Bela Balazs's Theory of the Film: Sound Reading Response

Balazs presents a variety of points regarding sound in film. I agree with most of them. Balazs presents  points on the versatility and importance of sound in relation to image in different categories. I think that sound and image compliment each other with an equal balance when seeing a film. Sure one could in some cases mute a film and watch with subtitles but at that point half the experience is cut out. Speaking of silence, I think that silence is a powerful and under utilized tool in modern cinema. Silence can add so much power to the sound that arrives after it. Balazs at one point claims that sound has to be directed and arranged to become art. I disagree. I think there are many possibilities of artistic filmmaking without altering sound at all. You can do anything you want especially within the range of the Avant-Garde. For example, someone could record dogs barking at a shelter and juxtapose that with images of high school classroom and the sound could remain unedited and still be art. Asides from that point Balazs made I found the reading to be informative. It really made me think about the vitality of sound that I often forget.