Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1057439
C A S Q U A R T E R L Y F A L L 2 0 1 8 63 Looking at the tiny size of the room that Meyer had outfitted for Atmos demos, I did not expect it to sound very good, but I was proven completely wrong by Miles Rogers, who was showing off some material mixed by Will Files. The system that had been installed temporarily for the demo was Will's personal system, and it sounded fantastic even in a room the size of an editing room. Of course, with the smaller room, the sweet spot was fairly small, and if you sat in the wrong place, the subwoofer would sound much too loud. However, the speaker system was very impressive considering the limited venue. Avid was on hand in the Cary Grant Theater, showing off their 88-fader S6 console that has been installed in the room and used on many feature films. The demos were very well attended. MEYER SOUND DEMOS AVID S6 DEMOS Each year, the Sound Reel Showcase continues to be a highlight of the Sound for Film & TV event, having essentially replaced the old Academy "Sound Bake-Off." This year, the films shown covered a wide range of styles, including A Quiet Place (supervised by Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn), Goosebumps 2 (supervised by Sean McCormack and David Esparaza), Deadpool 2 (supervised by Mark Stoeckinger), Jane (supervised by Warren Shaw and Joshua Johnson), Black Panther (supervised by Steve Boedekker and Ben Burtt), Operation Finale (introduced by supervisor Scott Hecker), Venom (supervised by Will Files and Kami Asgar), and Mile 22 (supervised by Dror Mohar). SOUND REEL SHOWCASE Composer Ludwig Göransson and re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor Steve Boedekker discussed the sound of Black Panther for a packed room. The main takeaway from this panel is that the sound of Black Panther was totally grounded in the African culture. Everything was designed to have its place with the sound effects complementing the music. Steve Boedekker said that the music mixes itself and that the sound effects followed the lead that Ludwig created with the music. For example, the waterfall fight scene was brutal and timeless and that is what the music and effects together aimed to convey. Ludwig Göransson, the composer, had worked with the director Ryan Coogler on his two previous movies, Fruitvale Station and Creed. From those collaborations and the fact that Ryan never puts in a temp score (only the composer's demos), Ludwig started composing from the very first script. Ludwig went to Africa for several months to immerse himself in African music. In that time, he met Baaba Maal, a prominent African singer whose voice can be heard in the movie. He recorded him and many other African musicians both drumming and singing. In fact, during the last day of recording in Senegal, Ludwig spent three hours recording African vocal sounds that he used throughout the movie. Most notably, the whispers you can hear when the movie goes underwater. The score is a combination of traditional African music (lots of drums, especially the talking drum), a lush orchestra, and hip-hop with lots of 808 sounds. Ludwig spent a year thinking how he could combine the orchestra with the organic African music. The sound effects were added as a complement to the music. Natural African sounds were embedded in many of the sound effects used. An African bird sound was used as part of the flyby of the flying craft and drums were part of the weapon sounds. As part of the fight sequence, actual African challenge rhythms were used in the drumming. Altogether, an amazing collaboration of music and effects was realized even before shooting. THE SOUND OF BLACK PANTHER MODERATOR: Glenn Kiser (director of the Dolby Institute) Dorothea Sargent (left) with Karol Urban CAS MPSE OBSERVATIONS BY Peter Kelsey CAS