The empire of sounds

Before the industrial revolution, people would regulate their daily activities according to the sounds in the natural world around them. When the church bell rang the midday angelus, lunchtime had arrived. And then, throughout the centuries, the auditory environment changed, diversified and amplified, finally becoming the urban din of our modern cities. But the last few years have seen a sonic (r)evolution, and the development of a new profession: sound design. This film presents the ways and means through which the sounds in our daily lives are conceived and constructed, and the needs and requirements they satisfy… with some surprising discoveries!