essay topic 2 – The crossing: Should artistic creation take precedence over objective expression when designing the sound of a film

The first part of this essay will focus on the film ‘The crossing’. It will analyze some of the sound design of the film and the background in which it was created. The middle part will list other films and analyze the artistic part of the sound creation and the objective part of the expression. At the end, a conclusion will be drawn about when to prioritize artistic creation and when to prioritize objective expression.

I was read an interview with the sound creator of this film, who shared some of his thoughts on designing sound. He mentioned two points that I found very interesting. The first point was the different ambient feel of the two cities. The ambient sound in Hong Kong feels very humid and all the sounds are very close together. Whereas Shenzhen sounds very empty and desolate, with all the sounds very far away. The sound designer said he approached the ambience of the two cities in this way because of the protagonist. It’s the protagonist’s sense of the two cities. Hong Kong is a flowery world for the protagonist, it has everything that interests. Shenzhen, on the other hand, is the protagonist’s home, but there is only alienation and loneliness here. The second point is a scene in the middle, where the protagonist and a young man have to wrap their mobile phones with tape around their bodies. The creative team chose to use the method of erotic films to create this piece. The sound designer chose to use the method of ASMR(autonomous sensory meridian response) to create the sound for this scene.

Here’s the trailer for “The crossing”.