Drag Me to Hell

Sam Raimi is back! Well not like hes actually been anywhere as hes been caught in the web of Spiderman since the turn of the millennium, but hes back to doing what he does best. A kick ass horror movie.

'Drag Me to Hell', sees Raimi return to the bonkers horror genre he created with 'The Evil Dead'. Sometimes jump out of your seat scary, often laugh out loud hilarious, its a rollercoaster ride of a picture that has you invested in the action from start to finish. The film centres around pretty young do-good girl Christine (expertly played by Alison Lohman), who while trying to impress her boss commits the fatal faux-pass of crossing a gypsy and falling under a deadly curse. What transpires from then on in is a feast of gross-out action, big scares and all the Raimi signature visual and audio treats; even the classic oldsmobile gets a nice big chunk of screentime.

But what about the sound?

From the moment we meet we meet the gypsy I knew what was in store. Disgusting foley fx accompany the old lady removing her teeth, as she steals sweets and begs for help. Even though she is helpless, this gross out audiology sees us as routing for Christine to break her goody two shoes mold and kick the old lady to the kerb. Big mistake as we're about to get cursed and suffer all the hell the girl goes through!

This film is LOUD. I can't remember the last time I went to the cinema and heard a film crash from the speakers like Drag Me To Hell Does. The surround mix is excellent, unsettling creaks and crashes surround us as our girl is visited by the Demon - silence is also used expertly, pre-cursing the moments before we are thrust out of our seats by wave after wave of horror and increasing cacophonies of noise. All the Raimi sound signatures are there; the highly processed inane laughter a la Evil Dead, the perverted pitch shifted voice of the Larnia and the disgusting audio accompaniments to the frequent projectile vomiting sequences.

So if your film fan who enjoys cinema at its most fun and absorbing, I highly recommend you catch 'Drag Me To Hell', especially while its still in the theatre. And before I go..........

Want to hear some of the sounds? Head here.

Researching the Foot Chase

I've recently been conducting some research for some film shorts I'm producing with some film-making friends. One of these films would consist of a intense foot chase through varying locations, which of course lends various expectations and possibilities for the soundtrack if the film gets produced. I will be keeping a diary of my research for these films here on the blog, so you can get an idea of all the processes that I consider when thinking about sound design for film.

For this particular film, the director and myself have been routing back through our film collections to find the pictures that have those classic chase moments - and we've come across some classics. One of my favourite foot chase scenes occurs in the first ten minutes of 'The French Connection', where two New York cops, played by Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider, chase a criminal through the streets. The soundtrack consists literally of footsteps, clothes moving and heavy breaths. Their is no music, so the pace of the scene and the tension for the audience is created solely through these very close up effects, drawing the viewer into the desperation of the chased to escape, and the hunger of the chasers to catch him, even though we view the action from a relatively wide angle. The French Connection also features one of the greatest car chases ever commited to celluloid, which you can watch here:

Next up, we headed straight for 'Tell No One'. For anyone who hasn't seen this film, it has quite possibly the most dramatic sequence of someone accessing their email you will ever see! We headed straight for our favourite sequence though; a foot chase which takes us across a busy motorway, through a street market, before culminating in the Parisian projects. The sound design, foley work and editing in this sequence is incredible; the way it cuts between scenes as we travel through the busy street markets and through restaurants, and the intense dynamics as the protaganist escapes the police and causes a multiple pile up on the motorway in the process. The attention to detail is superb ( just check out the sound of the police bike skidding on the floor!); and one of my favourite pieces of sound editing in films in recent times. The film itself is also exceptional; catch it before the penned American remake comes along in 2010. These two films have certainly wetted my appetite for working on a chase scene, and I look forward to any suggestions I recieve on what other source material I should check out. I shall leave you now with the sequence from 'Tell No One'; but only watch this if you don't want to spoil the film!

The Coffey Audio Files

The Coffey Audio Files is a free online magazine produced by Coffey Sound, and generated solely by audio professionals. Its an essential read for anyone interested in film sound, and you can get immersed by downloading current and past issues, here.

Robocop Rebooted

News has been flying around on the grapevine that 80s ultra-violent classic Robocop is being lined up for a remake, and MGM have confirmed this by releasing the above poster with the film pencilled in for release in 2010. This isn't so much of a shock given the current trend for the 1980s and the relaunch of film franchises such as Rocky, Batman and continuing discussions regarding a new Ghostbusters film, but what IS shocking is who is apparently behind writing and directing duties.....

Darren Aronofsky.

Speaking on the Howard Stern show while promoting The Wrestler, Aronofsky confirmed he was working on the script, but wasn't sure it would go ahead. Well it seems that the movie is going ahead, but whether Aronofsky will take the reigns is another thing...

Still judging by the delectable sound design on Aronofskys past features such as Pi and Requiem for a Dream, I for one would be quite excited by a hopefully darker, and sonically challenging approach to proceedings that Aronofsky would surely bring. There will be skepticism at another twist on what has become a tired franchise, but I really think Aronofsky could bring a Dark Knight-esque twist to Robocop, which would be very exciting indeed. From a audio guys perspective, the possibilities for fun sound wise with Robocop are endless, and I can't wait to hear what sounds would be laid down to accompany a Aronofsky take on the genre, considering my love for his previous films. Whether it would keep the ultra-violent tendencies of Verhoeven is debatable though. Lets just hope it doesn't turn out to be WALL:E with guns.......

Pro Tools Preference & Database Trasher

For anyone that uses Pro Tools will know, the best way to solve 90% of problems you encounter is to trash your preference and database files. Now you can go the long way round and locate them in your macs library, or you can download this handy app that does all the work for you! Interested? Then you can download it, here.