Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1487730
So, within the DNA of Fury Road is the actual sound from the first three Mad Max films which the Big Bang Sound team meticulously laid up. LV: It was definitely a homage. There are not many projects where you can go back in the chain of iconic films to 1979 and resurrect the sound. JW: How much do you rely on Foley to contribute to your sound tracks? One memory I have in particular is John Simpson adding "dust falling on foliage" in Kiss or Kill. It was like magic dust. WP: I find Foley to be so important because it gives the detail of the characters—whether they walk with a limp or a cane, or whether it's their dress or jewellery—Foley magically bring the characters to life. It also really helps with dialogue. Where there might be extraneous signal to noise from the shoot day, Foley can help save a lot of production dialogue. LV: It is like magic sprinkles, I agree. It's the minute detail that you don't even realise is bringing a scene to life, whether it's the tinkling of earrings or the sound of someone's bracelet. In Elvis, there was a great slow-motion shot where he's kissing an audience member and he's got a gold chain in his hand. Most of the sound disappears, but you hear the tinkle of the Foley chain and it's just beautiful. It makes you zero in on that shot. JW: In films such as The Gatsby Gatsby, Mad Max: Fury Road, etc., how important is the authenticity of sounds? Do you always have access to the props used in a film? WP: We always try to get our hands on the props. When it comes to films like Gatsby, which is set in the 1920s, the production had gone to a lot of trouble sourcing authentic props, such as old electric fans, typewriters, and clocks, and we borrowed these. The same went for Elvis; they had incredible props from the '50s, '60s, and '70s. Before a film wraps production, we talk to the producer to gain access to all that stuff, so our library is authentic to the production and to the period. When it comes to vehicles, it's the same thing. Whether it's Gatsby or Australia, we recorded the vehicles prior to starting sound post production. On Fury Road, as I mentioned before, these were unique, hand-built vehicles. The recordings that Ben Osmo gave us were the foundation for those vehicles and formed about 80% of the finished product. So, authenticity is very key because it lends a truth to the story you're telling. It helps ground the film and the story in a reality. LV: When I think of prop recording, I always think of Daisy Buchanan's dress (from Gatsby). I remember the costumes arriving and barely being able to lift that dress… WP: The Swarovski crystal dress. LV: And everytime you moved it, it sounded like a chandelier. It was just incredible. The props were so integral to the sound design. WP: Those props and dresses from Gatsby were recorded by us as a sound design element, not as part of the Foley. And we edited those sounds specifically for given moments. JW: Wayne, I've noticed recently you've started to be credited as a re-recording or additional mixer. How did this come about? WP: I've always loved mixing and I do a lot of the temp mixes. On a big film, I prefer to have distance from hands-on mixing so I can just listen to the story. When you're mixing, you tend to be highly focused on what you're doing rather than the bigger picture. But recently, I've been doing so much in the way of temp mixing myself, I felt I may as well follow it through to the end. Fabian Sanjurjo recording Daisy's Swarovski crystal dress, BBS, The Great Gatsby (2012). Photo by J. Ward