Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1475409
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S I 31 every scene of his—finding little ways to improve and augment his performance. Viggo and Colin Farrell's accents could have been tricky as they're not your standard RP or cockney but a regular, normal, un-movie like English accent. They do sound just like the real Rick and John; it is thoroughly impressive work. The film was shot in Australia so some of the key Thai actors live in Australia and their Thai has an Aussie accent to Thai ears. This was crucially important to Ron to get right. So, in total seven main Thai characters needed either completely re-voicing or re-recording while working with an accent coach. The biggest challenge from a dialogue point of view was saving as much production dialogue as possible…but seamlessly merging it into what was so much ADR! When diving, it is hard to get the performances of the main actors across. It is really those actors the whole time, no stunt divers were used, but all you can see is their eyes so vocal efforts and rate of breathing is how we know what they are feeling, how difficult or tense things are getting. This sets the pace for the action in the underwater scenes. MA: Let's talk about the first dive with the Thai Navy SEALs where they lay the initial guide line. It's the audience's first look into the submerged cave. We get hit with the full intensity of the powerful water running through the cave, and we also have the distinct sound of the guide line that always has a distinct presence from then on. Can you talk about putting this scene together? OT: We looked up the properties of sound in water when the project was first mentioned, and discussed this with Ron on that first Zoom call. Sound travels four or five times faster in water than air, so it's much harder for us to determine where a sound is coming from. We also don't actually use the normal channels underwater, but instead we hear using the bone behind the ear via conduction— it means the balance of frequencies that we experience underwater are very different, and lacking the open feeling we're used to. We were keen to recreate that feeling so decided to go with a diverged stereo sound for most of the elements, and to recreate the altered frequency range. We're all so used to elements being accurately panned, it was a gamble to scrap it and go with a very diffuse, diverged soundscape. Those early scenes were important in establishing that sound convention, and also how dangerous an environment it was. The Thai Navy SEALs were experienced open water divers, but cave diving demands a different approach. We hear them being hit by heavy currents, silt is obscuring their ability to see anything past a few inches, scuba tanks clanging as they bang against the sides of the tunnels, elevated breathing rates telling us they are using up their air too quickly. The sound of them clutching on to guide line is there throughout, and is literally a life line to safety. The ADR ended up being 550 cues in total. I saved whatever I could from production, but sometimes you just need to accept that ADR is the only way to go. –Rachael Tate