A response to “Theory of the Film: Sound” by Bela Balazs

Theory of Film: Sound by Bela Balazs

         I fundamentally agree with the idea Balazs presents in this essay: that sound is a complex and powerful cinematic tool -- one which has not often been fully utilized in the near 100 years since it entered the filmmaker's toolkit. When film made the transition from silent to sound, it simultaneously gained potential depth and lost expressive power. Where before sound, filmmakers were required to use their ingenuity to convey the auditory qualities of a scene, this new technology allowed artists to simply convey the sound itself in their works.

          While something was absolutely lost in that transition, I believe that sound as a tool can add immeasurable amounts of complexity to a film. The limitations of silent film absolutely encouraged creative expression, but sound itself has provided even more opportunities for film to grow as a medium.

Balazs explores a few of the ways that sound can enrich cinema in unexpected, and under-utilized ways. Reading this piece made me excited for the possibilities of sound in my own projects, and in film as a whole. It made me feel as though the options laid out before me as a filmmaker are more limitless than I previously thought, like discovering a color never before seen on your pallet half way through a painting.