This
project was lots of fun to work on, but definitely a tall order on the
sound effects front. Having been tasked with building all the
backgrounds and ambiences, cutting all sound effects, and building a unique tapestry
of design for the many flashback sequences in the film, I broke each task down into smaller sub-tasks in order to avoid becoming too
overwhelmed. The first step was to create the world for the film, so to
speak.
Thankfully, the story favored very naturalistic
and lush settings rather than urban and human-infested ones. This is
great for a backgrounds editor, as it gives one much room to stretch
sonically: Dense, haunting and echoey forests. Dry and dusty,
windswept fields. Hollow, ghostly barns. I love that stuff, and if the
cinematography is good (which thankfully it is!), then its easier for me to hook into the material.
My approach to backgrounds for "Saints and Soldiers" involved cutting
thick, rich layers, while accenting key "events" in a scene to make the
moments pop. A rushing river set in a dense forest. A fly buzzing in
and out of frame as soldiers make their way across a hot prairie. A
lonely wind howling through the planks of an abandoned shed. When timed appropriately against the dialogue, incidental sounds (distant bombing, single bird or cicada, etc) can really help enhance the soundscape.
There
is a particular interrogation scene in "Saints and Soldiers" that takes place in a deep,
"overcast" forest, with lots of branches swaying and wind blustering.
It's beautifully shot. Daunting and bleak, and a perfect place for
sound to really heighten the tension of the moment, as well as
provide a voice for one of the lead character's internal conflict.
Sorry, can't say much more without revealing too much!
Okay,
so backgrounds are done at this point. After delivering them to Carlos, I then proceeded to tackle one of the more detailed,
intricate and precise tasks of the film: The Weaponry.
Gunfire,
bullet impacts, bullet ricochets, bullets whizzing through air, bullets
hitting tanks, walls and people, gun cocking, rifle bolt action, tanks,
grenade launchers and mortars firing, missiles impacting. There are several
tasty firefights throughout the film, all of which had lots of different perspective shifts to keep the audience engaged. Of course, one cannot
do a weapons pass without covering the bodyfalls, debris and explosions as well, so the first official pass of sound effects was extremely hefty and super detailed. I don't even want to
think of the number of late nights I put in for this one!! By this point, my brain was mush, but I was having a great time!
For
my second sound effects pass, I covered everything else. Dog vocals, doors, military
transport vehicles, German and American fighter planes, tanks, camera
clicks, etc. I also designed character-specific elements meant to get us in and out of the American soldiers'
flashbacks. By this point
in the process, I was able to pull the uncut Foley into my session and use it as a guide to see how much had been adequately covered and
what could still use an extra "umph" from the sound effects.
I delivered the rest of the material to Carlos to incorporate into his mix session, and soon afterwards, I began a subsequent pass of fixes and tweaks, as well new adds for the recently-delivered final visual effects (which included new visuals on airplanes and bullet tracers).
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Saints and Soldiers Audio Post Production Crew |
As of this writing, the final mix for Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed is just about done, and I've got to say that I'm very happy with what Carlos Sanches has done with the dialogue, music and sound effects. All the different elements blend well quite poetically, and the big sound effects dance well with the heroic and nostalgic score (courtesy of the talented J Bateman). The
experience was amazing for me, partly because of all work I was tasked with on this film, but also because I got the chance to work directly and indirectly
with seasoned, creative and efficient audio professionals whom I admire. Big thanks to Carlos for getting me involved with this project, and thanks to John Sanacore and Alex Ullrich for some really great-sounding Foley! I'd also like to thank Ryan Little, Gil Agluare, Adam Abel and everyone else at Go Films for letting me be part of the experience!
Many blessings.