In a film where every bump, word, and moment of silence carries weight, sound becomes more than just background noise. It's part of the tension built into every scene, like the creaking foundation of a very creepy, maze-like house. Today, we're looking at Beck and Woods' Heretic, a psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant that follows two young religious women entangled in a dangerous game within a stranger's house. Sound designer/sound supervisor Eugenio Battaglia and Emmy-nominated re-recording mixer Michael Babcock were tasked with building an auditory landscape that amplifies the story's spiritual unease and more immediate earthly dangers. Although Battaglia and Babcock were both busy in different booths on the day we spoke, they were kind of enough to jump on Zoom and talk us through their playbook for this unique story. Heretic is a dialogue-heavy film that also utilizes big moments of silence—how should beginners try to find those moments themselves? What advice do they have for people new to sound?Find this out and more below. - YouTube www.youtube.com Editor's note: The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.No Film School: How do you approach the use of sound to build suspense?Babcock: The sound is one of the top things Scott and Bryan, the directors, were able to use to build that tension. Hugh's performance and the story in general get darker as the movie progresses, the story progresses. And the sound's doing that, the sound keeps getting darker and darker.So pacing-wise, things got more aggressive, things got...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Yesterday