Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019) User Reviews

Informative and deeply passionate

[carrythe2 · 8/10 · 9 October 2019]

Making Waves is both an informative, friendly introduction to the world of film sound and a passionate advocation of the art. There are in-depth interviews with some of the biggest names in Hollywood sound design - Ben Burtt, Skip Livesay, Randy Thom, Gary Rydstrom and the industry's superstar, the always-entertaining Walter Murch - and in directing - George Lucas, Stephen Spielberg, David Lynch, as well as a great many others.

There's an entertaining history of film sound and a breakdown of all the elements that go into the finished whole. In a concise 90 minutes it manages to include most of the major technological innovations and pioneering films and figures. It also manages to give a strong voice to the many women who have worked at the highest level on blockbuster films (e.g. Cecilia Hall on Top Gun, Anna Belhmer on Braveheart).

On the downside, it is very Hollywood-centric (or perhaps California-centric - at one point George Lucas says "so we relocated to San Francisco" like it was some giant leap for filmmaker kind). But to be fair, the filmmakers did admit in the post-screening Q&A that they wanted it to be much more of an international story but they already had over 200 hours of transcripts just from the US and didn't have the funds to travel for interviews.

That aside, it would be hard to ask for a better film about this fascinating but obscure subject.

Did you hear that?

[ferguson-6 · 8/10 · 25 October 2019]

Greetings again from the darkness. Did you hear that? While watching a movie, you are likely aware of explosions and spoken dialogue, but it's quite astounding how many other sounds can make up a movie-watching experience. While it's true that we think of movies as a visual medium, it's not a complete description. Oscar winning director Steven Spielberg said, "Our ears lead our eyes to where the story lives."

Midge Costin was a noted Sound Editor from 1986 through 1998 on such films as CRIMSON TIDE, CON AIR, and ARMAGEDDON. She then transitioned to education and has spent 20 years at the renowned USC Film School, holding the Kay Rose endowed chair in the Art of Dialogue and Sound Editing. She is truly a sound expert, and in this, her directorial debut, she beautifully lays out the art form of sound that takes place within the art form of cinema.

Ms. Costin structures the film with an historical timeline, personal profiles of some of the most important figures in sound, and a breakdown of sound segments and technology. Along the way she includes film clips to provide specific examples, and interviews for industry insight. The film takes us back to 1877 and Edison's phonograph, and on to 1927 when THE JAZZ SINGER delivered Al Jolson's voice. 1933's KING KONG mesmerized with the first true sound effects, and we learn the direct connection between movie sound and radio. We really get the inside scoop on the breakthroughs of American Zoetrope (founded by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas), and the importance of Barbra Sreisand's demands for A STAR IS BORN (1976), Robert Altman's multi-track NASHVILLE, and the "Wookie" sounds of STAR WARS. Of course, many other films and filmmakers (including Stanley Kubrick) are singled out for moving sound forward.

Some of the most interesting data comes courtesy of the "nerds" known as Sound Designers. Walter Murch (APOCALYPSE NOW), Ben Burtt (STAR WARS), Gary Rydstrom (JURASSIC PARK), and Lora Hirschberg (INCEPTION) are all Oscar winners, and their insight is fascinating along with that of Cece Hall, Bobby Banks, and Anna Behlmer - the latter of whom recounts her experience as a woman doing the fighter jet sounds for TOP GUN.

Cinema sound is divided into Music, sound effects, and voice, with each of these sections have sub-categories. Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR), digital layers (through Pixar), ambience, and the custom effects of the Foley are all parts of the circle of talent delivering puzzle pieces to the Sound Mixer for assembly. If all of this hits you as a bit too technical, you should know that it's presented in a manner that makes it easy to follow. Sound is what pushes cinema into an immersive experience for viewers, and you'll likely walk away from Ms. Costin's film with an appreciation of just how many elements go into what you hear during a movie - and that's worth listening to.

Informative, But Lacking

[Fredtimbo · 8/10 · 2 March 2020]

If you're a fan of cinema and audio, Making Waves: The Art Of Cinematic Sound is a fascinating and informative documentary movie.

But I had a few issues with the film. 1. Even though Ioan Allen was interviewed, Making Waves neglected to mention other major contributions of Dolby Laboratories to surround sound in movies, like Dolby Stereo and Atmos.

2. They hardly mentioned anything about Jack Foley--you know, the man they named foley sound effects after.

3. Making Waves featured so many legends in the movie industry, so how can you talk about film scores and not interview John Williams!?!

