Beneath sci-fi sound: Primer, science fiction sound design, and American independent cinema
Primer is a very low budget science-fiction film that deals with the subject of time travel; however, it looks and sounds quite distinctively different from other films associated with the genre. While Hollywood blockbuster sci-fi relies on “sound spectacle” as a key attraction, in contrast Primer s...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University College Cork
2012-08-01
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| Series: | Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media |
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| Online Access: | http://www.alphavillejournal.com/Issue 3/HTML/ArticleJohnston.html |
| _version_ | 1817981919840698368 |
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| author | Nessa Johnston |
| author_facet | Nessa Johnston |
| author_sort | Nessa Johnston |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Primer is a very low budget science-fiction film that deals with the subject of time travel; however, it looks and sounds quite distinctively different from other films associated with the genre. While Hollywood blockbuster sci-fi relies on “sound spectacle” as a key attraction, in contrast Primer sounds “lo-fi” and screen-centred, mixed to two channel stereo rather than the now industry-standard 5.1 surround sound. Although this is partly a consequence of the economics of its production, the aesthetic approach to the soundtrack is what makes Primer formally distinctive. Including a brief exploration of the role of sound design in science-fiction cinema more broadly, I analyse aspects of Primer’s soundtrack and sound-image relations to demonstrate how the soundplays around with time rather than space, substituting the spatial playfulness of big-budget Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster sound with temporal playfulness, in keeping with its time-travel theme. I argue that Primer’s aesthetic approach to the soundtrack is “anti-spectacle”, working with its mise-en-scène to emphasise the mundane and everyday instead of the fantastical, in an attempt to lend credibility and “realism” to its time-travel conceit. Finally, with reference to scholarship on American independent cinema, I will demonstrate how Primer’s stylistic approach to the soundtrack is configured as a marketable identifier of its “indie”-ness. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T23:13:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-04f21587275240cb833ba1b86585d22f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2009-4078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T23:13:37Z |
| publishDate | 2012-08-01 |
| publisher | University College Cork |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media |
| spelling | doaj.art-04f21587275240cb833ba1b86585d22f2022-12-22T02:25:29ZengUniversity College CorkAlphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media2009-40782012-08-0134963https://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.3.04Beneath sci-fi sound: Primer, science fiction sound design, and American independent cinemaNessa Johnston0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2364-3370University of GlasgowPrimer is a very low budget science-fiction film that deals with the subject of time travel; however, it looks and sounds quite distinctively different from other films associated with the genre. While Hollywood blockbuster sci-fi relies on “sound spectacle” as a key attraction, in contrast Primer sounds “lo-fi” and screen-centred, mixed to two channel stereo rather than the now industry-standard 5.1 surround sound. Although this is partly a consequence of the economics of its production, the aesthetic approach to the soundtrack is what makes Primer formally distinctive. Including a brief exploration of the role of sound design in science-fiction cinema more broadly, I analyse aspects of Primer’s soundtrack and sound-image relations to demonstrate how the soundplays around with time rather than space, substituting the spatial playfulness of big-budget Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster sound with temporal playfulness, in keeping with its time-travel theme. I argue that Primer’s aesthetic approach to the soundtrack is “anti-spectacle”, working with its mise-en-scène to emphasise the mundane and everyday instead of the fantastical, in an attempt to lend credibility and “realism” to its time-travel conceit. Finally, with reference to scholarship on American independent cinema, I will demonstrate how Primer’s stylistic approach to the soundtrack is configured as a marketable identifier of its “indie”-ness.http://www.alphavillejournal.com/Issue 3/HTML/ArticleJohnston.htmlscience-fictionsound effectslow budget film use of sound over music |
| spellingShingle | Nessa Johnston Beneath sci-fi sound: Primer, science fiction sound design, and American independent cinema Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media science-fiction sound effects low budget film use of sound over music |
| title | Beneath sci-fi sound: Primer, science fiction sound design, and American independent cinema |
| title_full | Beneath sci-fi sound: Primer, science fiction sound design, and American independent cinema |
| title_fullStr | Beneath sci-fi sound: Primer, science fiction sound design, and American independent cinema |
| title_full_unstemmed | Beneath sci-fi sound: Primer, science fiction sound design, and American independent cinema |
| title_short | Beneath sci-fi sound: Primer, science fiction sound design, and American independent cinema |
| title_sort | beneath sci fi sound primer science fiction sound design and american independent cinema |
| topic | science-fiction sound effects low budget film use of sound over music |
| url | http://www.alphavillejournal.com/Issue 3/HTML/ArticleJohnston.html |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nessajohnston beneathscifisoundprimersciencefictionsounddesignandamericanindependentcinema |