FEATURE FINAL CUT
When it comes to the audio“Nothing happens by accident” during The World’s End
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all the panning across. I will listen and make decisions based on what I am hearing in the pre-mix. I am not a mixer that says ‘right, remove all of that stuff, I just want raw tracks because I want to do it my way.’ I don’t believe that is the way things should be done anymore. Some people still do that, but it’s not my way, especially with this crew.” Paterson notes particularly that this approach would not be possible without the support of Rob Weatherall, his Mix Tech at Goldcrest. This unselfish, big-picture
the defining aspects of the whole production, but Paterson makes the particular point that he is a mixer who is part of the team and does not turn his nose up at any sonic decisions made before the production moves to the theatre. “I am trying to represent the modern mixer and do things in a modern way,” he explains. “I have to be on- board with allowing editorial to contribute what would normally be considered mixing during their editorial process, and to keep that carrying on through the pre-mix to the final mix. And with this crew you can do exactly that. “For example, Dan Morgan (Supervising Dialogue and ADR Editor) does a lot of noise reduction, EQ and all that kind of
TOP SCORE
As with anything in an Edgar Wright movie, the music is not allowed to go off and do its own thing – it has to contribute to the whole. To achieve this, the film employed the services of next- gen composer Stephen Price. Julian Slater says: “Steve was a Music Editor until about three years ago, so we in the sound department are
28 August 2013
handing over a lot of effects to Steve to weave into his music. We’ve got fight sequences, for example, where sound design is in the same key and tempo as the score, which is then also being orchestrated around the action sequences.” Another example is in a sound design arc based on one of the film’s main themes – communication. The team
used a foundation of mobile phone interference pulses to help with representing communications among the townsfolk and the mystery manipulator. Slater: “We’ve made scanning sounds out of those GSM impulses, and radar sounds, but then those GSM pulses were handed over to Steve, and the music is scored with that GSM pulse.”
This is a collaborative aim
that Slater and his team have long discussed. “Steve’s from our world – he was the Music Editor on Scott Pilgrim, for example. He is on-board with all the ideas.” Mark Paterson agrees: “It’s fantastic to have a composer who is from that world, who understands that music is an ingredient that has to work
with other things... This is the most ideal situation ever for me as a mixer.” Price also works with
impressive speed, which is helpful when working with a director as sound aware as Wright. Slater: “Edgar can phone Steve up about a cue at 11.00, and by 12.30 Steve has got revisions and has sent it to Edgar.
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approach might not work for all productions, but for something like The World’s End where the director is so creative with detail, it might be the only way to work. It is made possible both because Wright sees sound as a significant contributor, not simply an innocent bystander, and because of well-placed trust in the sound crew, with Slater at its helm. Slater: “I was even sent the rushes every day from the set so I could make sure it was sounding okay. That never happens... I wish I could be involved earlier in the process on more productions. For me, this is the sum of everything I’ve wanted to do on various productions. It has all been pulled together – threaded together.”
stuff... I want to keep all of that into the premix stage. That then carries through to the final mix. It’s all virtual so essentially I go about my process in the same way as
with clean tracks, but with the advantage of being a lot further ahead of the game right from the start. “It’s the same with effects as well – I am happy to carry
MAJOR MILESTONE I asked the pair if The World’s End represents some kind of more significant culmination for audio post production – the third in the trilogy... A complete realisation of ego- less and integrated workflow,
production, and contribution... and the last audio post job that Paterson and Slater will be doing in the UK before jetting off to show Hollywood how it’s done. In other words, is it a new benchmark? Slater replies: “Though I
hadn’t really thought of it that way before, this is by far the most satisfying creative experience that I have had thus far. I have put all my years of experience in, and everything that I’ve wanted to do on those productions, I’ve put into practice. Because Edgar affords me the power to choose exactly everybody that is involved in the process, I can do it. I’ve been blessed with fantastic collaborators, such as Dan Morgan, Dialogue Supervisor, and Ben Meechan, Sound Effects Designer. Paterson adds: It’s a great platform to show that this is the way we believe something should be done... And it isn’t just an idea of ours – we have done it. It has been the experience that we hoped it would be and I believe the soundtrack has benefited from our methods.” Speaking, unapologetically as a fan of Edgar Wright’s rhythmic, poetic, surgical, and unpretentious directorial abilities, as well as his numerous and unfalteringly brilliant collaborations with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, I can say that The World’s End is an absolute must-see. And given that Julian Slater, Mark Paterson, and the rest of the dream team were responsible for the sound, it will be a must-hear as well.
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