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berceau sonore

English translation: soundscape

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:berceau sonore
English translation:soundscape
Entered by: Tony M

08:30 Jul 25, 2017
French to English translations [PRO]
Cinema, Film, TV, Drama
French term or phrase: berceau sonore
This appears in an agreement licensing the use of a sound recording as background music for a film.

La mise à disposition de l'enregistrement par l’intermédiaire d’un réseau numérique de transport de données ne pourra être dissociée du berceau sonore de synchronisation de l'enregistrement.

Thanks!
Jane RM
France
Local time: 05:29
soundscape
Explanation:
as a variant on 'soundtrack'

The latter is usually 'bande originale', but strictly speaking, that really only refers to the MUSIC for the film; here, 'berceau' seems (from all the definitions I've been able to find) to refer to the whole structure of the sound for the movie as a whole — which in more technically literal terms is what we mean by the 'soundtrack' in EN.

The problem here is that this very concept doesn't really have a word for it in technical EN — it is a specifically French way of looking at it.

It's all very well saying that it means the same as 'fond sonore' — but if you then try and translate that as usual as 'background sound', you come up against the very problem that this text is discussing. And you run the risk of its being understood as 'a background sound' rather than 'the sound background' — which is not, however, a valid technical term in this sort of context.

To retain something of the 'artistic' side that is to some extent employed by the figurative use of the term 'berceau', I think 'soundscape' might be a better solution; this is the whole audio environment that is created by the sound designer for a given work and of course includes background music, foreground music and other sound effects, dialogue, etc.

In the world of 'synchronizing rights' (i.e. the dues you have to pay to be allowed to use someone else's music in your film), great importance is attached to whether music is 'foreground' (i.e. IN the film, potentially audible to the characters) or 'background' (i.e. just an addition audible to the audience, but of which the characters are unaware).
Selected response from:

Tony M
France
Local time: 05:29
Grading comment
thanks to you both
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
2 +2sound background
Nathalie Stewart
3 -1soundscape
Tony M


  

Answers


46 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +2
sound background


Explanation:
According to this source, berceau sonore = fond sonore:

https://www.doctrine.fr/d/CA/Paris/2009/SK43466C7DE033BCC21A...

"Cour d'appel de Paris, 23 octobre 2009, n° 08/02791
...Courant décembre 2004, la société Canal + utilisa l’enregistrement de l’œuvre BOA comme fond sonore ou 'berceau sonore’ de la bande annonce qu’elle réalisa pour annoncer la retransmission du match de football prévue le 17 décembre 2004..."

> Delivery of the recording through a digital data transmission network cannot be separated from the recording's synchronized sound background

Nathalie Stewart
France
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  writeaway: I got as far as soundboard /so much for peer votes.
11 mins
disagree  Tony M: 'fond sonore' is really 'background sound' — which brings us back to the thorny issue. 'Sound background' is not a correct technical term — 'soundscape' might be a better way to go...
15 mins
agree  GILLES MEUNIER
1 day 4 mins
agree  ConstantT: -
1 day 4 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 day 1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -1
soundscape


Explanation:
as a variant on 'soundtrack'

The latter is usually 'bande originale', but strictly speaking, that really only refers to the MUSIC for the film; here, 'berceau' seems (from all the definitions I've been able to find) to refer to the whole structure of the sound for the movie as a whole — which in more technically literal terms is what we mean by the 'soundtrack' in EN.

The problem here is that this very concept doesn't really have a word for it in technical EN — it is a specifically French way of looking at it.

It's all very well saying that it means the same as 'fond sonore' — but if you then try and translate that as usual as 'background sound', you come up against the very problem that this text is discussing. And you run the risk of its being understood as 'a background sound' rather than 'the sound background' — which is not, however, a valid technical term in this sort of context.

To retain something of the 'artistic' side that is to some extent employed by the figurative use of the term 'berceau', I think 'soundscape' might be a better solution; this is the whole audio environment that is created by the sound designer for a given work and of course includes background music, foreground music and other sound effects, dialogue, etc.

In the world of 'synchronizing rights' (i.e. the dues you have to pay to be allowed to use someone else's music in your film), great importance is attached to whether music is 'foreground' (i.e. IN the film, potentially audible to the characters) or 'background' (i.e. just an addition audible to the audience, but of which the characters are unaware).


Tony M
France
Local time: 05:29
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 402
Grading comment
thanks to you both

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  GILLES MEUNIER: ce n'est pas une variante de soundtrack....
1 day 52 mins
  -> Oh but yes it IS — in EN technical jargon in my industry!
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