Sometimes a film just sticks with you. There is something about it that grabs your attention and doesn't let go. I remember sitting in the movie theater, it was dark and quiet, what we were watching had been ok up to the point we were at. I also remember the moment when I knew I wouldn't forget this movie by the end of next week.
The screen exploded in gunfire. Gunfire that had never felt so realistic to me. I wasn't just listening to a gun be shot, instead I was feeling it. Like the butt was on my shoulder and I was pulling the trigger. The sound design of Zero Dark Thirty had the sole intent of pulling the audience into life and war in the middle east. It was meant to put you at the edge of your seat and maybe even to make you a bit uncomfortable. The dynamics were, and to this day still are, unforgettable to me. Even when some of the plot points and characters have faded away, the stark difference between moments of near silence and the seat shaking explosions have never left.
Paul Ottossonn, Supervising Sound Editor, described some of the techniques he used to build the special effects tracks. First, the score in the film is very sparse, leading to a lot of empty space to fill with SFX (as I noted earlier with the difference of loud and soft, a lot of this was achieved by not having music involved.) He also used mostly mono effects for the purpose of keeping the separated so you can pinpoint them in the mix. A great deal of effort was to create a soundscape that captured the area surrounding the scenes, to the point where they had to imagine what would be happening blocks away from the action. Ottossonn also describes the thought process behind the character driven scenes. If an actor was supposed to be stressed, he would narrow the mix and make everything feel confined, where as all environmental sound would be stripped away completely if a feeling of aloneness or solitude was being conveyed.
ADR was limited in the film as well. If you remember my first post, I said artificial mistakes are sometimes included or a gritty look is tried to achieve realism. Production audio was mostly used because it sounded grittier than ADR. The actors were stressed and tired and this would have been difficult to fake in the studio later on. Almost every scene in the movie also had foley added to it. This included sound effects for each character present, and then was panned and shifted accordingly to create an even more in depth environment. One of my personal favorite effects in the film was the sound of the stealth helicopter. The only time you ever hear the sound of a real helicopter is when it is far off in the distance and is more of a humming sound. This is what the real helicopters sound like, but they aren't very action movie oriented. The sounds of blades and rotors had to be synthesized to raise the intensity.
Ottossonn is the truest form of a Hyper Realist sound designer, and he is always thinking about how to toy with realism to elicit emotion from the audience and to push scenes as far as possible. I would recommend seeing this movie if you haven't to really get a sense of his style, or check out The Hurt Locker (which was also his work) for another similar experience.
I find this post to be very interesting. Sound design is something I'm always paying attention to when I watch a film or even a television show. I have seen this movie once in a home setting, so I didn't get the full theater experience that you got from it. I do remember noting the dynamics of the film though, even in a home setting. You point out the lack of music in the film. I think that both film and TV are moving more towards this hyper realism soundtrack than ever before. I first took note of it in television series. TV isn't an area of sound design where you would necessarily expect hyper realism, but you can really see a shift happening in how sound is dealt with in this medium. In older sitcoms and shows you are constantly bombarded with intrusive sounds such as cheesy music, laugh tracks, or applause tracks. The first show that really stood out to me that changed this was The Office. There was no laugh track at all and any music was sparse. Soon after, you started seeing more shows pop up with this more "real" sound behind it. An audience can really connect better without all of this intrusive sound. I feel that this is similar to how you feel about this film and the lack of music. The audience can get drawn in more because there is less to distract. The audience can determine their own feelings about the scene, whether it be funny or uncomfortable to watch. This is one of those "less is more" type of sound designs which, in my opinion, is a growing trend in the profession. Thank you for your in depth look at the sound design of this film, I'm going to have to revisit the film and check out some of the sound in there again.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Ryan, sound design is one of the things I am always paying attention to when I watch a film. And I am absolutely a fan of more minimalist soundtracks, aimed at being more immersive. Yea, a symphonic score is generally beautiful and can establish an emotional connection with the audience, but nowadays I think people are looking for a more immersive experience. One of my all-time favorite movies, "Brick", has a very minimalist score and instead focuses more on using sound effects to set the scene (if you have seen the film, think of the straw scene at the diner). And what music is included is very abstract. For example, the main thematic music (used in the opening credits) sounds like it is being played on tuned glass bottles. If you haven't seen the film, I highly recommend it.
ReplyDeleteAs for the gunfire aspect of SFX, I have to say Zero Dark Thirty is closer to "realistic" than most films. I still remember seeing the film and having that same reaction to it. Presently, I feel like gunfire sounds too synthesized and processed. I recommend watching Heat and the Miami Vice film with Jaime Fox and Collin Farrell (not particularly fantastic but the sound is more authentic) for great gunfire sounds.