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‘Don't pump up the emotion’: The creation and authorship of a sound world in The Wire

‘Don't pump up the emotion’: The creation and authorship of a sound world in The Wire The use of sound in the HBO TV series, The Wire, has a variety of distinctive features, which set it apart from other television shows. This article analyses the technological, authorial, logistical and creative factors that have shaped its sound aesthetic. Based upon interviews with the key personnel involved in the show, the show's relationship to genre and cinema is considered, given its use of formal approaches and production methods closer to the cinematic. The role of music and sound effects is considered central to the notions of realism and verisimilitude in the show. The impact of audio delivery formats on how television is consumed has materially affected its content. The influence of `insiders' and other collaborators is traced through The Wire's soundtrack. KEYWORDS The Wire verisimilitude realism sound effects sound design recording editing mixing The extent to which the HBO TV series, The Wire (2002­2008), attempts to capture a `realistic' slice of Baltimore life in and around the city's drug trade is well known. The Wire is widely considered to be more in touch The New Soundtrack 3.1 (2013): 45­59 DOI: 10.3366/sound.2013.0035 # Edinburgh University Press www.euppublishing.com/SOUND with the world it portrays than previous television crime drama. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The New Soundtrack Edinburgh University Press

‘Don't pump up the emotion’: The creation and authorship of a sound world in The Wire

Walker, Robert
The New Soundtrack , Volume 3 (1): 45 – Mar 1, 2013
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Publisher
Edinburgh University Press
Copyright
© Edinburgh University Press
Subject
Articles; Film, Media and Cultural Studies
ISSN
2042-8855
eISSN
2042-8863
DOI
10.3366/sound.2013.0035
Publisher site
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Abstract

The use of sound in the HBO TV series, The Wire, has a variety of distinctive features, which set it apart from other television shows. This article analyses the technological, authorial, logistical and creative factors that have shaped its sound aesthetic. Based upon interviews with the key personnel involved in the show, the show's relationship to genre and cinema is considered, given its use of formal approaches and production methods closer to the cinematic. The role of music and sound effects is considered central to the notions of realism and verisimilitude in the show. The impact of audio delivery formats on how television is consumed has materially affected its content. The influence of `insiders' and other collaborators is traced through The Wire's soundtrack. KEYWORDS The Wire verisimilitude realism sound effects sound design recording editing mixing The extent to which the HBO TV series, The Wire (2002­2008), attempts to capture a `realistic' slice of Baltimore life in and around the city's drug trade is well known. The Wire is widely considered to be more in touch The New Soundtrack 3.1 (2013): 45­59 DOI: 10.3366/sound.2013.0035 # Edinburgh University Press www.euppublishing.com/SOUND with the world it portrays than previous television crime drama.

Journal

The New Soundtrack – Edinburgh University Press

Published: Mar 1, 2013

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