4. And what about Lucasfilm THX, who helped elevate presentation quality standards for movies in cinema and home?

Granted, there's a lot to cover in the history of cinema sound, but the film overlooked some of the most significant contributions.

A movie lover's delight from start to finish

[paul-allaer · 8/10 · 10 January 2020]

"Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound" (2019 release; 94 min.) is a documentary about the importance of sound in movies. As the movie opens, we get a quick introduction and we then dive straight into some notorious sound designed movies such as the original Star Wars and Saving Private Ryan.

Couple of comments: the is the directing debut of Midge Costin, himself a veteran and well-accomplished sound editor and designer. While we get a chronological recap of the advance of sound in movie history (going from silent movies to "talkies", etc.), the documentary really focuses on three big names in the movie sound universe: Walter Murch (Francis Ford Coppola's sound guy), Ben Burtt (George Lucas' sound guy), and Gary Rydstrom (Steven Spielberg's sound guy). Of course a LOT of other people pipe in as well. For us movie lovers, the main fun and enjoyment is to see how sound is not just merely recording what happens on a movie set, but that in fact sound is built up from the ground in its many different aspects (voice, sound effects, music), and that there is indeed a "sound script" just like you have a "movie script". The documentary is chock full of movie clips, one more enjoyable than the other, but with the extensive looks at how Star Wars and Apocalypse Now were sound designed stealing the limelight (for me anyway).

"Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound" showed up last week out of the blue for what turned out to be a one week run at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. The Wednesday evening screening where I saw this at was attended poorly (6 people in total), but enjoyed immensely but the small crowd. If you are a movie lover in any way, shape of form, I would readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (if you happen to get the chance), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

I really value and love good sound in the movies!

[imseeg · 8/10 · 17 August 2021]

I love music and I love music in movies, but besides music there are lots of people working on a movie that do nothing else but get the sound right of people talking, wind rushing throuhg the trees, robots squeeking and water streaming.

Amazing to see how BIG these sound studios are in which all these sound artist create the perfect sound that accompanies the images. Sound is emotion and I really value good sound in a movie.

This documentary features some of the biggest classics in American cinema, like "The Godfather", "Apocalypse Now", "Star Wars", but also some movies that might not seem so classic but still truly are because of the use of new techniques in sound editing, like "Toy Story", which was the first movie which was totally digitally edited.

Even Barbara Streisand of all people has played an important part in movie sound history because one of her seventies movies was the first to be recorded IN STEREO!

Lots and lots of interviews with sound editors, who show HOW they created sounds for the biggest movie classics in history. What a joy to watch! Recommended for the fans of the technical parts of a movie, but also for the casual viewer because it is a revelation to learn how they create these magical sounds in these classic movies that have mesmirized me to this very day!

great gaps in an otherwide entertaining film

[grumpy-3 · 6/10 · 23 September 2020]

So looked forward to this and by and large it was mostly good. But what really irked me was that they implied Barbara Striesand was responisble for bring stereo sound into cinemas in 1976 with A Star is Born. what nonsense the missed out so much, Disney was the first to use Stereo with Fantasia in 1940, Fox then made it much wider with their 4 track stereo staring with the Robe in 1954, thereafter all big road show films could be shown in big theatres in stereo.as early as the graduate stereo was being used more often, its a shame that such an important part of cinema sound was completly left out, cannot believe they did this

A love letter to the unsung heroes of movies

[santiagofdec · 10/10 · 29 January 2020]

A must watch for anyone who wants to make films it is a reminder of how all the things you don't see in movies are so important and actually compose the medium, which is about emotion. An inspiration that challenges one to exploit all resources to one's disposal in pushing the art forward and to utilize sound in a profound way in telling your story.

talking heads promotion

[paleolith · 6/10 · 22 January 2020]

I was disappointed. Instead of going into the depths of sound, the film mostly focuses on talking heads, including directors as well as sound pros. There's a short history of sound in films (not just speech), and a short segment about the categories of sound production. These were good but far too short and shallow. I felt like I'd seen a promo, hagiography even, for the sound professions instead of a doc. Those professions deserve a much deeper and more detailed documentary.

A perfect beginners guide to sound!

[benbhodgson · 10/10 · 20 October 2020]

Currently embarking on a film production course and sound was this weeks topic and I can tell you that after watching this I feel like I will never take sound for granted again. We hear things everyday, but do we really listen to what is happening around us? I know I barely did until watching this.

So thank you for allowing me to listen and hear clearly again !

in tune

[kevin c · 6/10 · 3 May 2020]

Lockdown movie evening with Iris.

