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www.postmagazine.com 22 POST JULY 2018 SUMMER MOVIES BIG ACTION SOUND AND PICTURE SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO GETS THE BIG SCREEN TREATMENT FROM AUDIO AND VFX PROS ummer is blockbuster season. It's the time when studios bring out their big- gest, coolest, most action-packed films. This month is the perfect time to hit a Dolby Cinema theater, or an IMAX theater, to see and hear these films the way the filmmakers intend- ed — on a big screen and with immersive sound. Seeing blockbuster films in the theater is an experience that you just can't replicate at home. Here, the post sound talent on Sicario: Day of the Soldado talks about the benefits of enjoying these films in the theater, and teases some exciting scenes that will rock on the big screen. BIG SOUND There are four reasons to see Sicario: Day of the Soldado in theaters — Benicio Del Toro. Large- caliber weapons. Efficient butt-kicking. And, explosions. All those ingredients make for a big action film that deserves a big-screen viewing. And don't forget about the big-action sound. "We take a lot of extra time and work to bring the most dynamic soundtrack to a movie. For some- body to watch a big movie like Sicario: Day of the Soldado at home is a disservice to the industry because you don't get the whole experience when it's not on the big screen. You don't get the Atmos sound. It's a whole different thing," says supervising sound editor Alan Murray of Warner Bros. Sound (http://www.wbsound.com). He's joined on the film by Warner Bros. re-recording mixers John T. Reitz (dialogue, music) and Dean Zupancic (sound effects). Murray and Reitz both worked on the first Sicario, which earned three Oscar noms, including one for Best Sound Editing. While that film was a more narrowly-focused, lone-assassin story, Day of the Soldado opens up in a broader story with action scenes that are twice as big. "This one is pretty much Benicio Del Toro going against the whole cartel and the corrupt Mexican police," jokes Murray. Okay, so it's not all big action. "It's a lot of tension-building with quiet tones, with sound design and music that alert you to something coming. Then it explodes in your face. There are a lot of peaks and valleys because of the tension in the movie." Zupancic feels the dynamics of the soundtrack are really a part of the storytelling. He explains, "The dynamics that are built into a soundtrack are a big part of the creative process, and really part of the story. We are telling a story with sound in a theatrical environment and it's the director's vision that we are conveying. You're never going to get the same visceral feeling in your home that you'll get in a theater environment, in the environ- ment that the movie was mixed in." Reitz adds that the dynamics in a theater are so much better than the dynamics in a living room. "We mix the home version a lot differently than we mix the theatrical version. We try to push every- thing up so you end up losing the dynamics in the home version," he says. One scene that's sure to rock the theater is the convoy ambush in reel four. What starts out as a 'quiet' drive — as quiet as you can get with a group of trucks and military vehicles that is, turns into an exciting shootout. The 360-degree environment in which the ambush takes place was a perfect opportunity to use the Atmos surround S Josh Brolin Benicio Del Toro