Beneath sci-fi sound: primer, science fiction sound design, and American independent cinema

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dc.contributor.authorJohnston, Nessaen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-10T15:21:25Z
dc.date.available2014-03-10T15:21:25Z
dc.date.issued2012
dc.description.abstractPrimer is a very low budget science-fiction film that deals with the subject of time travel; however, it looks and sounds quite distinctively different from other films associated with the genre. While Hollywood blockbuster sci-fi relies on “sound spectacle” as a key attraction, in contrast Primer sounds “lo-fi” and screen-centred, mixed to two channel stereo rather than the now industry-standard 5.1 surround sound. Although this is partly a consequence of the economics of its production, the aesthetic approach to the soundtrack is what makes Primer formally distinctive. Including a brief exploration of the role of sound design in science-fiction cinema more broadly, I analyse aspects of Primer’s soundtrack and sound-image relations to demonstrate how the soundplays around with time rather than space, substituting the spatial playfulness of big-budget Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster sound with temporal playfulness, in keeping with its time-travel theme. I argue that Primer’s aesthetic approach to the soundtrack is “anti-spectacle”, working with its mise-en-scène to emphasise the mundane and everyday instead of the fantastical, in an attempt to lend credibility and “realism” to its time-travel conceit. Finally, with reference to scholarship on American independent cinema, I will demonstrate how Primer’s stylistic approach to the soundtrack is configured as a marketable identifier of its “indie”-ness.en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionPublished Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationJohnston, N. (2012) 'Beneath sci-fi sound: primer, science fiction sound design, and American independent cinema', Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media, 3 (Summer 2012). https://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.3.04en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.3.04
dc.identifier.endpage63en
dc.identifier.issn2009-4078en
dc.identifier.issued3en
dc.identifier.journalabbrevAlphaville
dc.identifier.journaltitleAlphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Mediaen
dc.identifier.startpage49en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/1450
dc.publisherFilm and Screen Media, University College Corken
dc.relation.urihttp://www.alphavillejournal.com/Issue%203/HTML/ArticleJohnston.htmlen
dc.rights© 2012, the Author(s)en
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ie/en
dc.subjectScience-fictionen
dc.subjectSound effectsen
dc.subjectLow budget film use of sound over musicen
dc.titleBeneath sci-fi sound: primer, science fiction sound design, and American independent cinemaen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media. Issue 03: Sound, Voice, Music