(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2007) Burge, Eric William; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis Aig
Traditional documentary films, particularly science and natural history works, presume to authentically or legitimately convey accurate representations of historical events that actually occurred at a prior time. Factual and convincing representations are not necessarily congruent, and a film's merit of authenticity is often based on the perceived validity of the visual content represented. While visual imagery dominates a presentation's general delivery, a film's sound design is a fundamental structural element that is often overlooked or less scrutinized with regard to factual or accurate recounting of these same historical events. The purpose of this thesis is to examine methodologies of sound acquisition and reproduction and to discuss how various acoustic contents are perceived in relation to associated visual elements.
