certain aspects, this feeling can be pushed
even further.
One way that realism approaches hyper-realism is by the introduction of artificial mistakes or enhancements. In film, this could include lens flare, bad focus, or under and overexposure. All of these artificially placed mistakes will make the picture seem grainy or unpolished, the same result artists of realism historically went for.
One way that realism approaches hyper-realism is by the introduction of artificial mistakes or enhancements. In film, this could include lens flare, bad focus, or under and overexposure. All of these artificially placed mistakes will make the picture seem grainy or unpolished, the same result artists of realism historically went for.
All of these processes have found their way into the world of sound design. Today's sound designers, when taking a hyper-realistic approach, will exaggerate sounds in order to make them sound more realistic. Examples of this could be layering sounds of gunshots in order to make a gun actually sound powerful, layering sounds of actual planes with synthesized sounds to make a jet plane sound faster or louder but always larger than life, or using a wide arrangement of sounds to create totally new sounds that have never existed before (like Chewbacca's growl in Star Wars. The sound designers recorded the growls, roars, and calls of many animals, and then layered them together to create an animal sound that is both natural and other-worldly.) Another technique used to create a deeper sense of realism is abnormal microphone placement. Special types of microphones are used when broadcasting sporting events in order to make the viewer feel as if they were in the stadium watching. This becomes hyper-reality when one realizes that the sounds we hear on TV, would not be heard by the actual attendees of the sporting event.
Today, Hyper Realism is a common technique used to engage the audience and is used in complicated ways as stated above, or in even simpler ways like having an audible heartbeat at a suspenseful moment in a film. When you start to look for this type of sound design, you will find it everywhere and quickly realize that most of what we hear is nothing like reality, and a lot of the time the films we are watching or commercials that grab our attention sound more intense and even more realistic than what we actually experience in real life.
I really enjoyed reading this post! I found it interesting how you compared the hyperrealism used in art and film to better illustrate how it works with sound design; it really made it clearer to understand the concept. I like the examples you used in the star wars films regarding chewbaca and the layering of sounds to create something new. This reminds me of how they made the T-Rex sound in the first Jurassic park sound by layering different animal sounds together such as lions whales and dolphins. I really look forward to reading more about your ideas on Hyperrealism.
ReplyDeleteI find your topic of hyper realism really fascinating. I love sound design whether that be for film or musical sound design. I used similar layering techniques to create custom drum sounds when working on a sound design piece for Synthesis and Sound Design at school. That is in fact what synthesis is, put parts together to make a whole. It is fun to create something unique from combinations of wave forms. It is what draws me into the art of sound design. I love to take a silent film and use my imagination on how I feel the sound effects should sound. You did a great job of explaining the concept of hyper realism by giving a solid background of what the word actually means when referring to art. Good post, I'll definitely be checking back in here.
ReplyDeleteInteresting topic, Austin! I think I am still in the middle between realism and hyperrealism. There are things that I like about hyperrealism that can work for music and film for example the exaggeration of the gun fire in the movie ''Wanted'' and the multi-tracking of Queens' famous Bohemian Rhapsody, which could not have been done without hyperrealism. But I also do enjoy material that are in the realism category. In music sometimes I do enjoy listening to a drum set that sounds like it was recorded in a garage rather than listening to a drum track that sounds like it was recorded using a PA system. Very interesting topic I will be looking forward to future posts of hyperrealism.
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