Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1261193
BAYLON FONSECA: From the moment The Cave starts, the sounds sets a mood and tone for what we the audience should expect. Can you elaborate on how this decision came about? PETER ALBRECHTSEN: The opening of a film is always incredibly important, as it sets the tone, the style, the environment of the film. The opening of The Cave is extraordinary in this regard. For me, the opening really encapsulates the journey of the film. You start with hearing urban city sounds, a bit of music in the distance, suddenly the bombs explode, vicious, violent, brutal, and from there we move from the horrendous, loud war over ground to the creaking sounds underground, to the fragile quiet breathing—and all this happens in just a minute or so. It's very dynamic and unpredictable. It causes the audience to know that they are entering a world where anything can happen. The opening also has some abstract sonic elements. When the camera travels from the bombings on the ground BY BAYLON FONSECA MPSE to the underground, I used some ultrasonic recordings of the human body, the sound of blood rushing, a heartbeat. It's a way of showing the audience that this will also be a very subjective sonic experience. You're hearing the world from the inside out. It was very important that everything felt real and realistic. The explosions couldn't just sound like a big Hollywood sound effect but instead had to feel very impactful. So instead of having a giant booming sound, you're hearing a lot of what happens when a bomb goes off—the rattling, the ground shaking, dust and dirt flying around, sirens going off. And then there were the layers of distorted sounds to give one the harsh feeling of reality. All these textures make the explosions seem very scary and physical. During our discussions, Feras told me about how the local church would start ringing their bells when the bombings began. It's extremely evocative. I don't think many people have noticed, but I love this little detail in the sound. A glimpse of beauty in the middle of hell. BF: Can we talk about how you came about to be involved with the documentary? Let's talk a little about your first meeting with Feras Fayyad. PA: Feras Fayyad and me met in the beginning of 2018 to talk about the project. At that point, Feras was just starting with the picture editing. He had a very clear vision of the sound design. He wanted it to be immersive, very emotional, and a physical journey. He knew sound would be a very integral part of the storytelling—so much of the film is about things we don't see but only hear—so it was very important that we developed the sound for the film alongside the picture editing. He wanted the audience to feel what it was like to be in the cave. We wanted sound to be incredibly emotional. To touch you in a way that goes beyond words and logic, to touch you deep inside and making the experience both beautiful and brutal, poetic and visceral. BF: How did the vision for the sound design evolve from this meeting to the final film? Photo courtesy of National Geographic A Journey Inside the Soundscape of The Cave with Sound Designer Peter Albrechtsen