I don’t really know how to summarise the sound for an entire film like I could for cinematography so sorry about that. Maybe I’m better looking at specific moments and trying to give you a vibe that way. But just to say, the entire film is very subjective. It’s very much from Ellis’ POV. We don’t see or hear anything he doesn’t and experience it how he would. And he is a broken man. He feels numb to the world. He’s fading away to nothing. I think the sound and visuals should probably reflect that. Everything should feel a little dead. A little bit flat.
Unfortunately I don’t have a full draft to show you, but we wanted make sure it was very obvious from the beginning that he’s the main character. So where the film before opened just with him meeting Kane in the carpark, it now opens with Ellis just leaving his apartment. And he’s a little bit out of it. It’s like he’s sort of trying to focus himself. He just stands there in silence, listening to the blood gushing in his ears. It’s uncomfortable and a little sickening, but numb.
And then as he starts to come back around to us, the sounds of the stairwell start to kick in. There’s a party or happy chatter going on in one of the other flats. And he just stands there for a moment, on his own, listening to them, muffled and distant having fun, while he’s cold and alone.
It’s maybe too much to do both and this very well might change, but I don’t know what you think about that. I liked opening literally hearing the inside of his world and then having the contrast of other people.
There are gonna be more tense scenes like Ellis sneaking up on Sonny. Things like this I think sound design is key to building the atmosphere. Look at No Country For Old Men.
The gunshots at the end of the film really need to pack a punch. I want to really heighten their sound design. I want them to sound like canons. Recently, I really enjoyed Jacques Audiard's adaptation of The Sisters Brothers. The guns in it really felt dangerous. That's saying something. Recently I've gotten board of gunfire, but the sound design of these guns really made a big impact on me. Unfortunately I can't find a clip of this online, but there is a good example in the trailer.
Juliet was fascinated by the idea of purgatory. It was really exciting to see her engage so strongly with the film. I've really enjoyed writing with Aaron, the DoP. So maybe it'd be a good idea to get Juliet along to a writers meeting some time as well; really incorporate sound and visuals into the storytelling as much as possible.
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