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Posted by on Jul 13, 2012 | 4 comments

“The Dark Knight Rises” – On the Sound Stage with Christopher Nolan

For someone who considers themselves the ultimate Batman fanatic (I freely admit, I’m a bit of nerd when it comes to this), just the opportunity to meet Christopher Nolan would have been enough. To visit the sound stage, where “The Dark Knight Rises” sound-mixing took place would have been enough. Even just getting to see the movie a few weeks ahead of everyone else definitely would have been enough. But getting to do all three? I don’t know if I can even put that into words.

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Posted by on Jul 4, 2012 | 3 comments

The Sound and Music of La Source

The SoundWorks Collection is pleased to feature an exclusive behind-the-scenes feature about the sound and music of La Source. Narrated by Oscar nominated actor Don Cheadle, Directed and Produced by Patrick Shen, Co-Producer and Co-Cinematographer Brandon Vedder, Composer Matteo Messina (Juno, Thank you for Smoking, Up in the Air), and Re-recording Mixer and Sound Design by Steve Bessinger.

In La Source (pronounced lah-soos), Haiti water does not come easily. Each day, villagers of this small, rural community must choose between enduring a long, treacherous walk to retrieve clean water or drink contaminated water from a nearby river. For over 30 years, the villagers have attempted to address this problem by constructing a means of channeling the water from a natural spring in the mountains, but with limited funding and an unsupportive government their attempts to provide clean water were to no avail.

Since he was a teenager, Josue Lajeunesse, along with his brother Chrismedonne have dreamt of remedying this problem for their people. In 1989, Josue moved from La Source to New Jersey where he found employment as a custodian at Princeton University. His custodial work and second job as a taxi driver, which total close to 20 hours a day, allows him to send money home to La Source so that he and Chrismedonne, a bricklayer in La Source, could properly channel the water from the mountain into their village.

Our journey to La Source takes us on an adventure as the Lajeunesse Brothers work together to rally the support of a group of Princeton students, a Los Angeles-based charity called Generosity Water, and the people of La Source to fulfill their dream of improving the conditions of their impoverished village. La Source is not simply a movie about clean water and community transformation. It is a story of one man, empowered by a vision, who was able to ignite the passion of people thousands of miles away to change lives in La Source forever. Where water runs, life flows.

lasourcemovie.com | SoundWorksCollection

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Posted by on Jul 4, 2012 | 0 comments

Randy Thom Interview

Liam Forrest put a few questions to the mind behind the sounds that enhance our movie going experience.

Randy Thom is a double Oscar winning sound designer and is the current director of sound design with Lucasfilm. He has spent over thirty years working in sound design and is one of the most highly respected sound designers in the film industry. For those who don’t immediately recognise his name you will almost certainly have seen films that Randy has been involved in, with his CV boasting such titles as The Incredibles, Forrest Gump, Ice Age 2, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

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(via soundesign)

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Posted by on Jun 27, 2012 | 2 comments

A Sound Life – Oriol Tarragó

Sound sparks your imagination, carries emotions, and takes you back to that special moment or to a place where you have not been before. Movies such as Blade Runner, Star Wars, Apocalypse Now or Grand Prix have used it masterly to create magic atmospheres that become critical to communicate the story. Iker Gil interviews Oriol Tarragó, sound designer for over 30 movies, about his working method, movie genres, his favorite movies, and what cities communicate through sound.

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Posted by on Jun 27, 2012 | 1 comment

The Sound of “Brave”

In this exclusive SoundWorks Collection sound profile we talk with Director Mark Andrews, Re-recording Mixer and Sound Designer Gary Rydstrom, Supervising Sound Editor Gwen Yates Whittle, and Sound Designer E.J. Holowicki.

Since ancient times, stories of epic battles and mystical legends have been passed through the generations across the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland. In “Brave,” a new tale joins the lore when the courageous Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald) confronts tradition, destiny and the fiercest of beasts.

Directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, and produced by Katherine Sarafian, “Brave” is a grand adventure full of heart, memorable characters and the signature Pixar humor enjoyed by audiences of all ages. The film’s voice cast features Kelly Macdonald, Julie Walters, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane and John Ratzenberger.

To make the most complex visuals possible, Pixar completely rewrote their animation system for the first time in 25 years. Brave is also the first movie ever to use the Dolby Atmos sound format.

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