The sound-effects table

Text: an original contemporary arts-feature-style practice extract.

The storm lay dry on the studio table. A tray of small stones, a sheet of metal and a box of ordinary objects waited beneath the microphone. On the screen above them, a character stood outside in heavy rain. I could see the weather, but until the technician moved her hands I could not hear it.

She tilted the tray and the stones travelled across its surface with a rushing sound. A movement of the metal supplied a low rumble. Then she put down a lid too sharply, and the tiny contact arrived through the speakers like an enormous interruption. She tried again with a softer movement. Size on the table did not predict size in the listener’s ear.

When the recorded sounds accompanied the scene, I knew what had made them and still heard a storm. The knowledge had not cancelled the effect. It gave the technician’s precise movements another meaning: she was matching an imagined space rather than describing the objects in front of her. The table remained dry. The character seemed drenched.

Analyse how the writer uses language and structure to interest and engage the reader.

In your answer, consider:

• language features and techniques
• structural techniques
• the effect on the reader.

Support your views with detailed reference to the extract.