A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SOUND DESIGN IN TOP GUN: MAVERICK (2022) AND F1 (2025)

The findings of this study reveal that sound design plays a significant role in creating immersion, realism, and emotional engagement in Top Gun: Maverick (2022) and F1 (2025). Through comparative analysis, the study identifies the use of the Doppler effect, pitch shifts, engine harmonics, low-frequency reinforcement, Foley, and spatial audio to communicate speed, mechanical power, and physical intensity. While Top Gun: Maverick emphasizes fighter jet acoustics and cockpit experiences, F1 focuses on racing engines, mechanical vibrations, and competitive tension. The research also highlights internal focalization as an important sound-design approach that can be applied across different film genres to represent a character’s subjective experience through sounds such as breathing, heartbeat, muffled ambience, ringing ears, and internalized environmental sounds. This technique allows audiences to experience a scene from a character’s perspective, adding psychological depth, emotional detail, and narrative meaning. However, the research faced challenges in distinguishing authentic recorded sounds from digitally manipulated audio, identifying specific sound-design techniques without access to production stems, and interpreting subjective auditory experiences through audiovisual analysis alone. Despite these limitations, the study concludes that combining technical sound design with internal focalization can strengthen cinematic storytelling, making sound not merely an accompaniment to visuals but a powerful narrative tool that communicates physical sensations, emotional states, and immersive experiences across diverse filmmaking contexts.  

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