OBJECTIVE:

• To design sound in a manner that delivers an experience as visceral as when you watch, when you close your eyes.

PROCESS:

With our clients at Ralph Lauren, we approached this project with the same attention to detail and desire to explore a rich range of emotional tones that we do with custom music. Thinking of ambient sound and foley in this manner allowed us to be more inventive in our approach. We worked closely with our sound designer Charlie Van Kirk, recording on the beach in remote locations, seeking out sounds that compelled our imagination and integrated seamlessly with the cinematic visuals. Ultimately, we sought to encapsulate this vision with sounds to score more granular and molecular moments, while also painting a larger picture of waves crashing and the general atmosphere of a shoreside scene.

There’s a frame in the film showcasing wine glasses on a table. Immediately we thought it would add depth to the sonic palette if the glasses rang as though the wind was blowing across them, causing them to resonate. Charlie and Executive Producer Alex Fulton set up a foley rig and recorded singing glass to highlight the scene. They then built a harmonic foundation, creating a chord with the singing glass, tuning, pitching, and mixing it in such a way that it would seem plausible that what you’re hearing is actually just the wind whispering across the glasses.

The added surrealism creates a moment that is fantastical and spontaneous.

Intentional and creative sound design, like music, has the power to take some of the weight of storytelling off the visuals and create a piece that resonates more true-to-life. It is attention to details like this that create not only beautiful works, but works that speak to the dimensionality of people and culture.