Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1521562
C I N E M A A U D I O S O C I E T Y. O R G 27 with some pitch-shifting and enhanced it with whooshes, adding well-thought-out layers to create the sound that they were looking for and that would work for the story in harmony with the FX, music, and dialogue. "You have to understand the frequencies. We do a lot of pitching, a lot of harmonizing, a lot of EQ, and even add some light reverb, like Altiverb, to give some depth to the Foley so that it doesn't sound like it's right in your face and it fits nicely with the other elements. If it sits in nicely and complements sound effects, then you've succeeded to fill in the holes. Sound designers put the sound on the wall, the tiles, and we're the grout in between the tiles." Foley helps with the finesse and enhancement of cut FX. For example, for the sequence in the LEGO Spider-Verse, they used real plastic things, over-the-top and bigger-than-life elements to match the Spider-Verse. The Foley team were very careful on the selection of the wardrobe and footwear of each character depending on the universe they're in. They wanted to preserve details like backpacks, suit movements, metal gear, etc. The shoes were very important, and they always tried to stick with the same shoe for specific characters on screen. However, if the characters go from a wood surface to cement and then they're on metal, from experience, they knew that they might have to adjust for a clickier heel to obtain the right sound. "So, it's about experience and knowing what's going to poke through and how it's going to play. I enjoy what I do, I love my craft, and I get really excited about the projects because they're all different. And although our contribution sometimes isn't played or noticed as much, because a lot of times it gets squashed by sound effects and music, we put a lot of effort in the details. And in the areas where it does poke through, it's gratifying to hear your work and the contribution we bring to each project," Randy admits. Back on the dub stage, one particular scene that Juan and Michael highlight is the museum with the Vulture during the first part of the movie. "We thought that particularly worked well. There's a lot of dialogue happening, a lot of sound effects, and the music is just constantly going. We feel we got a good balance and left the audience wanting more [but] not exhausted." This is also the scene where they introduce Miguel and Jess. Miguel blasting in trying to take over and then Jess blasting in with her motorcycle. "That was super fun to mix because it just had a lot of good punctuations, good dialogue, and good music. And then at the very end, there's that rock song when Gwen is saving everyone from the falling helicopter. I thought that was just fantastic. So that was a fun scene, took a while to mix, [but] it feels like you're on an adventure." For them, the key was weaving the sound components around. Just easing the music down slightly to avoid pushing other elements and keeping the overall sound at a reasonable level. "If you're paying attention, you hear certain things. Sound is helping you through some elements of the story and maybe giving you hints about the future." One example of this is when you hear the glitches or even the spider web, which are present most of the time but stand out when there's something specific to them in a scene. Michael concludes: "I want to thank the CAS for recognizing the sound of Spider-Verse. It is an honor to be considered alongside the other nominees in this category. It was a beautiful event. Thank you all for making it such a special evening. I can't wait to hear next year's movies!" Thank you to the team for sharing their experience with us and congratulations for the spectacular job in creating the sound of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.