Why treating sound as digital objects is holding back audio technology
A new analysis argues that the dominant framework for understanding sound in technology—treating it as a discrete 'object' like visual media—is fundamentally flawed and limits innovation. The finding has implications for how companies approach audio production, documentary storytelling, and the future design of sound-based systems.
Originaltitel: Beyond sound objects
<p>In the mid 20th century Pierre Schaeffer introduced the term objet sonore in his now famous Traité des objets musicaux (1966) and Solfège de l'objet sonore (1967). Since then, the English term object has been used in relation to sound in many contexts. In this essay I argue that while conceptualizing sound as an object has had, and probably continues to have, many benefits for the development of audio technology and for production methods, it also obscures and undermines some fundamental and unique characteristics of sound. To exemplify how and when conceptualizing sound as an object seems to be unhelpful, I will use examples from media production, specifically the creative practice of Foley, and the use of sound in documentaries with examples from works by documentary filmmaker Erik Gandini and others. Overall, this essay aims to contribute to a better understanding of what sound is by highlighting its unique, often contradictory, characteristics - its ability to help us trace what is relevant and truthful in what is in front of us - rather than what it might have in common with other creative materials.</p>