Locating the Voice in Film

Critical Approaches and Global Practices

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Edited by Tom Whittaker and Sarah Wright

Type: Studies
Subject: Theory
Keywords: voice, theory
Publishing date: 2017
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 332 pages
6 x 9 ¼ inches (15.5 x 23.5 cm)

ISBN

978-0-19-026113-9

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Book Presentation:
• New transnational analysis
• New theory of the voice in film
• Challenges theories based in classical narrative

Where is the place of the voice in film?

Where others have focused on Hollywood film, this volume aims to extend the field to other cinemas from around the world, encompassing Latin America, Asia and Africa amongst others. Traditional theoretical accounts, based on classical narrative cinema, examine the importance of the voice in terms of a desired perfect match between visuals and sonic effects. But, as the chapters of this volume illustrate, what is normative in one film industry may not apply in another. The widespread practices of dubbing, postsynch sound and "playback singing" in some countries, for instance, provide an alternative means of understanding the location of the voice in the soundtrack.

Through seventeen original chapters, this volume situates the voice in film across a range of diverse national, transnational and cultural contexts, presenting readings which challenge traditional readings of the voice in film in exciting new ways. By taking a comparative view, this volume posits that the voice may be best understood as a mobile object, one whose trajectory follows a broader network of global flows. The various chapters explore the cultural transformations the voice undergoes as it moves from one industry to another. In doing so, the volume addresses sound practices which have been long been neglected, such as dubbing and non-synch sound, as well the ways in which sound technologies have shaped nationally specific styles of vocal performance.

In addressing the place of the voice in film, the book intends to nuance existing theoretical writing on the voice while applying these critical insights in a global context.

About the authors:
Edited by Tom Whittaker, Lecturer in Film and Hispanic Studies, University of Liverpool, and Edited by Sarah Wright, Reader in Hispanic Studies, Royal Holloway, University of London Tom Whittaker is Senior Lecturer in Film and Spanish Cultural Studies at the University of Liverpool. He is the author of The Films of Elías Querejeta: A Producer of Landscapes (2011) and co-editor of Performance and Spanish Film (2016).; Sarah Wright is Reader in Hispanic Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London. She is the author of The Trickster-Function in the Theatre of García Lorca (2000), Tales of Seduction: The Figure of Don Juan in Spanish Culture (2007) and The Child in Spanish Cinema (2013).

Press Reviews:
"Through a dynamic range of international perspectives, this rich and far-reaching anthology broadens the discourse on voices role in cinematic experience, capturing how particular voices perform within the image flows of contemporary global cultures. From the accented locatability of speech to the hyper-transmutability of vocal dubbing, voice is critically examined as a highly charged medium for national and geopolitical interests, lending critical weight to cultural agendas as well as poetic resistances." - Brandon LaBelle

"The voice receives the attention it deserves in Locating the Voice in Film, a most welcome addition to the literature on film and media sound. Drawing on recent work in performance, translation, and media sound, this fine collection covers a wide array of practices of translation, dubbing, and voice replacement essential to the global circulation of moving-image media. Besides the novel emphasis on the voice, Locating the Voice in Films international/global coverage helps move the study of film sound beyond its customary focus on Hollywood cinema." - Charles OBrien, Associate Professor of Film Studies, Carleton University

See the publisher website: Oxford University Press

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