I just love these videos, I really do. So rarely does the window into the sound design world — which is doing so much work under the hood of the movies we love — otherwise open up, so I’m happy that SoundWorks has become a consistent institution providing that kind of portal to the public.
All that said, I hope the SoundWorks Collection has plans to evolve with time and perhaps start arranging for longer, more in-depth videos with these sound teams. Perhaps introductions to larger, more general concepts (location recording has gone largely unloved that I’ve seen) would be a good idea, while also aiming their spotlight at smaller films to show that as much thought goes into the soundscapes of those movies as do the giant blockbusters. There has been some variety on the site as they look into the sound of some video games and documentaries, but I would really like to see them dive in more energetically into a wider range of films and sound topics.
For now though, enjoy this look at a sound project as big as they come, for Chris Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. Obviously this film had a bit more attention focused on its sound design than usual, as the dialogue edit of Bane really riled some people up and resulted in a ton of armchair sound mixing from folks that have never touched a control surface…
The video doesn’t delve into that issue too specifically, but you still get an idea of the process along with a nice chunk where you hear isolated bits of the tracks for The Bat. Check it out.
SoundWorks Collection – The Sound and Music of The Dark Knight Rises from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.