Yebo!
I often get the question what differs sound design from sound editing, and truth be told, there are different answers to that question depending on who you ask. Which regretfully is the reason why we can't win any Oscar as sound designers, only as sound editors and such.
My definition follows a pretty common opinion - it's the art of using both form and function to reach a desired goal by creating what's needed in respect for what it's intended for right there, right then. Where a sound editor might figure this nifty library door-handle sound might suit this here scene just fine, a designed approach to this could very well be based on the anxiety of the lead, striding nervously through the house, grabbing the handle with fear of what might be on the other side, meaning a careful grab of the handle with a slight grinding noise as it frictions against the un-lubed escutcheon plate, a snarling metallic yet discrete creak as it slowly turns the internal mechanism, and a firm, yet threatful, dark "clack" as the latch unlocks from the door-frame. All within approx 2 to 5 seconds, yet telling more in this time than words would ever do.
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| From Starlight (Mattias Titus Paar, 2011) |
Sound design can also be an over-all approach. I often gets assignments where I'm to design entire soundscapes for entire feature length movies, and in these cases ambiance is a very key element for the very same reasons - a scene beginning very calmly, for example, with two friends walking through a fairly calm yet noisy midsummer urban surrounding, might very well begin with nothing but distant traffic and happy birds. Maybe some crickets or grasshoppers (I like crickets and they are most definitely found even in most urban settings with at least some kind of green areas). As the scene progresses, the two friends beginning to grind, and eventually annoyance turns into hostility.
Without even the audience noticing, I've snuck in dissonant ambient sounds gradually, replacing the happy birds and grasshoppers with crow-birds, dissonant metallic sounds, and droning aging fans. Completely changing the tone of the scene without anyone realizing, a feat almost impossible to do with music as we're extremely good at interpreting musical material instantly.
