Telling Stories with Sound 🔊
How NPR's Throughline uses sound design to illustrate current & historical events
Hi Besties!
I learned so much during my quick trip to Podcast Movement last month, and this week, I want to share my takeaways from perhaps the most impactful presentation I attended: The Sound of Story by Ramtin Arablouei and Rund Abdelfatah, co-hosts and producers of NPR's Throughline.
It stuck with me because I’ve been thinking a lot about soundscapes and how to make the most of the medium’s strengths lately — even (maybe especially) when I’m working with straight interview tape, I’m trying to find ways to zhuzh it up.
“The production is the front and center part of the show, and we like to think of ourselves as the hosts as background [to the story, production, and sound].” -Rund Abdelfatah
How it started: Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei were both producers and sound designers at NPR, helping to pilot various shows. They realized they had a lot of common interests and just started making a show that tapped into all of those interests. Throughline was a passion project, so they worked piloting it for about two years and then got the green light.
How it’s going: Now Throughline is a Peabody Award-winning show. Since it sits in the cross-section of journalism and entertainment, they push the boundaries of what people in the traditional news world would consider appropriate in terms of the use of sound. And their philosophy is that there is a use for sound elements in pretty much every story you’re telling.
Sound elements include everything from archival tape to sound design to music to silence.
Define the “musicality” of your show. What does it sound like?
In a talk show, the way it’s cut together often provides a musicality. Even in a chatcast like Bodega Boys, there’s a rhythm in the back-and-forth nature of their banter.
The other end of the spectrum is a show like Throughline, which is scored and sound designed from top to bottom.
And in the middle might be something like How I Built This, an interview show notable for its savvy use of music to aid the storytelling.
When you’re working on sound design, ask yourself:
What purpose is it serving? Do you need it?
How is it interacting with the other elements of the show?
How can sound help you break your story into scenes and guide your transitions? (They storyboard as you would for a movie.)
What is the top-line story you’re telling?
What is the deeper story you’re telling?
And what is the emotion that you’re evoking in the listener?
Ultimately, it’s an experimental process with a lot of trial and error.
Here are four ways you can use sound to elevate your storytelling:
Soundscapes
Think of it like looking at a landscape painting: You’re taking in the whole image, then your eye is drawn to focus on the foreground, then zooms out into the distance. The viewing experience is the interaction of all of those elements, and a soundscape is doing the same thing—painting a picture for your ear—giving you the big picture, and then at some points, drawing you in to pay attention to certain things. Soundscapes are immersive and help transport you inside the story.
EXAMPLE: The Dark Side Of The Moon
For the intro, they wanted listeners to feel like they were inside of a space launch and also connect with the metaphysical experience that people have had throughout history of looking to the sky and wondering what it would be like to go there.
They used voice-over from Jules Verne’s science fiction novel from the 1800s (before going to space was a possibility, when it was just an idea in people’s minds) over actual space launch archival and newsreel SFX, plus scoring and a rumbling sound that is elevating and building the momentum.
Punctuation
Use it literally as you would in a sentence when you’re writing. You’re using it to punctuate an idea. You’re either starting a new idea, ending an idea, or emphasizing something. In sound design, silence can also be effective punctuation.
EXAMPLE: The Shadows of the Constitution (2020)
At the top of the episode, they bring to life “penumbra” — an abstract concept important to the episode — through a sort of ASMR-style guided meditation.
Penumbra is “the partially shaded outer region of the shadow cast by an opaque object,” according to the dictionary. A Supreme Court Justice used that term to describe the space between what the constitution says and how it’s applied to the law and our lives.
Rhythm
Rhythm is punctuation’s cousin. The rhythm is the melody; it sets the tone. For their show, the rhythm is set by the writing and the way that they incorporate guest tape. Everything else is built in to complement or contrast the rhythm that’s coming from those components.
EXAMPLE: Afghanistan: The Center of the World
This episode features an epic of Ancient Afghanistan, so the vibe they were going for was harkening back to a legend of old with the poetic, lyrical feel we associate with those stories.
Don’t always be 100% literal with SFX — there’s a moment where the narration is “his sword fell from his hands,” but they didn’t use SFX of a sword falling; they accentuated it with music instead.
Emotional soundscape
A soundscape can be built to generate empathy and emotional resonance. This is a controversial tactic in the news business — you have to be aware of how much emotional manipulation you’re incorporating. It’s a subjective line that you have to walk, but when you can do it well, it creates a heightened, better listening experience.
EXAMPLE: Lives Of The Great Depression
This episode brought to life the stories from the Great Depression, so they thought it was appropriate for the listener to have an empathetic response; thus, using sound design and music to enhance the emotional resonance was essential to the storytelling.
Quick tips:
Generally, you want to hear the sounds before you hear the words/sounds described.
Unpredictably is good.
You want the sounds to blend into the texture of the rest of the episode — plug-ins and EQ are your best friend for that.
Write while listening to instrumental music in the tone you’re going for.
Share examples with your editor, so you have the same frame of reference.
Max Richter, Hania Rani, Hans Zimmer, and Radiohead are some of their favorite composers and influences.
Thank you so much to Ramtin Arablouei and Rund Abdelfatah for this super helpful lesson! And thank you to Focusrite for sponsoring this breakout session.
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What’s driving the musicality for YOUR show?
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