My future direction in multimedia

I want to work in multimedia production in the future, especially in sound design for games or film. I’m interested in roles like sound designer for open-world games, or working on audio for screen-based media, where sound can really shape how people experience something.

I started to think about this more seriously in my second year study, during the Sound for Screen module. One of the projects was to redesign the soundtracks for a scene, and I chose the anime, The Street of Crocodiles. The original version used a lot of background music to reflect the characters’ emotions, but in my version I focused more on sound effects. I tried to treat every small action as something that could produce sound, so even simple movements became part of the narrative.

Through doing that project, I realised I’m more interested in sound design as part of storytelling, rather than just making sound as an independent art form.

“Added value is what gives the (eminently incorrect) impression that sound is unnecessary, that sound merely duplicates a meaning which in reality it brings about, either all on its own or by discrepancies between it and the image”.

“When in any given sound environment you hear voices, those voices capture and focus your attention before any other sound… the voice acts as a stabilizer, a focal point for our attention”.

“Sound shows us the image differently than what the image shows alone, and the image likewise makes us hear sound differently than if the sound were ringing out in the dark”.

Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen, Michel Chion

As Chion (1994) suggests, sound doesn’t just support the image, it can actually change how we understand it. I didn’t fully think about that before, but during this project I could feel how sound could guide attention and create meaning.

This made me rethink my direction a bit. Before, I was more focused on experimental sound, but now I feel more interested in working within a bigger production, where sound is part of something shared with a wider audience. That’s why I’m more drawn to industries like games or film, where sound is connected to visuals, interaction and narrative.

At the moment, I see my future direction as developing my skills in this area, and trying to find ways to combine technical work with storytelling. I’m still exploring this, but I feel this project was a key point where things started to become clearer for me.