Designed For Sound | January 2016

“Every week we highlight a movie with outstanding sound, whether that’s for it’s importance to cinematic history, it’s creative use of sound or the sheer audio enjoyment factor of the film. Some might be obvious but we’ll be unearthing hidden gems too.”

Star Wars (1977)

© LucasFilm.Ltd

We begin in a galaxy far away with a title that has it all: the essential and very on trend Star Wars saga. Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) was the first film to be screened in 5.1 surround sound - I can only imagine the experience of being immersed in this world back in the 70s! The vast yet coherent audio universe created by sound designer Ben Burtt is a work of epic proportions that has transcended into Western pop culture like no other movie to date. So thank you Mr Burtt and Mr Lucas. And if you still haven't been to see The Force Awakens at the pictures, you won't be disappointed... Just make sure your cinema has Dolby Atmos sound ;)
 

Elephant (2003)

© 2003 New Line Cinema

Written, directed and edited by Gus Van Sant.

The film is a dramatic reconstruction of the tragic 1999 massacre at Columbine High School, as seen from the student's and perpetrator's view alike. It's one of those films where sound really tells half the story - but does it in a very unconventional way. Long tracking shots slowly follow the characters as they make their way through the school. What you hear is not always what you see. Without really noticing it, that juxtaposition between what the images are depicting and what the sound is telling you slowly takes shape, blowing the cinematic experience to another level. The wizard behind it all is sound designer Leslie Shatz, who following Van Sant's guidance cut in some of Hildegard Westerkamp's beautiful soundscapes, giving them and the film a whole new life.
 

Once Upon A Time In The West (1968)

© 1968 Paramount Pictures

A Western classic. Sergio Leone shot this after the successful "Dollars" trilogy, at the apex of his career and backed by a Hollywood studio. It's an epic story written by the brightest minds of Italian cinema at the time (Leone, Bertolucci, Argento...), complete with Morricone score and Delli Colli cinematography. The opening ten minutes sequence is entirely scripted for sound. The actual quality of the sound effects may be crude for today's standards but the way they are placed and used is an absolute masterclass in film sound and storytelling. It is no coincidence that the Scorseses, Tarantinos and Lucas of this world all cite this movie as an influence.

C'era una volta il West (original title) opening sequence via https://vimeo.com/pablovalverdebranas

Why Music?, Arvo Pärt and The Singing Neanderthals

After a busy string of back-to-back and overlapping projects I found some time to look past the console's edge. This led to a chain of great coincidences, reminding me how important it is to break the loop and have a wonder in order to refill the creativity tank.

I took the opportunity to start a book that had been on my reading list since the student days: The Singing Neanderthals by Steven Mithen. Published in 2006, it is a thorough investigation of the origins of music, advancing the theory that music is as important and unique to human development as language. It seems crazy writing it but before this work most theories had music as an off-shoot of language. The text is academically rigorous but written in an easy style, and the subject is so interesting that it's hard to put down anyway.

One day a few chapters into the book, I switched the radio on and there he was: Professor Steven Mithen discussing his theory on a live BBC panel. The constant output and sheer quality of programmes that the BBC produces is hugely impressive. The talk I tuned in was part of "Why Music?", the latest subject marathon at BBC's Radio 3 - a whole weekend dedicated to exploring the power of music and what makes music a vital part of being human. Quite on point. 

Over the following weeks I have been listening to as many Why Music? programmes as possible. And in one of those shows I got rewarded with the much mentioned spine-chilling sensation that only music can (safely) give you. The piece I heard was Arvo Pärt's Fratres. Apparently we don't all feel the same levels of emotion to a same piece of music so although this might not raise your back hairs, I'm sure you'll agree it's pretty damn good. 

Call me ignorant but this was my first encounter with Pärt's music. At least it was the first time I was made aware of this contemporary musical genius, as his music has been used in a few movies.

