“Before a message comes on, there is the interminable murmur of the world and the hiss of static; at once no sound and (potentially) all-sounds, murmur and static indicate that the channels are open, ready to receive the signal. In Michael Serres’ words: ‘Background noise is the necessary condition for the transmission of any message: a basic multiplicity of sound which fills the channels and spaces of communication’.”
“Structural Film: Noise”, Juan A. Suárez, in Still Moving: Between Cinema and Photography.