Scientia Publishing House – Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania

Digitális filmhangrögzítés [Digital Recording of Film Sound]

The present textbook is published the same year Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania celebrates two decades of artistic training at its Faculty of Sciences and Arts in Cluj-Napoca. As part of their undergraduate studies, students majoring in Cinematography, Photography and Media (film and TV directing and imaging, audio-visual communication: screenwriting, media advertising) also study subjects such as Digital Recording of Film Sound, Digital Editing of Film Sound, or Dramaturgy of Film Sound and Music in order to further creatively exploit this knowledge in their own audio-visual projects (film and TV).

After the theoretical and practical acquisition of different specific techniques for direct film sound recording, in the second year of study they learn the methods of digital sound editing in order to customize the sound elements according to the time frame of the audio-visual projects in progress. The general objective of the last year of study consists in gaining awareness of the fact that the externalization of the artistic conception must also be supported by the sound events capable of fulfilling multiple roles and dramaturgical functions in the sound film.

The first chapter of the textbook Digital Recording of Film Sound facilitates the process of understanding the phenomena of production and propagation of sounds, while the second chapter presents both the process of digital sound capture and the advantages of using digital technology. The following chapters describe in detail the technological possibilities offered by the high-quality professional equipment owned by the institution (portable multi-track field recorders, wireless sound signal transmission systems using radio waves, microphones, etc.) and made available to students. Armed with this knowledge, an experienced user will be able to create an authentic, engaging, and competitive soundtrack that will organically contribute to the success of their envisaged audio-visual projects.

Systematic and regular completion of the consolidation exercises (presented in Chapter 11) will ensure the acquisition, refinement, and automation of specific film and TV sound recording techniques. In the author’s opinion, the process of assimilating a large amount of technical information can be facilitated and accelerated by alternating it with tasks designed to arouse curiosity, stimulate creativity, and develop aesthetic-artistic awareness and expressiveness (Chapter 12). In this sense, events are periodically organized to reveal the excitement of creating artistic content in a group as well as the joy but also the burden of performing them live in front of a demanding audience.

The specialized skills acquired during the two university semesters will be evaluated in exams conducted in accordance with the methodologies presented in Chapter 13.