Freeing the imagination: ‘the best movie is the one in my head’

Abstract

Sonic and visual information bounce off each other in daily and fictional lives; physical perception and imagination are intrinsic in the creation of immersive experiences. In the case of atmospheric cinema sound, for example, individual sensibility and physical relationships to sound and space are central to modelling a narrative’s perceptual and emotional authenticity. Is this experiential process compromised when film-making practice is lead by visual storytelling? I would argue that current and future cinema sound practitioners have the propensity to expand sonic phenomenological experience of creative collaborators and audiences alike. A more generalised application to synergetic creative process could originate within the cinematic industry itself. Of course some film directors are renowned for their holistic and collaborative approach to sound creation. Nevertheless sound professionals’ multisensory imagination should be encouraged, from the onset of their professional careers, with as much diligence as their acquisition of technical expertise. In order to highlight the impact of individual imagination on audio-visual creative collaboration, the author of this article devised a creative process involving the altruistic participation of Australian-based cinema professionals. The readers of this article will be invited to experience part of this specific creative process and audio-visually imagine a scene from the reading of a script.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on Contributor

Isabelle Delmotte is a practicing artist; her multi-media installations have been exhibited internationally. Her academic enquiries and their artistic incarnations have generated alternative approaches to sensory awareness. Lately, she has used the practice of cinema sound design to interrogate contemporary notions of silences, acoustic ecologies, and professional filmmaking practices. She is a lecturer in Screen and Media Studies at the University of Waikato (New Zealand), holds a Master of Fine Arts by Research (University of NSW, Australia) and a Ph.D. in Media Studies from Southern Cross University (NSW, Australia).

ORCID

Isabelle Delmotte http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6255-1682