This is more than the art of cinematic sound, this is about how Hollywood changed in the early 70s. Lucas, Coppola and Murch transform the landscape from American Zoetrope's base in San Francisco.

Making Waves is about the evolution of film technology, yet the key to its appeal is that it revels in the technology, but technology as an expression of something human. From 1930s King Kong, there is only minimal advances. But Dolby and the spirit of adventure accelerates everything from the mid 70s. It's all in here. Lots of props to Murch, but also Burtt's Star Wars, Rydstrom's Pixar achievements; not forgetting Orson Welles as the supreme cinema magician.

Making Waves is a brisk 90 minutes, the last half hour of which is a quick-study primer on the categories of movie sound. The film is educational. I had no idea that a Foley refers to a highly specific sound that was named after Jack Foley.

An Exploration Of The History, Artistry & Emotional Power Of Cinema Sound

[CinemaClown · 29 June 2022]

An in-depth exploration of the evolution of sound in cinema over the years, Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound offers an informative & interesting insight into the creative process of a filmmaking component that plays as integral & essential a role in storytelling as any and it also covers the various breakthroughs & advancements that made it an inseparable part of cinema.

Directed by Midge Costin, the documentary acquaints the viewers with the visceral & emotional power of sound in a film and how the aural elements enrich the imagery & elevate the cinematic experience by influencing our reaction & response almost subconsciously. It features interviews from legendary sound designers & filmmakers and also incorporates clips from films that raised the bar.

The film also provides an overview of the origins of sound in cinema, technological limitations in those early years, ups n downs throughout the decades, groundbreaking feats during the 1970s, and also details the different aspects of sound design (voices, SFX, ADR, editing, mixing, score) and how these separate pieces together work in tandem to deliver the aural experience that works best with the visuals.

Overall, Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound is an illuminating, entertaining & enthralling documentary that illustrates the collaborative effort that goes into making a motion picture and showcases how sound makes as important a contribution as camera in the filmmaking medium. After all, we experience films as much with our ears as we do with our eyes. An absolute delight & a definite must-see for every film lover.

My middle name is sound.

[imhd-936-240370 · 10/10 · 10 May 2020]

Fantastic history of cinematic sound. Excellent presentation of clips. Reminds me of why I got into Home Theatre, opened a video store, and championed sound. Guess I need to switch gears again.

An interesting film.

[MorpheusOne · 7/10 · 14 July 2022]

While this was well made, it could've been better. I enjoyed the interviews done with various people, sound editors, at least one composer and directors; more archival footage of actual interviews with Humphrey Bogart, Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, etc., would definitely have increased the quality of this documentary. Although, I do realize that there may be no footage that exists, or at least that could be found in time, where those individuals who are no longer with us talk in detail about the sound (voice, sound effects and music) and all of the editing involved in their specific films, their overall body of work, their own influences, etc. I think it would have been a great idea if the story of sound was told chronologically. It jumped around quite a bit (Although, not wildly; still...), it would have made more sense to not have gone exactly chronological only to jump back to something, a radio broadcast, TV show, movie, whatever, that influenced someone with its sound & that influenced them professionally, in a specific movie or movies of their own. And this played a little more loose & fast with the chronology than I think is reasonable.

Interesting but gender politics gets in the way

[richardfieldinggames · 5/10 · 20 March 2022]

I have a great deal of interest in this field having done my own sound design and scores for some short-films.

On the whole, there was a lot of good in this documentary, but it was obvious that they deliberately and somewhat clumsily prised women into the documentary rather than concentrating on the subject matter. The same is true of race politics at one point, again irrelevant for this documentary.

Which is a shame as it's a very interesting topic. Worth watching, but missed a few beats. Hopefully society will learn that its ok for fields to not be well represented by one sex or there other, so long as there is opportunity for all to get into it in the first place, which is largely the case.

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound

[jboothmillard · 8/10 · 15 February 2021]

