A documentary film’s sound design must be suggested early on in the writing process, with some support from the script. The work is expressively enhanced by the various aesthetic possibilities of sound, such as music, sound ambience, words, or silence. However, as with the rest of the technical contributions to the cinema of reality, shooting is primarily a space for creation and discovery.
In this chapter, directors Nicolas Philibert, Emilio Fonseca, and Messaline Revardy talk about the role of sound in documentary filmmaking. They explore how they build a film’s sound universe, from choosing microphones and recording techniques to working with sound designers and collaborating during the creative process, as well as navigating the challenges of recording sound when working solo.
