Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1475409
40 I M PS E . O R G pitched the idea of me wanting to edit/ design/mix with their company. They were also the Indian distributor for DTS. SSS: Tell me about the four people that influenced you the most. BF: As a kid, my greatest influence came from Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese. By an early age, I was getting to see a lot of their work. Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., The Color Purple, Empire of the Sun, Hook, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List . Just with this list of films you notice something magical happening. With time, I am discovering the words "range," "depth," and "personal motivation." The pivot of my learning as a designer would be Jurassic Park. I just still can't imagine how Gary Rydstrom came up with the T-Rex roar. Now that's pretty insane and incredible! SSS: It is pretty incredible! BF: While working with Real Image Technologies who were the India distributors and licensees for DTS, I got a chance to work on edits, design, and film mixes. The licensing format was not restricted to Indian filmmakers wanting to mix their films, but also extended to localization mixes and to the theaters for exhibition apart from lab QC and print checks. Getting to experience 5.1 sound and the use of the multi-channel opened up a world of experimenting and experiencing immersiveness. Star Wars introduced me to science fiction and Ben Burtt's creation of the light saber amongst other things. Apolcalypse Now introduced me to the sheer genius that is Walter Murch. Images and sounds leaving an imprint somewhere in my mind without me being aware. Just like I had not known you had worked on Blackhawk Down till after we met on the Board. SSS: And I worked on The Color Purple, too. BF: Exactly! It makes me go "Oh man, I'm talking to her [Solange] every day... I get to talk to her and delve into the details of the creation." I am of this understanding that says no sound that we are ever creating is new. It's coming from, or inspired by, something that already has been heard, exists, or we haven't yet tapped into. To give you an example, when I was watching Dune (2021), 10 minutes into the film, I stopped and remembered messaging a director friend, "Man, we're not even scraping the surface (here in India), forget even being on the surface!" because it [ Dune] just sounded outstanding. My first thought was, how much of pre-prep has gone into this? I miss the pre-prep planning On the set of the critically acclaimed Netflix documentary House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths (2021).