Is it still necessary to record ambient sound for film?

AI is transforming many areas of film and video production. Today it is possible to generate images, recreate voices and even design complete soundscapes with increasingly sophisticated digital tools.

But when it comes to location sound and building atmospheres, the reality on the ground is still somewhat different.

In a conversation with Alicante Light Film, sound professional David Fuentes shared a very clear view on a question that comes up more and more often on shoots and productions: does it still make sense to record a location’s ambient sound when technology lets you create it later?

His answer was emphatic: yes.

When we think of ambient sound, we usually imagine something simple: the noise of a street, the sound of the wind or the murmur of a public space.

But the reality is much more complex.

Every place has a unique combination of sounds that is hard to find anywhere else. Distant traffic, the birds of a particular area, a bell that rings every so often, trees moving, conversations drifting in from afar, or even the characteristic silence of certain spaces.

These small details help define a location’s personality and are part of the audiovisual experience of a scene.

Sound tells stories too.