Reflection week 4
Audio Playerweek 4
In developing a non-narrated sketch using only sound effects, I explored how sonic elements can construct a coherent narrative without the use of spoken language. The piece follows the adult, who fell asleep on the tram after he got on it, dreamed about playing basketball, when he almost got to the station, he woke up and continued his daily. This progression is conveyed through layered ambient sounds such as tram movements, crowd noise, the bounce of a basketball, and back to the footsteps.
The narrative emerges through the structure and pacing of the soundscape. For instance, early sounds like tram announcements set the scene in a busy city, while later cues such as whistles, bouncing basketballs shift the listener into the sporting environment. The climax is marked by the whistles that signals the start of the game, followed by the whistled which means he is time to wake up, and connected back to the reality by the tram movement.
In line with Ferrington’s assertion that good audio design encourages “active and attentive listening” (1993: 7), this sketch intentionally withholds exposition, requiring the audience to piece together meaning from fragmented yet familiar sounds. A key example is the final, when he wake up, the tram movement from quite to loud, this need the audience to feel is this just a dream on the tram or he did play for the basketball game.
Ultimately, the sketch prioritises sonic immersion over literal explanation. By doing so, it transforms passive hearing into an active process of discovery, demonstrating how sound alone can guide, move, and narrate without ever speaking a word.