A Study of the Narrative Sound Characteristics of the Film ‘Sound of Metal’ - Focusing on the Narrative Functions of Point of Audition Changes

This study analyzes how sound design functions in a film narrative and how emotional responses in the audience are induced, focusing on the film Sound of Metal directed by Darius Marder. In this film, the psychological state and inner world of the protagonist, Ruben, after losing his hearing, are effectively conveyed through the concept of point of audition. Based on Michel Chion's research on point of audition and auditory types, I systematized six auditory types, identified differences in the amount of auditory information between characters and audience, and analyzed how various auditory perspectives convey narrative information, emotions, and meanings. Sound of Metal employs the characteristics of a hearing-impaired protagonist to create sounds corresponding to different types of listening. The study confirmed the presence of subjective point of audition and objective point of audition, as well as ‘imagined sound’. The four main narrative functions identified are as follows: immersing the audience into theprotagonist's inner world and enabling narrative prediction through sound rules linked to close-up shots of the protagonist, conveying a sense of isolation and psychological separation through point-of-audition shifts within a single shot, facilitating the audience's psychological experience and narrative inference through auditory devices and tools, and delivering the perception of a newworld through the unique concept of ‘imagined sound’. This study implies the importance of the organic composition of sound from pre-production to post-production, requiring close collaboration between the director and sound designers. Additionally, it reaffirms the importance of sound design and aims to develop the film medium into an art form where the narrative is driven by the harmony between images and sounds.