PRODUCTION
SOUND DESIGN
THE CRAFT OF SOUND DESIGN IS A CRUCIAL BUT OFTEN OVERLOOKED ELEMENT IN THE FILM MAKING PROCESS. JON CREAMER ASKS THE EXPERTS HOW THEY CREATE A PERFECT HARMONY
S
ound design is often the unsung hero of TV and film making, bringing creatures and characters to life, adding
tension, drama and emotion and pulling the narrative along. Halo’s Jay Price, whose credits include
Our Universe, Welcome to Earth and We Are Lady Parts, says that “sound is an extremely influential storytelling weapon in a filmmakers’ arsenal, that can often be overlooked” but its effect on screen can be profound. “It can make characters evil, friendly or menacing, a place inviting or threatening and grip the audience’s attention like nothing else as sound is deeply visceral.” Markus Stemler, Oscar nominee and
Bafta winner for his work on All Quiet on the Western Front, whose credits also include Rush and The Matrix: Resurrections, says that good sound design “will pick up the very essence of what a character experiences in a scene and translate that into a sonic world that will support, mirror or enhance that experience.” “We are storytellers,” says Lee Walpole of
Boom Post, whose credits include The Crown, Generation Kill and Landscapers. “Sound is there to serve the picture. Frequently this means world building, bringing a rich and authentic world to life, expanding what you see within the confines of the screen. We then use sound to guide the viewer’s attention. This can be as much about what you don’t hear as what you do hear.” Paula Fairfield, the Emmy and Bafta
winning sound designer behind Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, says of her creation of the voices of the dragons in the Game of Thrones universe: “I love that idea of trying to bring something to life to make you believe that it could actually exist,” especially in the realm of the fantastical. “My approach to it is to keep one toe in reality. It’s like a little bridge
98
televisual.com Summer 2023
Sound design: make some noise
for us to walk across into this land of fantasy. It allows us access because there’s something familiar we recognise.” Formosa’s Trevor Gates, Emmy winning
sound designer on Atlanta and The Haunting of Hill House, says sound design exists to “tell a story and make your audience feel something. Sound design does not have to be complex, and it does not have to be surreal. It can be simple and naturalistic. Sometimes
it’s something you see on the screen, and sometimes it’s not. But it needs to make you feel something.”
Early doors For sound design to achieve all that, getting
involved with the creation of the project as early as possible is key. Markus Stemler argues that dialogue with the production sound mixer ahead of the shoot can add extra layers to
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112
