Sound Effects on Computers: Media (Mis)Representation.

Was talking the other day about sound effects on computers.

The fact of the matter is that there aren't any yet whenever the maker of any program or film shows somebody doing something on a computer it comes with a full set of sound effects for every event.

Yet upon turning to my computer does it make a peep in any of the following situations?

When:

1. A file of any kind is transfered from The memory of the target computer to a disc, memory stick or other device.
2. A fiendishly clever virus is created by our hero and uploaded to a network/ mainframe/ insert other suitable target for our hero to penetrate, violate and then leave destroying the targets ability to function. The day is saved.
3. A photo is added to a website. This is full of potential yet no company seems to have made any effort to create a congratulatory celebration sound when a huge photo is added to an account or computer in the first place.

There were some good probing adverts on Channel 5 about the making of CSI. I have nothing against CSI but the maker was saying that it was considered poor form as a story teller to use the flash back so instead they redefined the terms of what the flash back is. They renamed them 'versions' and then used them exactly the same way as a flash back might do. Which means they have changed jack shit. Calling them versions does not make them entities that aren't flash backs so it's still poor story telling but story telling with a wink that because they've renamed the framework of the visuals. Convinced I am not. I digress. Just as in CSI they use'versions' to better tell a story, sound effects are added to ANY KIND OF COMPUTER USE in the media.

These sound effects just aren't there, in fact you have to go to a lot of trouble to add them. You can make them trigger in the all powerful programing language of Action Script but for the time being it should be considered dumb and unnecessary. Does the audience really need a progress bar to appear and be emphasized with sound effects every time? Is the audience that stupid? Has the computer user added those effects themselves to make their computer more bling?

The revolution is coming and I for one would like to see sound effects actually being used in an intelligent way in more websites and computer applications. They could be helpful. You could have a cash till sound when you buy something perhaps. I'll leave this as with all my posts open for discussion.

Note well the Jonny Lee Miller (aka sick boy in Roddy Doyles film trainspotting) and very much younger than now Angelina Jolie getting up to all sorts of shenanegans in their film Hackers(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers_film). Now this takes my point almost to new levels. Rather than just add the odd subtle sound effect the maker went ahead with a full computer graphic simulation of the internet as if they were dicking about in Tron So it goes from a little story telling encouragement to help the viewer understand the action to being almost completely delusional in an alternate reality of what it is to program.

One thing that dates this film so completely is the absence of Facebook, You Tube and Amazon. And it is remarkable by their absence because these references are important and are very much still awaiting a film that will describe how much society has changed in the last 10 years from being a world where nobody used computers other than the odd ATM (Automated teller machine) for a bit of cash to a world where everybody uses a computer all day long. And it's getting harder to leave computers turned off all the time because there are all sorts of traps out there trying to pull you in keep you going back for just one more go, one more peek or one more 'quick bit of adding details to a page'. But nobody 10 years ago could see these things arriving and nerdy programmers making entities that can completely dominate our existence.

Nobody could forsee the coming of the cloud, nobody could see how we can effecively be in a room entirely filled with virtual people and still feel lonely.