The Urban Soundscape in Sci-fi Cinema

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34680/urbis-2022-1(2)-86-100

Alejandro Contreras Koob 
State Institute of Film and Television, St. Petersburg, Russia
E-mail: [email protected]

ORCID: 0000-0003-3877-0409

Albina V. Boyarkina
Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, St. Petersburg, Russia 
E-mail: [email protected]

ORCID: 0000-0003-3619-5885

Abstract

This topic of the city has attracted sustained interest in film studies. However, when discussing the soundtrack of contemporary films, the specifics of urban soundscape representation in such genres as horror and science fiction, in which exactly the sound component plays a decisive role, facilitated by actively developing technical capabilities, is left aside. In American fantasy cinema, the urban soundscape is of interest only when it not only illustrates the plot of the film but also when it’s part of the narrative. We are talking primarily about dystopias, in which interesting musical and noise solutions reflect the unfamiliar, which is characteristic of sci-fi environments. In the soundtracks of sci-fi films, the dramatic increase in the complexity of the technological aspect is particularly noticeable. The combination of technology and processes used in the creation of soundscape, atmospheres, noises, and effects is usually grouped under the term sound design, which literally means "design and sound engineering". During this period, sound design was finally established and became a critical component of film sound design, especially in the sci-fi and horror genres. In these films, the former division of sound into speech, synchronous noise, background noise, and music are retained. Still, through sound design, an acoustic element is introduced that has a narrative function but is not purely noise or music. Hyperrealistic sound becomes a typical example of the application of sound design, in which diegetic synchronous noises are enriched with nondiegetic timbres that introduce an additional semantic load. As the unfamiliar medium of a fantasy film struggles to convey a narrative and needs support and interpretation, music and noise take on this function. If in a fantasy film the environment, particularly the city, has no narrative function, the soundscape is unremarkable, but if it has such a function, it is how the sound conveys the narrative that is important. As for dystopias, a characteristic feature of the urban soundscape in this genre is the sharp contrast with the film's overall sound.

Keywords: city, soundscape, soundtrack, film music, dystopia.

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About author

Alejandro Contreras Koob 
State Institute of Film and Television, St. Petersburg, Russia
E-mail: [email protected]

Albina V. Boyarkina
Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, St. Petersburg, Russia 
E-mail: [email protected]

For citation:
Contreras Koob A., Boyarkina A. The Urban Soundscape in Sci-fi Cinema. Urbis et Orbis. Microhistory 
and Semiotics of the City. 2022. 1 (2). P. 86-100. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34680/urbis-2022-1(2)-86-100