Shindler's Site: Your Audience is Listening

Although the image is always the star in an LF film, sound plays an important co-starring role, not a supporting role, as some may believe. After all, to use Mr. Lucas’ expression, the audience is listening.

Not long ago, Hollywood’s "event" films were usually presented in selected theaters in 70mm. One main reason: the larger film stock allowed for six-track stereo sound, enhancing the experience and boosting the box office. Even with films originated on 35mm stock, and thus lacking the superior image quality of a 65mm neg, most audiences could tell the difference in sound quality. LF producers and directors have always known that sound makes a difference in the overall enjoyment of a film.

Today, most multiplex theaters have digital sound, and few if any conventional films are released in 70mm. Not only is great sound available at the neighborhood theater, home theaters systems with surround sound are becoming common. These facts, and the imminent deployment of digital TV, mean that LF producers will need to become more creative in order to remain competitive.

The purely commercial fare on the horizon will demand new sound techniques. Capturing sound for LF dramas will be a challenge, since the giant cameras are typically too noisy to permit sync recording on set. Sound will have to be created, and not just your standard foley stuff. I expect that a whole new level of innovation will be needed, leading LF directors to borrow techniques from the conventional film business.

To get a perspective on the process of mixing sound for LF films, I spoke with Gary Summers of Skywalker Sound. Summers has worked on at least 26 LF films, which may be a record. Among them are Olympic Glory, Mysteries of Egypt, Special Effects, and Grand Canyon. He also happens to have won a few Oscars^®.

Summers says he approaches 35mm and LF from basically the same creative point of view: it’s a matter of bringing entertainment to the audience. He starts all LF work with a lot of planning. A solid understanding of the scale and grandeur of the picture is vital.

His advice to LF filmmakers is to not overdo the amount of narration and to do a temporary mix, including score and narration, in advance. This will help the entire creative process and in the end make for a more economical sound budget.

Summers applauds the mainstream filmmakers, such as Frank Marshall, who are making the transition to the giant screen. He says that Marshall’s contribution to the soundtrack of Olympic Glory was significant.

John Miceli, co-president of Soundelux Showorks, based in Orlando, FL, specializes in creative and technical audiovisual services for theme parks and special venues. The company’s credits include Flyers, Rainbow War, Speed, and To Be an Astronaut. Miceli believes that in the future conventional cinema will take advantage of the incredible advances that have been developed for special venue presentations. He expects the cinema experience to change in ways never before imagined – large screen, staging, editing style.

According to Miceli, LF, and especially 3D, require a mixing style distinct from conventional features. "Sound has a much larger ‘depth of field’ in the 3-D environment and detailed nuances are very prominent once you put on the glasses. This is why we have made it a habit to always mix in the actual venue where the project will be viewed."

Mike McDonough’s LF credits include Olympic Glory, Amazon, and Special Effects. He also worked on the last two Star Trek features. He recalls Special Effects as one of the highlights of his career. The challenge wasn’t just re-creating the sounds of the films featured in the movie, but working for director Ben Burtt, an Oscar-winning sound designer. It must be tough working for someone who may know your job better than you do.

McDonough’s latest challenge was the sound design of Island of the Sharks. While feature films usually have a few scenes shot without sound (MOS in the jargon), most of IOTS’ underwater scenes were MOS. This forced McDonough to create an entire world of sound from scratch.

Mike’s approach was a combination of dry and wet foley. For example, when the giant manta ray moves, it’s virtually silent. Mike added a subtle "whoosh" that fills an otherwise noticeable silence. To re-create the sounds of the sharks, foley artists used props to create low-frequency sounds that convey the animal’s size. Wet sounds were recorded using a leather glove over an underwater microphone, to attenuate the high frequencies.

IOTS director Howard Hall says it is easy to underestimate the cavernous size of LF theaters when planning a film’s soundtrack. He is pleased with McDonough’s finished product.

In the end, movies are a fantasy world, bringing the audience to places they have never been. Sound is a medium of imagination that can make or break the pictures on screen. Remember, your audience is listening!