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www.postmagazine.com 29 POST APRIL 2016 ZOOTOPIA Supervising sound editor/sound designer Addison Teague, at Skywalker Sound in Marin County, CA (www.skysound.com), was tasked with figuring out how to insert animal sounds into the civilized animal world of Disney's Zootopia — a world that is humanized but where humans have never existed. Since all the animals have evolved beyond their primitive predator/ prey instincts, they were able to build a complex society where even a 'don't-call- me-cute' bunny (the determined Judy Hopps voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) can become an integral member of the city police force. Zootopia premiered in US theaters on March 4th. Directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore asked Teague to integrate animal sounds whenever possible without being too obvious, to add texture without turn- ing Zootopia into a sonic zoo. "We have to walk that line and find the appropriate places to use those sounds. Moments that are really based on emotion, like fear or surprise, seemed to be the most natural place to put it because, as humans, our emotions are the most primal characteris- tics that we have," explains Teague. But Teague wasn't just limited to emotional moments. He discovered other places to sneak in animal sounds. For example, the animals have smartphones and Teague chose woodpecker pecks and chicken clucks for the text tapping, and the sound of birds flying away instead of the traditional email send whoosh. For the sheep driving a truck, they layered a 'baa' into the horn honk. "The limo that the bears ride in was created entirely from bear growls, but real car suspension was added to help ground it. These were all fun details to help create a vibe, without getting in the way or feeling gimmicky," says Teague. As they added animal sounds, Teague and his Skywalker team — assistant Lynn Sable and sound effects editors Lee Gilmore, Jack Whittaker, and Jeremy Bowker — were always careful to not take it too far. "One piece of advice from producer Clark Spencer was to always keep it reined in and not lose track of reality. The challenge was to keep the audience grounded," says Teague. The only time the post sound team would truly go wild with animal sounds was when the characters on-screen 'went savage,' meaning they transitioned from being humanistic into savage animals. Starting with the actors' vocal perfor- mances of grunting and struggling, they mined Skywalker's sound effects library for animal sounds that would match, and edited the elements together in Avid Pro Tools 12 to create a morph. "We'd use just a little bit of an animal sound at first and then it gets more aggressive until even- tually it transitions into just the animal sounds. That's one of those tasks where you need to work with the actor's perfor- mance and build around it," says Teague. For the sound of Mr. Otterton going sav- age, Teague reveals they used a recording of his dog, which he captured on a Sound Devices 722 portable digital recorder. "She makes a very great angry sound. It's a very different kind of sound." Zootopia is unique in that its city is divided into different habitats to accom- modate the animals' various environmen- tal needs. There's the icy snow of Tundra Town, and the burning sands of Sahara Square, the miniature mouse community of Little Rodentia, the dripping Rainforest District, the Meadowlands, Canal District, and downtown is Savanna Central. There are a number of complex systems in place, all built by the animals, of course, to pull off these fabricated environments. For example, there are sprinklers built into the Rainforest District's tree canopy. Initially Teague wanted to highlight the sprinklers turning on, but found that it took atten- tion away from the drama playing out. "There were so many opportunities to be creative throughout the film but it was about finding when to do it and knowing when to get out of the way of the story," Teague tells Post. One opportunity for creativity was in finding ways to connect the unique soundscapes they created for each habitat, sometimes connecting several habitats in a single scene. "Judy and Nick (a fox voiced by Jason Bateman) could move through multiple climates during one conversation. One of the reasons people are enjoying the Zootopia world is because the story unfolds within it, and the world exists around the characters, as opposed to spending screen-time just showing off the location designs," Teague feels. "It is an engaging story approach, and it allowed sound to create an immer- sive world, making the city come to life." RATCHET & CLANK With the words 'ratchet' and 'clank' in the title, you know the metal elements of this film aren't going to sound too sleek. Supervising sound editor J.R. Fountain, working with co-supervising sound editor Nelson Ferriera of Sound Dogs Toronto, Canada (www.sounddogs.ca), notes that director Kevin Munroe on the Focus Features release Ratchet & Clank, wanted the sound to reinforce the run down feel of Ratchet's planet. "His world is a blend For Zootopia, Teague integrated animals sounds whenever possible.