Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/407863
43 NOV-DEC 14 / CINEMONTAGE effect on the ship. We used the oscillator sweeps and the sand groan as our major elements for this." Although he was unable to reproduce the sand groan himself, King had an old recording from a friend that worked out perfectly. Re-recording mixers Gregg Landaker (music and sound effects) and Gary Rizzo, CAS (dialogue, Foley and radio transmissions), collaborated with King in creating the film's specialized sound. Landaker is also a three-time Oscar winner (Speed, 1994; Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981; Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, 1980), who worked on Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises (2012), while Rizzo won an Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for his work on Nolan's Inception (2010). They were assisted by recordist Ryan Murphy. "Chris plays peril pretty well through contrasts, both visually and sonically, from the largest of large environments to the smallest of small environments," Landaker offers. "On Earth, it's very windy and dusty. We also have huge 400- foot tidal waves on a water planet, magnificent glaciers on a cold planet and, when we are in the safety of the ship, we have nothing but the production track to hear." The score by Hans Zimmer is also an integral part of the sound design, according to Landaker. Various overseas studios were visited to record pipe organs that could reproduce a low enough note to compliment this thread of low frequency throughout the movie, which is utilized to build tension and move the audience like it's on an emotional roller coaster. "There is no percussion in the movie," Landaker explains. "It's this strange music that Zimmer created in very close collaboration with Nolan." For the music alone, Landaker says he received two dozen 5.1 tracks, and notes that Nolan didn't want an Atmos mix on the film: "He doesn't like overdoing the Surround sound. We used a wide score instead." After a lot of experimentation, it was decided not to use any of Zimmer's score during the wormhole thrill-ride sequences — which Landaker calls "a heightened reality" — because it competed too much with the sound effects and could not live in the same spectrum. "What was unique is that what you see has been scientifically proven by astrophysicist Kip Thorne," Landaker says. "His documentation helped shape the look and sound of the wormhole. Traveling through it, we get beyond intense shaking; we sonically change the atmospheric pressure inside the cabin of the ship, and you have a visceral experience through the manipulation of the low-end elements. It was a total collaboration between sound design and mixing, and evolved throughout the entire mix. There were elements that Richard brought and EQ'd at the console to make that theatre shake, to feel like you were on that journey with them. That ship is wafer-thin and is in constant danger of coming apart." Sound elements used in the wormhole sequence ranged from a roller coaster to banging objects to lightning bolts. "We experimented with the speaker systems to find those resonant frequencies that made it feel like the theatre was coming apart, or that your chair was going to come unbolted," Landaker explains. Adds Rizzo, "We were always seeking merciless low end, one that was interesting and would create a uniquely physical experience for the audience. It needed to be suffocating without being murky. Richard brought us many kinds of fantastic, resonating, low elements — especially the sand groan — and they were so compelling that even with our immense, low-end manipulation at the console, the character of each track was still present, and we were able to generate a remarkably colossal sound." Nolan didn't just want to know the sound levels, according to recordist Murphy. "He wanted the vibrations, to feel the movement in the room, and the danger of what that sound is — the actual pressure of the sound to give this sense of impending doom in space as you're going through this stuff. The mixers were able to find these tones and these frequencies that they could ride, asking, 'How can we make this sound dangerous?'" The wormhole went through a lot of changes over 10 weeks to get the sonic sound pressure that is not hurtful to the ear. "It's all in your chest and makes you stop breathing," Landaker explains. "Just think of taking a car with no suspension and hit speed bumps at 80 miles per hour. It's going to rattle your teeth." According to the mixers, Nolan sat with them on the stage from morning until evening, going through the mix. There was no pre-dub time. Day Richard King.