And so I went on an Arvo Pärt listening spree. Suddenly his name started creeping everywhere, like when you buy a red car and start noticing all other red cars. All the music I have listened so far from this man has blown my mind in some way. In some pieces I even hear shadows of the Interstellar score. He really captures the essence of classical music and adds a contemporary edge that works magic on my brain, to the point I can hear it affecting my work.

What music gives you that Tingle Factor? I'd love to hear it! Leave us a comment at the bottom.

Praises to the D50

The other day I heard a robin tweeting away on the studio's front patio and so I planted my Sony D50 recorder as gently as possible in an attempt to record it. Of course, i scared him (her?) straight off but I thought that if I left the recorder in place for a while he might come back. I shut the sliding door and carried on with the day...

Two days later, as we were gearing up to go on a family stroll to the local hills I remembered about poor old D50. There it was, still on the patio, unmoved, still waiting for the robin to come back. With my eyes closed I switched it on, fearing for the worst. When i re-opened them it turned out the memory was full and there was still one bar of battery (albeit blinking). Hurrah! She was still alive! I downloaded the files onto the computer but there was no time to check if the unit was working properly so I took some fresh batteries and left for our walk in the hills. 

I'm very (very!) happy to say that the Sony D50 worked perfectly. Here's a recording of a leaves rustling to a subtle breeze in the hills.

The D50 had survived two nights out there. Luckily it has been the one and only week in the year where we have had no rain, I'm not even exaggerating, but still Ireland's autumn nights are very damp. I've carried this recorder around the world for more than 5 years and it has always delivered. It has overcome tank pass by splashes in England's wet winters, a year of 100% humidity conditions in tropical Sri Lanka, sub-zero temperatures in the Swiss Alpes, scorching 45+ degrees in the Andalusian summer, sand storms in Xinjiang's Taklamakan desert and torrential downpours in smoggy Beijing. The batteries (4x AAs) always last more than you expect them to, and the quality of the recordings is far above decent. 

All my respects to this little recorder, probably the best of its class.

To finish off here's a recording of another group of patio visitors, taken that same day.


Do you have a piece of kit that has survived the odds? Let us know below. Have a great week!

Sound Postcard 04 // Cannes 2015

Cannes- undoubtedly host to the most glamorous film festival in the world. A week of premiers, private yachts and helicopters coming and going, as the film world's finest descend on a small town on the French Riviera. 

I was working there, but got to spend an evening soaking it all up- this is what it sounds like...

The poster at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival paid homage to Ingrid Bergman

First Time At The Pictures

I took my daughter to the cinema for the first time last week. We'd been thinking about going for a while, but wanted to wait until she was ready- and for a film to come up that would be good enough to go down in the record books as her "first ever trip to the movies". She's 2 years and 4 months, and was pretty excited about it!

Paddington is on at the Kids Club at our local picture house, (I'm thankful that I didn't have to be subjected to Peppa Pig The Movie)- which means the screening was chock full of little'uns, and I didn't have to worry about her getting bored or talking through the film. She was as much into the popcorn as she was the movie- but it was still a really proud moment for me! Her face when she saw the screen (the "Vewy big telly"), was priceless, and it's something I'll never forget.

 The film itself is really great- it's based in a magical version of London and is reminiscent of great old kid's movies like Mary Poppins. It's full of imaginative, colourful images and adventure- rather than the model-looking, stick-thin portrayal of heroes too often churned out by Disney. All in all, I'd recommend it, whether you have a kid or not.

Going to a cinema that is full of children is a great experience. There were lots of collective "Ahhhh!"s and "Oh noooo!"s- they get so into it, it's fantastic. It reminded me that film is, in it's essence, a form of story telling. Which is great to be reminded of if you've been subjected to a week of cutting horse hooves in a darkened room. We're definitely going to make it a regular thing.

Have you ever taken a kid to the cinema? Or do you remember your own first visit? Here's some links to a couple of recommendations, and also an introduction to Sound for little ones...

Have a great weekend!