Original subtitles

[Music]

sound design is uh you know it's it's

it's it's another it's another tool it's

another form of expression and because

we react to sounds on a kind of Primal

level um it works a little bit the way

Music Works um a lot of composers will

tell you that music works because it's

actually emulating um sounds of nature

but in a harmonic way uh and a way that

might be more beautiful or more melodic

but the sounds you know whether it's

percussion or wind instruments uh or or

or synthesizers are creating sounds that

we relate to on this kind of Primal

level of course we feel that way about

uh you know all kinds of sounds and

whether it's a music cue or whether it's

a a moment of sound design uh that

repeating sounds can tell you something

tell you to to anticipate something

because that's what's that's what we do

with sounds all the time you know if if

you're in a house and you hear a strange

sound what was it if you're out on a

street and you hear a sound that's

unexpected you know you wonder if

there's a problem uh if if uh you know

you walk into a into a nature reserve

and suddenly you know it's the sound is

open and the wind is moving and it's

very soothing you know so it's it's uh

the Great Sound designers are always

going back to those sort of Primal

reactions

[Music]

great sound

design often begins in the editing room

because the editors will start to put

together a scene and they'll recognize

that um what's missing here is an

element of shock and the edit is in the

right place but maybe the moment's not

as effective as it should be and they'll

often put in a sound that will help you

know prove that the edit point is is

correct and you know and and and the

moment is startling if you have a sound

that sound is is a temp but then your

sound designers will take those demands

those ideas that sort of template and uh

and creatively work their magic and

great sound designers and and sound

editors are you know they're like

they're like sort of like record

producers you they they you know they

they know how to use technology they

know how to record sounds I've I've done

you know a number of boxing scenes and

they will record

punching uh

cantaloupes uh you know uh sides of raw

meat uh and and or or or you know or

like strange things like um you know a

foam wall that kind of makes a a sound

the there are all kinds of subliminal

ideas that's what's so interesting about

sound design is so much of it works on a

subliminal level and uh you know there

there are there are lots of times where

there's a completely unnatural sound

introduced into a scene but it has a

huge impact um The Silence of the Lambs

is famous be because it sort of invented

this idea that every time you that jod

Foster would go down uh into elor's

layer into the cell they would just

start this kind of cranking low grade

rumbling kind of sound it was it was it

was subliminal you really could barely

barely discern it but it just it just

made you uncomfortable and it just

created a a sort of a a background uh

sometimes um you know the animal sounds

can be used under what a truck driving

by or who knows what it's wide open and

it's a it's an area for for Real uh

invention and of course you can always

come back to the literal because we live

with literal sound um you know all all

the time we all have a you know a good

solid sense of you know what's normal

the magic comes in you know what's not

normal and

yet does not distract us from you know

immersing oursel in a scene when I say

us of course I mean the audience

so much of what the editorial order of

shots um um depend upon or the the right

music cue the right sound effects or the

removal of those things at Key moments

to make the scenes really work and of

course the director has to be aware of

all this too and ultimately have the

have the final opinion but there the the

sound it's it's not just where the sound

is but it's the level that the sound is

played at it's the way sound can travel

in a in a theater from speaker to

speaker to speaker and what that means

to an audience um you know it's it can

be uh thrilling if you feel like you're

you're sort of seeing you know something

fly past you and you can also hear it

move around it can be frightening if

it's behind you I mean again uh it it's

always about the the the choices here

are the tools here are the possibilities

what do they mean to what to the story

what do they mean to the reaction to

that story and how do they influence it

and uh the answer to that question is

always going to be the answer to you

know what should we do next as

filmmakers it's you want to you want to

make the choices that are most effective

on behalf of your story reach the

audience in the ways that you want to

reach them you know we we had had a

silent movie that won an Academy Award

here a few years ago for best picture

and deserved it uh so all of these

choices um the wall of sound a single

sound um you know uh full

surround um single speaker in the front

they're all valid they're all valid

black and white you know color 3D you

know they're all valid the question is

what works best for your story and

that's you know again always comes back

to the director uh what should it be how

shall We Tell this story uh and that's

why I thrill at the collaboration of

being able to turn around to people who

are Specialists love what they do and

say what do you you know what do you

[Music]

suggest dialogue you know is you record

it on the day with the actors but that's

doesn't necessarily mean that's the end

of the story of the dialogue in terms of

the process of making the the movie or

the TV show uh you know you you you have

a chance to go back and work on that you

can lower the pitch of the actor you can

heighten the pitch you can slow it down

a little bit you can speed it up uh you

you can uh re-record it and um and

therefore make it louder or make it

softer or change the performance you can

go back to the actor and show them a

scene and say you know we need to soften

this or this needs to be stronger or I

don't feel the intensity let's try it

again and see what we can do verbally

and so the all these things in

post-production the editing the music

certainly um the sound design the mixing

the sound effects uh the dialogue

editing the dialogue mixing all these

things come together in ways that um you

know they put the finish on the movie

that it's like it's like a house that's

wellb built but you know it it needs to

be sanded varnished and painted uh and

and post- production is all about

putting the finish on the on the project

in a way that uh you know it's it's

going to be presented its absolute

Optimum