<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>This article focuses on the musical dimension of experimentation in the creative space of science fiction film, concerning its uncanny, new and fantastic places, and otherworldly encounters within fictional, but possible worlds. The aim is to consider the function and potential of the audible – to examine how sound is used in the filmic exploration of the boundaries between the human and the alien (the unknown). More particularly, we are interested in the role that human voice-like and human vocal sounds can play in this divide, as we believe manipulations with such audible qualities contribute greatly to the emotional dimension of cinematic stories of otherworldly encounters. For that purpose, we concentrate on Denis Villeneuve’s <italic>Arrival</italic> (2016) and its soundtrack composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson, who resorts to different singing practices and vocal techniques to accompany a story charting the territories between the human and the alien.</p>
</abstract>

This article focuses on the musical dimension of experimentation in the creative space of science fiction film, concerning its uncanny, new and fantastic places, and otherworldly encounters within fictional, but possible worlds. The aim is to consider the function and potential of the audible – to examine how sound is used in the filmic exploration of the boundaries between the human and the alien (the unknown). More particularly, we are interested in the role that human voice-like and human vocal sounds can play in this divide, as we believe manipulations with such audible qualities contribute greatly to the emotional dimension of cinematic stories of otherworldly encounters. For that purpose, we concentrate on Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival (2016) and its soundtrack composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson, who resorts to different singing practices and vocal techniques to accompany a story charting the territories between the human and the alien.

The Role of Experimenting with the Human Voice in Film Music in the Representation of the Human/Alien Divide: the Case of <italic>Arrival</italic> (2016)

Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Film and Media Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Role of Experimenting with the Human Voice in Film Music in the Representation of the Human/Alien Divide: the Case of  (2016)

This article focuses on the musical dimension of experimentation in the creative space of science fiction film, concerning its uncanny, new and fantastic...

The Role of Experimenting with the Human Voice in Film Music in the Representation of the Human/Alien Divide: the Case of Arrival (2016)

Published Online: Nov 15, 2021

Page range: 1 - 19

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ausfm-2021-0011

Keywords
voice, soundtrack, human/alien divide, Jóhann Jóhannsson

© 2021 Nicolás Medina et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Role of Experimenting with the Human Voice in Film Music in the Representation of the Human/Alien Divide: the Case of Arrival (2016)

Published Online: Nov 15, 2021

Page range: 1 - 19

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ausfm-2021-0011

Keywordsvoice, soundtrack, human/alien divide, Jóhann Jóhannsson

© 2021 Nicolás Medina et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
voice, soundtrack, human/alien divide, Jóhann Jóhannsson