Due to the tragic events in the Middle East, both Rana and the School of Sound felt it best to reschedule her talk for a later date. Those who have purchased tickets will receive a refund and we’ll contact you with the new date.
Juliette Volcler said: “We have barely started to Listen”. (1)
What is the act of listening – and why do we, as practitioners, have to ask ourselves this question almost every day?
I live in Beirut, a zone of constant conflict. It is like walking on a thin line between stability and instability, chaos and normality, armed conflict and political conflict.
I ask myself: why am I still living here? What am I looking for, other than madness?
Unfortunately (or not), I found that this situation helps enhance my work, particularly in relation to my point of view/hearing when I am thinking of sound design or sound in general.
I realized that my work, just like my city, oscillates between sound and noise.
The talk will follow this perspective, focusing mainly on the use of ambiences in films:
1 – The musicality of ambiences and sound editing: how to compose the ambiences as one whole throughout the film (as much as possible).
2 – The importance of having theoretical and filmic talks with the director as much as technical conversations.
3 – What do we really mean when we talk about silence? Is silence mute or noisy?
4 – Are we doing too much or too little? How can we know? Using too many sounds can saturate the act of listening – making it seem like the film is muted while leaving the audience with a sour feeling. Does our sound design sometime feel like tinnitus?
5 – Regarding the sounds that emerge naturally from the image: when are we really listening to the image in front of us? There is an interesting nuance between listening to or hearing a film while working.
6 – In my opinion, separating your routine from your environment, your identity and your craft is nearly impossible. For example: living in a noisy and complex city will automatically affect your sound design.
7 – How can we use surround sound in harmony with our reflection around the composition of ambiences – in a way that helps us understand the space we are seeing and feel the acoustics of the city?
(1) Juliette Volcler, L’orchestration du quotidien, Design Sonore et écoute au 21e siècle.
Photo courtesy of Elie Kamal.
2 hours including Q&A.
Each ticket includes free access to a recording of the event for 6 months.
See Help with Online Events for information about tickets and your participation through Zoom.
Rana Eid
Sound Designer/ Filmmaker
Rana Eid was born in 1976 in Beirut. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Cinema and a Masters of Arts in Film Sound both from the Université Saint Joseph, IESAV (Beirut) in 1999. In 2002, she trained as a sound editor in Paris.
She has worked as sound editor since 2003 on various Lebanese films, collaborating with a number of acclaimed Lebanese filmmakers such as Joanna Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige, Ghassan Salhab, and Mohammad Soueid.
In 2006, Eid opened DBSTUDIOS for audio post production with composer Nadim Mishlawi. From 2017, the studio formed a partnership with the French company HAL. Since then, Eid’s work has expanded beyond the region to include productions in Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Sudan, Morocco, India, China, Nepal, and Macedonia, teaming up with established filmmakers as well as emerging talents. In 2019, she worked on two Oscar Nominees – The Cave by Firas Fayyad, and Honeyland by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stephanov.
In 2017, she directed her first Feature Documentary Panoptic, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, and participated in many other festivals. In 2020, she became a member of the Sound Section of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. In 2021, she became a member of the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE).