Well, that's not entirely true. Sound can travel through any substance, not just air. Iif something was to puncture a hole in your spacecraft and let out all the air and you quickly jumped into your spacesuit with magnetic boots to protect yourself, you would still hear the sounds of additional impacts since the vibration would be transmitted through the structure of the ship and then through the soles of your spacesuit.

If you had a teather cable stretched tight linking your ship with another ship and that one exploded you would hear some of the explosions sounds transmitted through the vibration of the cable and then through the hull of your ship.

But, probably the biggest reason you wouldn't hear a 'whoosh' as a ship flies by isn't because the sound isn't transmitted through a vacuum, but because of the vacuum there isn't any air friction with the ship to cause the sound to begin with! This means that you wouldn't even hear the 'whoosh' inside the same ship either even though you're inside the ship's own atmosphere.

If you want to be REALLY technical.......when is there ever a cameraman and sound man just hanging around in space filming all this?

I think the only movie to get it approximately right was "2001" But then... The Blue Danube in space?

I think with Quantum theory and string theory its likely there are a limitless amount of Universes So Noise in space is not only possible but in another universe a reality

Lets face it, many sounds in flim are far from reality.

Sounds of a somebody getting punched.
Gunshots
How about tires squealing on a dirt road.

Foley artists bring us what we expect to hear, not what you would actually hear - or what the director wants you to hear might be more correct.

All these are added and punched up and now we almost expect these sounds. Just like cars always seem to explode when they roll over in a crash.

Even depth of field focus is not what you see in real life -- just as it is used to draw us to a specific view, the sound puts us in a specific environment.

One of the hardest things is getting those sounds right, and they can make or break a film.

IMHO

This thread made me think of a cool site I found while working on sound design for a short movie project I did: http://www.filmsound.org/

The section on "Film Sound Clichés" is great. Enjoy.

There's no need to go extraterrestrial to have your intelligence insulted by film sound dubs. Tire squeals on dirt surfaces have been annoying me for decades not to mention car chases themselves. If I never see another car chase again...

That's just the tip of the iceberg for the sound-track. Visually you could start with flashes/sparks exuding from the bullet impacts on human bodies but then again if i never see another gun fight...

MJ

In space, no one can hear you scream. ;)

Dave T2

I was just going to post that Dave.


Even as a little kid when I saw Star Wars, I thought it was kind of ridiculous that you could dodge lasers as easily as other movie bullets. That you just had to step behind a door frame and lasers were pretty useless. I also didn't like that fact that the cool guy was not the hero and the boring guy was the hero. I think I was a pretty cynical kid.

Mark, I must say I find talk of more than one Universe to be odd.

For me the definition of Universe is the totality - "everything that is" so however many "something or others" people try and imagine, they're all still part of the one universe.

It's called science "FICTION" ! (Geez..)

>>If you want to be REALLY technical.......when is there ever a cameraman and sound man just hanging around in space filming all this?<<

That has nothing to do with the 'inside movie world' that I am refering to.

>>Or have I overlooked something?
Poetic license. <<

Yes that's the best way to look at it then I guess.
But still Series like Star Trek, has little that I can say that's impossible!
maybe except for the warpdrive.. and the aliens.

But technology like the ship itself (with thrusters) gadgets, lcd tvs, auto doors, and stuf can be produced at this time.
And also the warpdrive.. and the aliens can still not be said as Impossible
as much as the sound woooshes is space :-). damn!

But the sound effects are clearly for feedback...yes.
hmm...Think Poetic! think Poetic! ignore the space sounds! :-))

Peter,

Spend some time starting here, sure it will take considerably more effort than wrapping one's head around the Big Bang Theory;

The Official String Theory Web Site

NOVA | The Elegant Universe | PBS

MJ

Now I know why the movie 'Space cowboys' is also rated 'Action/'Science fiction'.
I always wonderd why they rated that SF. its for the sounds in space!! because the rest of the movie did not seem too impossible :-)).

-------

>>Well, that's not entirely true. Sound can travel through any substance<<
Yes this is true actually. if we would be in 'fluidic space'. we should hear any ships flying by.

Edit:
Kula_Gabe
Thanks for the filmsound.org link
the 'cliche' part is indeed great.
Also really handy for making comedy scenes where these cliches turns into non cliche'. like the radio-music part. :- ))

MJ, the operative word in each case is "theory," right?

Jay

In the black-comedy sci-fi movie "Dark Star" they conform to all the rules of physics - relativity, the vaccuum of space, thrust & counter-thrust etc

It makes for a much more interesting movie - and it's a comedy !

By simply showing space how it really is they instantly gave the movie a unique feel.

Hollywood is just completely lazy & gutless is the real problem with sci-fi movies.

Science Fiction just mean it has to do with fictional science. I think the BEST Sci-Fi stories are the ones that are a little more down to earth (pun intended) such as ones by Asimov or Clarke (rama = coooooool).

The star wars laser doging always bothered me too. I mean, if it's a laser, it's at the speed of light. It isn't moving that fast (like phasers in trek, which have been dodged sometimes but i'm not gonna pull out the nit pickers guide right now. :) ).

And, if there was no sound i space, watching the Relient in ST:2 Wrath of Khan get the crap kicked out of it would of been pretty boring. Or the space battle in Star Trek: Nemisis.

I haven't watched 2001 in a whlie but 2010 had some really geat audio. The russion ship looked pretty cool too. :) There was no sound in space durring that movie but boy, was it neat looking when the flamming ship went around jupitor. :)

Basicly, as long as you get the point across (ie if there's an explosion &no sound, it should be a bigger explosion to emphize it), it works. Kinda like hitchkocks "don't show the stabbing but hear the screems" psycho scene. That got the point across w/o being gorry.

I also want to mention that when an astronought's radio goes out, they can touch their helmets together & yell to talk to eachother. :) Pretty cool!

Here's a site I found a while back that rates movies in terms of their adherence to the laws of physics:

http://www.intuitor.com/moviephysics/

Sound can't travel through a vaccuum, but interestingly enough, light can even though it's a "wave"! One day when I was in college physics, I visited my professor after a class where he had discussed the archaic theory that there was an "ether" rather than a total vacuum in space. I told him that I still believed that there must be some kind of medium for the light to travel through and that "ether" was as good a name as any for this. His eyes kind of sparkled and he sat me down and explained all the ways we knew there was no such thing as an "ether": the planets are traveliing and spinning in space and there is no wind effect, that the speed of light is the same regardless of whether you're travelling or stationary, etc. It was my first glimpse of understanding of the necessity of the theory of relativity, and of just how broad the subject of physics really was!

Anyway, the point is, there are all kinds of waves in space. We can't hear any of them, and all we can see is a narrow band of about an octave. Waves are everywhere. We're just blind and deaf to most of them!

. .er . . who said Film was ever ever about reality? . .It's about making a creative point. Shakespeare, Beethoven, Michelangelo, Gaudi, Gillespie, Wolfe, Wilde, Jarre, De Palma, Minghella . . .. all have "borrowed" from reality to make their point . . all, including Rodin and Picasso were editors and expressed that which was internal for them to bring it to the "outside" of their skins . . . the World is better for them! Were there more and our own minds might be even more expanded than they are.

.. . much more to say here . .

Best regards

Grazie

Peter

You got me ;0)

The Universe is odd ..These theories are not Borderline Theories....THEY are pretty much accepted as the Most Likely.. As for being provable for the Time being They cannot be.... Because nothing Is sensitive enough to detect the Strings... However when The Equations are DONE and all add up... Then this Theory is the Best/Likeliest they have at the Moment...

You Said
.......For me the definition of Universe is the totality........
The Universe is Infinate.

You said
.....everything that is...
Not sure what You mean BUT just cause you cant see it hear it smell it prove it dont mean it aint so

You said
.......people try and imagine, they're all still part of the one universe. ...
Like so many other things we Pigeon hole typecast... The Universe is not something definable ..In fact its Completely Impossible..

I Do agree that we have to Live within our Confines of reality and not worry about the things we possibly may never Understand But I will not rule out everything in Favour of a Nice Little concept of we are what we are and what we know... On that basis the world would still be flat....

I do understand where your coming from though..Its unsolvable IT seems.. Therefore FORGET about it...The fact the Universe is Infinate is not something I can get my head around let alone be thinking of Other Universes..

Im all for our Scientists ect searching for answers.. In fact the MORE They uncover the More it Shows evidence of a Creator At least to me...

Peter this is not a dig at you... Its an explanation of where Im coming from..

Some of what we Imagine have bought our very best ideas The Communicaters On Star Trek Or the Phasers Space travel Even Warp drive (Traveling Faster than Light Speed ) The Automatic Doors as well as MANY Other things all started off in someones Imagination...

Sci Fi and Science..... Make it so..<.a REFERENCE From Captin Picard...

>>Anyway, the point is, there are all kinds of waves in space. We can't hear any of them, and all we can see is a narrow band of about an octave. Waves are everywhere. We're just blind and deaf to most of them!<<

I do agree on that the planets/moons are always emitting vibrations which are invisible to use, but which are actually changing the nature. for example the ocean waves/ sea level.