Content Tabs
At its core, Stories in Sound is a hands-on storytelling workshop that uses sound as a creative tool to shape meaning, emotion, and human connection in film. Designed for anyone working in the industry, whether in production, coordination, development, or administration, this session completely strips away technical jargon. Working together in the roles of Director and Dubbing Mixer, participants collaborate to craft the narrative arc of a short film that contains no dialogue.
The workshop uses a simplified, intuitive setup. Working at a physical mixing desk, participants manipulate a streamlined sound and music palette consisting of natural environmental ambiences, abstract textures, and just three distinct musical cues. By experimenting with these basic ingredients, the group discovers firsthand how audio can shape and transform a viewer’s interpretation of a story.
The workshop explores three practical ideas:
Exploring Tone and Atmosphere: By swapping out the sonic layers, participants discover just how flexible and malleable elements like genre, tone, and perspective truly are. They will see how easily a single scene can adapt; transforming from a lighthearted moment in one version into something deeply unsettling in another, even though the visual images remain exactly the same. This shows how "tone" exists in everything we do; the way we choose our words or frame information sets a specific atmosphere in our daily communication.
Navigating Perspective and Point of View: Working at the mixing desk, participants blend natural ambiences with abstract sounds to shift the audience's perspective. They will practice moving from the objective world (what the environment actually sounds like) to a subjective world that reflects the internal, emotional state of the character. Whether you are managing a crew, pitching an idea, or solving a logistical problem, success relies on this exact ability to step out of your own reality and look at a situation through the eyes of the person you are communicating with.
Structuring Information with Purpose: Participants mix the sequence from start to finish, deliberately building tension and releasing it to guide the viewer to a specific emotional conclusion. This is a reminder that everything we create in this industry has a structure and a purpose. Even a simple day-to-day email has a start, a middle, and an end, and is ultimately written to achieve a specific outcome. This exercise shows how to structure information clearly and purposefully to get the best results.
This is more than a technical exercise; it’s a creative exploration of how sound and images combine to bring stories to life.
By the end of this session, participants will leave with a better ear for subtext and a clearer understanding of how to read between the lines in daily industry interactions. They will gain the ability to think more about the emotional impact of their daily work, ensuring their communication style matches their goal while building a deeper appreciation for how post-production shapes a story.
This workshop is valuable for a wide range of people, not just those working in sound design or post-production. Picture editors, colourists, cinematographers, directors, and producers, as well as content creators from marketing to news may also find it of interest. It also offers fantastic transferable skills for production management, location sound, and assistant directors.
Please complete the application form via the button at the top of the page.
