Losing sight of atmospheric sounds in televised nature documentary

Abstract

The production of soundtracks for televised nature documentaries involves complexities in balancing the audience's sonic perceptions and emotions with audio content and scientific rigour. In addition, soundtracks need to be congruent with audience expectations and commercial imperatives. Popular televised nature documentaries often appear to be narrative melodramas with environmental soundscapes submerged by narration and music. This paper examines the correlations between perceptual agency, educational practices and production constraints with regards to sound production in nature documentaries. The purpose is a clarification surrounding the causative factors and results of the curious neglect for the sound of our natural world within an industry dedicated to the sensory portrayal of nature.