A film is meant to convey a story (a state, a development) into the minds of the viewers. To achieve this, the senses of 'seeing' and 'hearing' are used, which should complement each other and merge into an overall perception. The assessment of the artistic aspects of a film work is always subjective, and it must be! More important than any technical skill is always the question of dramaturgical relevance. A sound effect can be technically excellent but may be extremely disruptive in terms of content!
Fundamental Questions about Sound Design
Does the sound design fit the character of the film?
Sound is always a part of the overall perception and should neither become an end in itself nor fall short in quality. Sound that aims for more than the film allows or is less than what the film requires does not do justice to it.
Does the sound create its own dramaturgical layer?
Does the sound convey things that we would perceive differently without it, or does it merely duplicate what is seen? Does it advance the story? Does it hint at the unimportant while focusing on the important? Are the details meaningful, or just random filler? Does the sound provide insights and access to the film that we wouldn’t have without it? Does the sound help develop the story by guiding the viewer acoustically?
On the other hand, does a failed attempt to use sound to convey things that are not believable create a disturbance? Was there an attempt to explain poorly staged actions through sound?
Is there a recognizable concept, or is it just 'sound chaos'?
The sound design should have a consistent quality and characteristic in terms of internal cohesion. This does not preclude refined breaks, distortions, or deliberate style changes in the sound dramaturgy! For example, a film where passages with almost unprocessed atmosphereless studio dialogue and poor voice synchronization alternate with polished, atmospheric sound collages cannot be credited with good sound design. The assessment of the sound design should always refer to the overall concept of the film's sound dramaturgy, never to short sequences or individual aspects.
How do sound design and music work together?
Sound design is a very subtle tool. Often, its strongest effect is achieved on the edge of perception. An interesting question is how music and sound design interrelate. Does the music allow any room for sound design? Does the music merely duplicate visual and auditory events instead of creating its own dramaturgical layer? (Extreme case: Mickey Mousing, the silent film-style illustration of movement sequences).
What is the overall impact of the sound?
Do the sound layers work well together? Does everything feel cohesive? Are the dialogues well integrated into the overall sound design while being intellegible? Do the atmospheres have depth and the speech have substance? Is the mix dynamic? Are tension arcs created? Are there contrasting quiet moments? Do these moments define themselves merely through the simple absence of sound, or does the silence have substance? Are loud events merely noise or are they intelligently structured and built? Rough, dirty, and fragmented sound can be of high artistic quality - or simply poorly crafted.
Aspects (including technical) of the Individual Sound Layers
Even when it comes to an artistic evaluation of the sound design, the craftsmanship and technical quality of the sound editing and mixing are also important.
Dialogue or Original Sound
Is the dialogue well recorded and cleanly edited? Does the dialogue achieve a natural flow, or is it disrupted by breath cuts, clipped reverb tails, overly sharp sibilants, frequent dialogue overlaps, noticeable atmospheric jumps during cuts, or poorly integrated ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement)? Is the dialogue asynchronous and imprecisely edited over extended sections? The dialogue should come alive through its content. There should be a seamless naturalness that is not disturbed by qualitative flaws, which could distract from the essence.
Sync Sounds (Foley)
Do the sync sounds achieve a homogeneous blend with the original sound or ADR? Do the actions seem natural, and can you sense the actors and their motivation to move? Or do the sounds seem artificial and contrived (e.g., clumsy or inappropriate footsteps, all movements sounding uniform due to lack of variation, asynchrony, inappropriate sounds, incorrect weight: too light or heavy footsteps/movements)?
Effects
Are they dramaturgically meaningful and credibly executed? Do they enhance the intensity of the events without disconnecting from them? Are they interestingly designed without overwhelming the scene? Is the editing detailed and varied? Or, for example, is the same stock sound used three times in a row?
Atmospheres
Are the atmospheres homogeneous, interesting, and detailed? Are they too uniform or overly detailed? Does the ambient sound consistently connect credibly with the immediate surroundings of the actors, or does it seem 'contrived'? Can one place the action within a broader context and form a picture of the wider environment of an interior space?
The individual sound elements should relate to each other in a meaningful way, just as the entire sound layer should relate to the image.
