Punctuation?

So the concept of sound as punctuation is pretty darn interesting. It’s pretty obvious that we could use sound to add value to or just accentuate the action on screen. I have seldom thought about the very many different ways sound can be used to punctuate cinema. Once I begin to imagine sound punctuation in relation to grammar punctuation, the possibilities of sound punctuation become much clearer.

It’s difficult to pick any one example of punctuation, considering there are so very many. Also, it’s very difficult for me to write about sound punctuation, it’s so hard to describe or recreate the most interesting sounds with text. However, I just remembered a clear example of punctuation which is easy to talk about. I haven’t watched the show "Survivor" in a very long time, but I can remember several instances of new scenes, new camera angles, or new show developments being punctuated by the sound of a gong crash.

The gong crash is one of the most obvious and easily used punctuation devices. Imagine if a gong sounded just before you said or did anything cool or important. Now imagine if a gong sounded just after you did or said anything cool or important. Either way, it would be very epic. The fact that a gong would punctuate or add value to your life is undisputable. I believe that the gong crash is one of the most powerful guns in the sound punctuation arsenal.

Power isn’t everything however, and believe it or not, there are other tools besides the gong crash for sound punctuation. Most sound punctuation is much more subtle. Most of the time viewers do not directly notice acts of sound punctuation, but the overall effects punctuation can have on cinema can be incredibly powerful and nearly impossible to miss.