I recently had the chance to chat with Jad Abumrad, creator and co-host of WNYC's Radiolab. Each episode of Radiolab explores ideas in science, technology, and the universe at large through a seamless blend of expert interviews, sound design, and music. Together with co-host Robert Krulwich, the show has covered topics such as sleep, colors, cities, and loops, just to name a … [Read more...]
“The quieter it is, the more you hear!” – Chuck Michael on the sound for Stoker
Sound is the most invisible part of the film. That’s probably why it’s quite rare for the sound of a movie to be mentioned in the press. But it happens, fortunately, and the film Stoker is a great example – this latest work by acclaimed Korean director Park Chan-wook premiered at this year’s Sundance, and since then the prolific and powerful sound design has been getting a lot … [Read more...]
An introduction to Alvin Lucier – and his impact on the sound of Se7en
Better late than never. Last month’s theme at Designing Sound was Acoustics but one person we really wanted to include during July had to get moved slightly – so here is a belated feature on one of the world’s true pioneers when it comes to exploring acoustic phenomena and auditory perception: Alvin Lucier. The American avant-garde composer was born in 1931 and composed … [Read more...]
Interview with Wayne Pashley – The Great Gatsby
Guest Contribution by Abigail Sie The Great Gatsby was an unusually long sound post-production process. How long did the sound mix take? Just under three months, it was quite a long haul. A lot of that really was logistics in the way of rethinking, re-conforming the pre-dubs and integrating new material with the edit as the picture changed and was updated throughout the … [Read more...]
Nathan Johnson on creating a sound-based score for Looper
I caught up with Looper's composer Nathan Johnson to talk about the dynamics between his sound-based score, the sound design of the film and between himself and director Rian Johnson. What follows is part of the transcription of our Skype conversation. Can you talk about the dynamics between your sound-intensive soundtrack and the sound design of the film? For any movie, I … [Read more...]
The Sound of Looper – Interview with Jeremy Peirson
I contacted Jeremy Peirson, the sound designer for Looper (2012), to talk about his role in the best received time travel movie in a very long time. What follows is a transcription of our phone conversation. Enjoy! DS: For our theme on the site this month we're talking about "time," and I though it would be interesting to talk about Looper (2012) as a time travel movie and … [Read more...]
Nicolas Becker – Behind the Art
We’re getting very close to the end of 2012 and there’s been lots of brilliant sonic experiences in the cinema throughout the year. One that really stood out, though, was the latest adaptation of Wuthering Heights by the English director Andrea Arnold with wonderfully textured soundscapes created by the French sound designer Nicolas Becker. Nicolas has worked as a foley artist … [Read more...]