Being There: Evocation of the Site in Contemporary Indian Cinema (original) (raw)

2016

Abstract

Contemporary Indian films, in their essentially digitalised realms, incorporate techniques such as the location-based multitrack “sync” recording, and surround sound design that reorder the organization of cinematic sound. These practices contrast with the earlier mono- or stereo formats by reconfiguring the linear construct of a soundtrack to produce a spatially evocative sonic environment that engages the listener with a more life-like auditory experience of the fictional site. Using significant examples from post-2000 Indian films, this article shows how earlier production practices are being replaced by “sync” sound recording and surround sound mixing with a richly spatial arrangement of site-specific ambience. The article argues that these layers of ambient sounds lead to audiences establishing their embodied experience of presence in regards to the fictional site via auditory spatial cognition and immersion in a cinematic soundscape. By situating contemporary sound production practices within the various trajectories of Indian cinema, this article contributes to the broader field of research on the key developments in constructing spatial environments for cinema.

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