I have always been fascinated by what goes on behind-the-scenes of films, and sound recording, production and design in one of the most interesting components, so this documentary film was just what I was looking for. This film examines the history of sound design in cinema, from its origins in the early 20th century to modern day moviemaking. Motion pictures came along in the 1890s, with no sound, with recognisable features like The Great Train Robbery (1903) and Wings (1927). Originally, silent films were accompanied by live orchestras, musicians and stage performers who would accompany with music and implements to match images onscreen. The first successful "talkie" that changed the future of cinema was The Jazz Singer, released in 1927, which included the iconic Al Jolson line "Wait a wait, wait a minute, you ain't heard nothin' yet!" (it won an Honorary Oscar). Since then, advances in sound have been made to films throughout the years. Among the many clips shown, it sees how the roars of King Kong (1933) were captured, the contributions from Orson Welles during Citizen Kane (1941) (Oscar nominee for Best Sound), Alfred Hitchcock and the squawks of The Birds (1963), the clanging of armour in Spartacus (1960), the sounds in assassination scene in The Godfather (1972) (Oscar nominee for Best Sound), the music and splashes of the shark by John Williams in Jaws (1975) (Oscar winner for Best Sound), the live singing in A Star Is Born (1976) (Oscar nominee for Best Sound), the laser blasts and spaceships in Star Wars (1977) (Oscar winner for Best Sound), the helicopters and weapons in Apocalypse Now (1979) (Oscar winner for Best Sound), the punches in Raging Bull (1980) (Oscar nominee for Best Sound), the speeding jets of Top Gun (1986) (Oscar nominee for Best Sound), the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park (1993) (Oscar winner for Best Sound), the bullets and explosions on Omaha Beach in Saving Private Ryan (1998) (Oscar winner for Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing), the digital sounds of The Matrix (1999) (Oscar winner for Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing), and the noises in the world of Wakanda in Black Panther (2018) (Oscar winner for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing). It explains all components and processes that go into making and editing sounds in a film. In the "Circle of Talent" there is production recording (the actors and objects on set), dialogue editing (increasing actor voices and removing unwanted noises in backgrounds), ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) (actors re-recording dialogue and making noises to be added), SFX (Sound effects), Foley (sound artists in a recording studio creating sounds, in synchrony with the picture), and finally Ambience (adding the little touches to make a scene authentic, i.e. background sounds, e.g. busy cities, windy landscapes). Other popular movies and their sounds seen and discussed included: Dracula (1931), The Wizard of Oz (1939), Gone with the Wind (1939) (Oscar nominee for Best Sound), Singin' in the Rain (1952) (which itself paid tribute to the introduction of sound to cinema), The War of the Worlds (1953) (Oscar nominee for Best Sound), Forbidden Planet (1956), The Ten Commandments (1956) (Oscar nominee for Best Sound), The Seventh Seal (1957), North by Northwest (1959), Breathless (1960), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Funny Girl (1968) (Oscar nominee for Best Sound), Easy Rider (1969), THX 1138 (1971), The Conversation (1974) (Oscar nominee for Best Sound), Nashville (1975), All the President's Men (1976) (Oscar winner for Best Sound), Eraserhead (1977), The Shining (1980), The Elephant Man (1980), Raging Bull (1980), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) (Oscar winner for Best Sound), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) (Oscar winner for Best Sound), Yentl (1983), Luxo Jr. (1986), Do the Right Thing (1989), Dead Poets Society (1989), A League of Their Own (1992), Braveheart (1995) (Oscar nominee for Best Sound), Toy Story (1995), Titanic (1997) (Oscar winner for Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Road to Perdition (2002) (Oscar nominee for Best Sound), Lost in Translation (2003), Monster (2003), Brokeback Mountain (2005), WALL·E (2008) (Oscar winner for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing), The Hurt Locker (2008) (Oscar winner for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing), Inception (2010) (Oscar winner for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing), Argo (2012) (Oscar nominee for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing), Life of Pi (2012) (Oscar nominee for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing), Wild (2014), Selma (2014), Wonder Woman (2017), and Roma (2018) (Oscar winner for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing). This film really goes into a lot of detail about the technical stuff into making those recognisable and often iconic sounds, and the emotional impact and reaction they create when heard in films. It really does make you realise the artistry and the importance sound has been to the industry, with interviews from great filmmakers and the sound creators themselves, many who have had award-winning success, this is perfect viewing for any cinephile (huge film fan and buff) like me, a most interesting documentary. With contributions from Erik Aadahl (sound designer and editor), Richard L. Anderson (sound effects editor), Karen Baker Landers (sound editor), Bobbi Banks (ADR and dialogue supervisor), Richard Beggs (sound designer, editor, and re-recording mixer), Anna Behlmer (re-recording mixer), Mark Berger (supervising re-recording mixer), Christopher Boyes (sound designer, editor, and re-recording mixer), Ben Burtt (sound designer and editor), Ryan Coogler (director of Black Panther), Sofia Coppola, Alfonso Cuarón, Dane A. Davis (sound designer and editor), Peter J. Devlin (sound mixer), Teri E. Dorman (dialogue editor), Teresa Eckton (sound effect editor), Jessica Gallavan (ADR supervisor), Eugene Gearty (sound designer, editor, and re-recording mixer), Ludwig Göransson (composer), Cecelia Hall (sound effects editor), Greg Hedgepath (sound effects editor), Lora Hirschberg (re-recording mixer), Richard Hymns (sound editor), Pat Jackson (sound editor), Richard King (sound designer, editor, and re-recording mixer), John Lasseter, Ang Lee, Ai-Ling Lee (sound designer, editor, and re-recording mixer), Skip Lievsay (re-recording mixer and sound editor), George Lucas, David Lynch, David MacMillan (sound mixer), Mark A. Mangini (sound editor and re-recording mixer), Alyson Dee Moore (foley artist), Walter Murch (re-recording mixer), Christopher Nolan, Lee Orloff (sound mixer), Robert Redford, John Roesch (foley artist), Gary Rydstrom (sound designer), Victoria Rose Sampson (sound designer, editor, and mixer), Steven Spielberg, Andrew Stanton (screenwriter), Barbra Streisand, Randy Thom (sound designer, editor, and re-recording mixer), Douglas Vaughan (boom operator), James E. Webb (production sound mixer), Peter Weir, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle (sound editor), and Hans Zimmer. Very good!

