Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1541592
68 M PS E . O R G been found until the mix, which happened on The Orator (2011, Dir: Tusi Tamasese) where FX mixer Gilbert Lake suggested it. It's never as simple as 'less is more'— the path to reducing to nothing has to be story and emotionally led and is rarely overt. But in screenings of those films, you can hear a pin drop. The intensity of the moment is focused by absence. When I was first asked to score a film that I was also doing the sound design for (The Orator), my approach was to constantly question whether we 'needed' music. I consider dominance of score to be a modern plague, but I didn't want to impact a film based on my own dogma or beliefs. I was always asking what best served the film. As The Orator is deeply set in village life, in nature, and in Samoan culture, it enabled me to enmesh a minimalist score in the sonic world of the film. This was made possible by multiple field recording trips to Samoa, where I captured ambiences, as well as musical elements. I'll never forget sitting with the village chiefs at curfew, as each family returned home and sang hymns. But this was not coordinated—each family sang whatever hymn they liked. So, there's me sitting outside with the chiefs, listening to these beautifully sung hymns echoing all around us. And the look on the face of the old chief when I gave him my headphones to listen… Again, the benefits of collaboration were revealed. I provided temp cues to the picture editor—not specific sync cues, but ideas and sketches—and they placed one of these in the most dramatic reveal in the entire film. And that cue remained unchanged in the final mix! We might never have arrived at that moment without that open form of collaboration. The second film I did with the same director (One Thousand Ropes, 2017, Dir: Tusi Tamasese), I requested an up-and-coming sound effects editor take over the sound design role so I could focus solely on the score. This film had a larger budget which enabled collaboration with an orchestrator, string quartet, and a choir. Hearing life breathed into my musical ideas, seemingly effortlessly, by such talented humans and then feeling its impact in the final mix. This was one of the most self-affirming moments in my life. As a sound designer/supervisor, I have always loved sitting in on mixes. I have always felt that's where a lot of critically important learning occurs, as we close the loop on aspirations, and arrive at what actually works best. For Palms and insect recording, Samoa for The Orator (2011). Curfew hymn singing at Manu Village, Samoa for The Orator.