Beyond Dolby (Stereo): Cinema in the Digital Sound Age

Beyond Dolby (Stereo): Cinema in the Digital Sound Age

Since digital surround sound technology first appeared in cinemas 20 years ago, it has spread from theaters to homes and from movies to television, music, and video games. Yet even as 5.1 has become the standard for audiovisual media, its impact has gone unexamined. Drawing on works from the past two decades, as well as dozens of interviews with sound designers, mixers, and editors, Mark Kerins uncovers how 5.1 surround has affected not just sound design, but cinematography and editing as well. Beyond Dolby (Stereo) includes detailed analyses of Fight Club, The Matrix, Hairspray, Disturbia, The Rock, Saving Private Ryan, and Joy Ride, among other films, to illustrate the value of a truly audiovisual approach to cinema studies. "A breakthrough in film sound scholarship. Kerins does a masterful job of chronicling the complex history, theory, and production considerations associated with digital surround sound.... [His] work fills a gap in the sound field, while providing an essential contribution to cinema studies, cultural studies, and new media scholarship." ―William Whittington, University of Southern California "[Kerins] does a fine job of demonstrating a crucial aspect of the way that contemporary films are constructed in a distinctive way. This book provides a noteworthy addition to the literature on film sound, bringing our analytical literature into the twenty-first century and teaching his readers the value of listening closely to the way films are now being made." ―www.screeningthepast.com Mark Kerins is Assistant Professor of Cinema-Television in the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University.