Sound Design Assignment

For my analysis of the sound design for a film, I chose Interstellar directed by Christopher Nolan. When I first saw this film in IMAX I was blown away by the sheer intensity of the sounds in this film. My seat rumbled and my ears were blasted with sounds of space travel. Hans Zimmer score is truly a marvel but what about the other aspects of this sound design are worth noting. Interstellar is an interesting case because the sound mixing/design came under scrutiny after the initial viewings. Many complained that the sounds and score would blare too loudly during moments of key dialogue. It became a heavily debated topic with some including Nolan himself and Richard King (sound designer) defending its unconventional techniques. In fact they even put a notice on the studio website that this was intentional and that they mixed it so it would be optimal for an immersive movie theater experience. Some movie theaters had to put disclaimers that dialogue issues were not their fault and that it was something they could not fix due to complaints from movie goers (Wik). For me personally, I did notice this problem in one scene only. During Dr. Brand's death scene he is revealing the true nature of their expedition to Jessica Chastain's character, during this the music swells up to the point where you can barely hear this reveal as it drowned out by the intensity of the score. Zimmer's score is really something to be commended , but its grandiose and epic swells make it hard to hear dialogue in a few other scenes too. Not all is bad though, in fact I think the sound design is truly incredible. One scene that really stands out is when the crew first enters the wormhole. Zimmer's primary instrument was a 1920s organ that provides some very eerie and beautiful sounds during this pivotal moment in the movie. The initial take off scene where our main protagonists leave Earth was an impressive moment in regards to sound. The blast off quite literally shook the entire theater and was clearly mixed to be as loud as possible. The astronauts dialogue can be drained about a little bit, but in this scene it makes sense as we are focusing on the fact that our characters are embarking on their journey to save Earth. All in all I found the sound design to be incredible for Interstellar despite the criticisms. Hans Zimmer score and Richard King's work should be commended.


Work Cited
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_(film)

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/christopher-nolan-breaks-silence-interstellar-749465

JPEGMafia Playlist

After listening to JPEGMafia's playlist I was impressed by this artists wide range of taste. As an avid fan of JPEGMafia I was happy to learn more about some of his musical influences. I was tempted to choose all 3 JPEG songs on this playlist because of how much of a fan I am but I decided to mix it up. The first song I chose is from another one of my favorite rappers at the moment. I had never heard the song "LIe4" by Danny Brown but I've been listening to him for a bit. I absolutely loved it, it was gritty, fun, and had me excited for that "Income tax swag". Danny has remained one of the most interesting voices in Hip Hop and this song it proves it. The ominous clacking drums mixed with Danny going berserk is music to my ears.

Next I had to discuss one of my favorite Jpeg songs: "Thug Tears". This song is so absurd and wild it's just impossible not to appreciate the production on it. I describe it as "what would happen if a computer infected with a virus made a beat". Its completely all over the place yet still has a melody. As the song goes on the bass just kicks up and JPEG gets borderline violent talking about making people cry for their dead dad. It's comical but also something you can bang your head to. This is the exact reason I listen to this guy and why his live concert was an insane experience.

Lastly I wanted to kick it old school a bit. I listened to Prodigy's "Return of the Mac". As an avid Mobb Deep fan I was excited to see this as an option. It starts off with a funky bass line and has some interesting samples shouting in the background. It laid back and bar heavy with not as much aggression as a JPEG song. But the aggression doesn't always have to come from the delivery because these lyrics are still cold as ice. It shouts out the motherland of NYC and just has the perfect old school vibe. Im glad JPEG has an appreciation for the classics.

Pet Sounds and Revolver

After listening to both of these albums in their entirety, I was real blown away by the quality that TIDAL offered. Switching through the different settings really made a difference and it made me feel like I had been robbed of so many different sounds I was missing thought my Apple Music subscription. In regards to the albums themselves, they honestly felt way ahead of their time. The techniques they used in the recording studio mixed with Tidal's quality settings made for a transcending experience into a new dimension of audio that I had not experienced before. My favorite song on Pet Sounds was one I already loved but found even deeper appreciation for after listening through Tidal. "Wouldn't it be Nice" is a lovely anthem with some beautiful vocals from the band. The way the sound traveled across my head in a 360 motion was awesome. In Revolver I can most definitely hear the influence of psychedelic drugs on tracks like "Submarine" and "Eleanor Rigby". They are trippy and fun but really bring you into a whole new world.