Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1541592
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S 61 What films for you demonstrate this concept of "great" sound? How often do you hear it? I love the anticipation and total suspension of disbelief when getting caught up in the narrative of a film. That's the appeal of cinema to me, and why in many ways it is the ultimate art form. While it's often overt sound design that is most noticed, I relish the moments where I can feel myself being gently manipulated by sound and it is usually reductive techniques that really get me. Restraint and subtlety often impress on me far more than loud complexity. I enjoy adrenalin like every human with blood coursing through their veins, but those quiet moments where emotional shifts occur are as monumental to story and human connection as any action scene. "The sound of a kiss is not so loud as that of a cannon, but its echo lasts a great deal longer." –Oliver Wendell Holmes Looking back on your own career, have you ever achieved what you call "great" sound? There has been a common thread through the films I most enjoyed working on, those which felt fully realised and went on to be meaningful and loved by audiences. And from my perspective, the common thread was committing to a project early, before the shoot started. It shows a depth of understanding by the filmmakers of the contribution sound design makes but it also has so many positive implications for my work. One example was the film Boy (2010, Dir: Taika Waititi). It's a very personal film, set and shot in a beautiful, remote part of Aotearoa* where Taika grew up. After reading the script, I noted a bunch of opportunities that were seasonal and if I didn't go and record them straight away, the opportunity would be long gone by the time we all officially started work on the film. (*JW's note: Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand.) Some scenes are set in a vast cornfield, and apart from recording it for the film, I wanted to experience it with my own ears. This provided the initial motive to visit the shoot, and as it was a day's drive away, it meant I did as much recording as possible while I was there. Visiting all the locations for the film and recording them provided specific material to work with but it also informed my aesthetic choices. Similarly, accessing the quirky vehicles - Listening to a mix replay of Orator – (O le Tulafale) at Park Road Post.