Semiotics of motion picture sound design

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to determine the specificity of sound design as a sign system in
the structure of the film. The methodology of the study includes a semiotic approach and the
involvement 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 the
fact that for the first time an attempt has been made to reveal the conceptual core of sound design
from 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 logical
to assume that individual components of the film perform the same function, not excluding the
sound. Sound design is designed not to create a "realistic" image (because we do not have
immediate access to reality), but an image that inspires confidence. More precisely, the feeling that
balances between trust and suspicion (using the media-theory of Boris Groys). Therefore, instead of
the word "reality", the word "credibility" should be used, which is primarily a function of the
context (especially with regard to the sounding of phenomena and objects that do not exist in the
real world). In relation to sound in cinema, "reality" is not an epistemic category (as it is
impossible to get to the "real" sound of things), but ethical. At least, the sense of "likelihood" has a
direct bearing on the ethical dimensions of human existence. From the point of view of the sign
system, 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 (the
dubbing of events on the screen in studio conditions).
Key words: motion picture, sound design, film sound image, sound engineering, sound
recording, simulation