In our studio last week we had a lot of in depth discussions about radio and various ideas surrounding sound works in general.
There were a lot of things that I found interesting, such as the way that sound can establish underlying ideas, objects, codes, conventions, even create stereotypical generalisations. Simply through one small sound you can glean so much information. You can understand distance (space), location (and possibly the time, e.g. crickets can establish that it’s night), emotion (intonations, volume), whether it’s scripted or off the cuff or somewhere in between. There is so much that our brain subconsciously processes through sound that just goes unnoticed.
It was also interesting talking about how different countries handle public mediums such as radio, how they often have their own styles and niches and how in some countries the level of censorship is so high that the public radio stations are run by the State Governments. That’s where another very interesting point comes into the discussion, as most public broadcasters need to keep the information they create and distribute popular and easy to consume, containing the common social values of the time so as to not offend most of the listeners. Because of this ‘politically correct’ content, more niche audiences are reaching out to the internet to both find and create their own content. The internet really is a place where creatives from all walks of life can just about do what they creatively want.
‘The Letter S’ in particular accentuated and emphasised the importance of the pregnant pause and how its effective placement can enhance a piece so much more. It emphasises the idea that the absence is just as important as the presence, in this case sound. In particular, it was interesting listening to the framework of the piece and hearing as it established the base for the sound work and then flowed in and out of the layers, fading which ever layer had reached irrelevance, and sometimes, when attention was needed, stopping all layers to focus on one abruptly. The layering in such professional pieces as ‘The Letter S’ really creates an atmosphere, and the use of both verbal and audio motifs enhances the subtext and meaning of the piece with very little effort.
Professional sound works and radio have often been called a ‘blind’ medium as they can’t be seen visually but instead have to be imagined through the mind’s eye. Because of this such pieces often create emotionally connective and visceral experiences, driving you deep into the atmos of the piece. However, with the quick adoption of the internet into so many of these pieces and the limitations on technology becoming less and less, sound pieces are becoming an increasingly more visual experience. The other interesting thing about such works is that because they exist in a solely imagined space, there is this overlying stigma that radio pieces can’t be truthful in the way that film can, in this way radio pieces tend to be more experimental and use a unique combination of sound, rhythm and words to create a space more intended for difficult truths and conclusions to be made by the audience themselves, as it is them imagining and being enveloped by the situation. I guess in this way the audience also must be more active as they have to create the visual, as opposed to being given everything on a silver platter of sorts.