Listen to the creatives who redifined the movie experience

[JustHavingALook · 8/10 · 5 February 2023]

Whoever is looking into the technicality of sound design... won't find much here.

So what's is all about? It's more about the turning points in the history of moving pictures that defines sound (in movies) how we know it today.

Of course the documentary revolves around what happened in the States and especially in Hollywood.

So we follow the sound as it comes to the world (in theaters that is) and it develops through tribulations (executives who do not understand the value of it and are concerned about how long it's gonna take) and moments of great triumph, when those pioneers who put in a lot of efforts ad overtime got recognized in a way or another (box office, awards, being in this documentary).

Great editing, the whole 90 min flow brilliantly, funny and serious at the same time.

Kudos for recognizing the absolute necessity of team work in the movie production.

The graphic elements that link the sound design components to an orchestra ensemble is a very smart way of presenting the various component to us, the audience. Audience that most likely is barely aware of the importance of sound in a movie and might know a bunch of directors and that's it. Well I'm pretty sure that this doc accomplished its mission, helping people to develop a better understanding of sound without boring them.

A must for some

[justahunch-70549 · 8/10 · 31 August 2022]

For a film nerd, this is fascinating. It is entertaining, intriguing and educational. For non-film nerds, this is probably a bore, though it may open some eyes and ears. Sound is the forgotten and overlooked aspect of filmmaking and for the vast majority of filmgoers it will sadly, for these very essential artists, always remain so. One note of concern for me. This is all about sound in film in this digital age of being able to control and alter nearly everything including voices and the same applies to audio recordings and the alteration of singers' voices to make then sound better, to improve their vocal quality. This was brought to mind by the appearance of Streisand and her "My Man" comments. She has one of the great voices of the modern era, but she hasn't made a recording in many years that doesn't sound over-manufactured. It's all very pretty, but much of it sounds artificial without any real feeling involved. It sounds dishonest. I use her as an example as I've followed her since the 60's and can hear the difference, but I'm sure this is much more true with far less talented singers than her, but who can tell?! This is something that I don't like about the manipulation of sound that we have nowadays, but this documentary is about film and it is what I said it was. A must for film nerds. The Star Wars and Saving Private Ryan examples were awesome, but so are some others. These are very important and creative people in the creation of making films.

Beautiful film from a beautiful filmmaker

[yeonjinlee · 10/10 · 3 February 2023]

This film is a beautiful ode to the art of cinematic sound. It's a film that could only be made by Midge Costin - a pioneering, trailblazing woman in cinematic sound. The film will help you appreciate what is perhaps the least understood and most under-appreciated aspect of cinema, even though it's possibly as important or if not more than the visuals - sound. The film is a gift born out of love and deep understanding of the art, and I highly recommend you watch it if you are an artist, if you love cinema, or if you just want to hear stories from best living filmmakers of our era. In short, highly recommend!

Waves crashes near shore

[rehconcepts · 1/10 · 23 October 2022]

This one drew me in, it was interesting and it explored a chronological order of the full sounds utilized in movies from days of yore to present, a lot of people weighed in so you were never bolted down to one point of view, but then just when the final chapter started it began with the social justice messaging, how people are oppressed still today and sound is not gender specific and it shouldn't be just a man doing it. They just couldn't help themselves it's what makes this type of storytelling forgettable - if I knew it was going there I would have stayed away - it was done well and again interesting till the additional nonsense was laced into it - rather than just let it be they need it to make into something not needed or enhancing the documentary.