Sonic Meaning-Making in Film

Abstract This article presents the results of an artistic research project conducted to examine the role of sound design in realizing functional purposes of a film. Seven desired outcomes were tested by screening two versions of an excerpt of the film Koyaanisqatsi (Reggio, 1982): the original without sound effects and the artistic research sound design with sound effects. The resulting transformation of the original imparts knowledge that emerges from the author's embodied understanding of sound design and mixing acquired over years of artistic work. Through a content analysis of the results, the article shows that sound effects correlate to desired outcomes being met, thus demonstrating the structuring influence of sound design in film.