Speaking at the ‘Workshop on Aesthetics of Sound in Cinema’, hosted by Amrita School of Communication, Padmashree Dr. Resul Pookutty said that he preferred the use of ‘real sounds’ to dubbing in movies. It is therefore not surprising that his novel idea of creating a ‘brain soundscape’ of Mumbai in Slumdog Millionaire made him India’s first Oscar winner in that category. He pioneered the concept of live recording in India and is arguably the country’s best sound designer.
Over 200 participants from different colleges, sound recording studios and film schools such as Amrita School of Arts and Sciences, Kochi, FTII Pune, Bishop Appasamy college Coimbatore, Karunya University Coimbatore, Beats Music studio Coimbatore, Madurai Kamaraj University, Avinashilingam University, etc. including the students of the host institution, attended the workshop. Director Kamalakannan and Associate director Prabhakaran of ‘Madhubanakadai’ fame (The 2012 Tamil Socio-political satire) were also present on the occasion.
Dr. Resul Pookutty began the first session of his workshop by stressing on the need for professionals to create a space for themselves in the industry-“Make yourself needed in the industry and then the industry will need you”. Citing the oral tradition of the Vedas as an example, he said that “sound is everything” as it is associated with memory and therefore, knowledge.
Quoting Swami Vivekananda, Dr. Pookutty stated, “Education that does not help serve the interests of fellow beings is of no meaning”. He went on to argue that rapid advancement in technology has contributed to greater precision in everything that we do, which in turn has led to chaos. According to him, the increasing divide between the past and the present is the problem of the ‘kalyug’ and maintaining a balance in this regard is a very difficult thing.
In the second session of the workshop, Dr. Pookutty showcased his works to the audience and explained the underlying concepts that were employed in their creation. Interestingly, for a man who lives and breathes sound, he said that even the feeblest of sounds is enough to disturb his slumber at night.
The workshop concluded with question and answer session which had him answering queries on areas pertaining to sound recording and production technology such as the latest Auro 3D, his family background and inspiration and more.
“The sessions were excellent and useful as Mr. Pookutty dealt with not just theory but much more than that. It was also presented in a simple way, whereby even ordinary people with no sound technical knowledge can understand,” gushed Varun, Faculty at Amrita School of Arts and Sciences, Kochi.
