On the Jennifer Ralston Interview

First thing is first, I am amazed at the level of detail that went into making this interview; it was very clear, informative, and it was professional on all level! So with that out of the way, let me give a summary on my thoughts for the interview.

1. The More You Know

I had no clue that so much time and effort was devoted towards sound. It was stated in the interview that the, “Behind the Scenes,” tidbits that are done on television are generally focused around actors, the filming, or even some research behind a given show. However, none of them have ever focused on the amount of detail that goes into producing the specific sound effects that really add to the moment. I think I truly discovered how important sound was when I listened to S2E04 of The Wire, and then listened to the sections of The Wire that were in the interview. The sound really does add to the atmosphere in a way that most people do not notice.

2. Hidden Secrets

Most people do not know me, but I am the kind of person who does not read into things. My mind was blown when Jennifer mentioned that the different sound effects were also cues to certain events/activities that were going on. For example, when McNulty is on his “booty calls” and dogs are making noise. I actually looked up those scenes, and heard a dog howling, and it consistently did that. Furthermore, she brought up a very valid point about silence. Rather than making the different scenes quiet, Jennifer stated that reinforcing sounds in the given area is key because you generally would not notice them if people were talking. Again, I would have never noticed any of this, and that is what amazed me!

3. Sound and Reality

Okay, was anyone else impressed with her explanation of the sounds in the scene where Quima got shot? I sure as hell was! The first time I saw that scene, it was a disaster. Voices, choppers, cars, sirens, radios, and more were making so much noise. Yet, in all the confusion, it all made sense as to what was going on. Think about it for a second; most movies would probably have a couple of radio calls then an epic, car rush to get to the scene (cue epic music as well). However, what we witnessed was a rushed incident that made sense in the show, and more importantly, made sense in reality. By that I mean, the radio calls meant something, rather than them being just some random calls over radio because the viewers probably do not know any better. The fact that they got an actual cop to sit down and make the radio calls make sense is just awesome. I had my suspicions about whether this show had some real elements in it, and now I think I can definitely say it does.

4. Sound and $$$ (your suppose to make that cha-ching sound!)

Rarely do I care what happens outside of my major. I will admit, that it was very interesting to hear that sound design is actually a good field to go into. I was impressed to hear that she got paid to do it while in school. I was also amazed to hear that very few people actually go into creating these sounds. Sounds make up a lot of memorable moments in movies (not including music). The level of detail that was outlined in the production of it was really interesting as well. She gave a good view of how sound production has changed as technology has. The one part that really stood out was when she talked about the scene where D’Angelo and Stringer were talking near traffic. She mention that on one side you had traffic sound being picked up by the mic, but on the other side, you did not get those sounds. The fact that they manage to blend those together to produce a realistic sounding scene is phenomenal! I can see why someone working in sound gets paid so much; when they do a good job like that, it really blends in well!

5. Final Thoughts 

I was thoroughly impressed with the interview, and I left it feeling like I knew much more. The questions asked were on par, and the overall discussion was entertaining and worth listening to. I typically do not listen to these kind of things simply because they are rather dull to me, but this one was just perfect!