Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema and Interactive Media

David Sonnenschein’s story can shed some light on how different experiences meld into a synergy toward sound design. He began studying clarinet at eight years old, performing in symphony orchestras and chamber groups, then took up the flute with the conscious choice to not read music, but to “jam,” developing his ear’s sensitivity and spontaneity.

As a neurobiology undergraduate at UC San Diego, his interests in physiology, psychology and dreams were united by research in a sleep laboratory. Fascinated by the mind-body interface, he published several studies relating brainwaves to mental states and biorhythms, and developed insight into the physiological and perceptual processes that serve as foundations for the creation of sound design.