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CRIMSON PEAK Over the course of his career, sound de- signer Randy Thom, at Skywalker Sound in Marin County, CA (www.skysound. com), says he's been lucky to work with a few directors who really respect sound as a collaborator, but none so much as director Guillermo del Toro. Thom, who likes getting involved as early as possible on a film, visited director del Toro on-set during the filming of Crimson Peak, a supernatural horror romance film about young horror novelist Edith Cushing (played by Mia Wasikowska), who moves into her new husband's dilapidated, and exceptionally haunted mansion. Thom notes that during his visit to the set, director del Toro was shooting a scene with actress Wasikowska in which her character is alone in her room and senses a ghost in the house. Between takes, Thom suggested to del Toro that if Wasikowska pressed her ear against the door or a wall, it might help put the audi- ence even more into her point of view. "It blew my mind when he said, 'Absolutely; let's do it,'" says Thom. "It almost never happens that a director would be influ- enced by a sound suggestion to set up an entirely-new shot. That is how much Guillermo [del Toro] respects sound's power in storytelling." Crimson Peak, distributed by Universal Studios, is set in the Victorian-era. It's a combination of a period film and a horror flick, two aspects that meld beautifully together. "Let's face it, there was a lot of creepiness about the Victorian period! All kinds of repressed urges are bound to explode to the surface eventually. It was also an age of great discoveries in science, and a blossoming of various kinds of mysticism," says Thom. "People relate to sound in primal, emotional ways, so it was up to us to design a sonic landscape that reflected all of the tumult of that era." Director del Toro wanted Crimson Peak to sound organic, real and com- pletely terrifying. One of the biggest sound design challenges was creating the haunted mansion, known as Allerdale Hale, located in a remote section of North England. "The house had to sound like a living thing, a very unhappy living thing, and we went to extraordinary lengths to make that happen, includ- ing collecting thousands of recordings of winds moaning through structures of various kinds, like, creaking wooden structures," says Thom. To create believable ghost sounds, Thom and the Skywalker post sound team focused on their breathing. "The sound of breathing is incredibly important for almost any "creature" character, including ghosts," explains Thom. "We (humans) relate to the sound of breathing in primal, visceral, emotional terms." Breathing is a very malleable sound, and altering the tone, rhythm, tempo, dynamic range, and harmonic quality of the breathing can change the sound's emotional impact. Thom used Serato's Pitch 'n Time Pro to manipulate the breathing sounds. Since breathing sounds are an es- sential element of Crimson Peak's ghost sounds, Thom and his team needed access to numerous breathing options. "We collected just about every kind of wheezing sound you can imagine, from ourselves, our sick children, animals with respiratory problems, you name it. The more congested and sick it sounded, the more it enhanced the sickness at the hearts of those ghosts," he says. You don't have to hold your breath for Crimson Peak's release; it opens in theaters October 16th. PAN The tale of Peter Pan has been captured in nearly a dozen films, and on October 9th, there will be a new opportunity to visit Neverland. According to super- vising sound editor/re-recording mixer Craig Berkey, director Joe Wright's film Pan delivers an unexpected experience that is grounded in reality and yet more fantastical than the animated version. "It was our job to strike a very fine balance, which ensured the stakes were real and relatable yet the atmosphere supported the belief that a young boy could fly," he says. According to Berkey, director Wright creates distinct worlds and reali- ties by pairing visual and audio elements that, at first, may not seem like they would fit together. "In doing this, he gives me the leeway to truly experiment with sound. Amazingly, the results more often than not pay off in a truly inspirational way that builds upon the overall sound canvas we are creating." Warner Bros.'s Pan is loaded with visual effects and Berkey's involvement early on provided support for key se- quences still being developed. "Sound was used as a bridge to help bring life to imagery that was not yet in the picture, such as the fairies," says Berkey. He notes there was a substantial amount of visual effects work on Pan that was not ready until the very end of the post process. Often the late VFX were of unique items, such as the Neverbirds, crystals spikes and the pirate ship, so Berkey and his team had to just imagine how these ob- jects and creatures would look and move Berkey (left) did the final mix for Pan with Burdon (right) in London. Sound designer Randy Thom (inset) worked closely with Crimson Peak director Guillermo del Toro on developing the film's creepy audio tracks.