OVP: Best Sound Editing
The Nominees Were...
Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis, Drive
Ren Klyce, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty, Hugo
Ethan van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom, War Horse
My Thoughts: I feel like every discussion of the Sound Mixing and Sound Editing categories at the Oscars inevitably leads to a discussion of the difference between the two film arts. I'm going to briefly dive in, in hopes that it drives further discussion into which of these films most deserve their nominations. From my understanding, the Sound Editing category recognizes the sounds that are created specifically for the films-traditionally these were the sound effects, though it includes anything that is artificially made for the film. Sound mixers put these films, along with the sounds from actually filming and the musical score, into the movie for the finished product. So, for example, if you are appreciating the clanking metal of the Transformers, you are appreciating its Sound Editing, and if you like the balance that that sound strikes with Steve Jablonsky's score and the conversations between Shia LaBeouf and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, then you're appreciating the Sound Mixing. We could get into a more detailed analysis, but I think for the purposes of our discussion, that's sufficient.
It's a question mark how many Academy members understand this difference (though considering they're in the film industry, I'd hope it's a majority). The best way to test this theory is to look at the one "odd man out" first-the only film to not also score a Sound Mixing nomination, the car chase-infused Drive. One could make the argument, in fact that, Drive has the Best Sound Mixing of any of these films (good lord that song score is just epic, and perfectly brings together every scene), but it's easy to see what brought it to this particular category. The car chases are strong-the cinematographer helps by bringing us along in extended car chase sequences, and you can almost feel the cars beneath your seat-the shifting of the gears, the accelerated noises as the speed shifts speeds, but not necessarily when its at breakneck (where wind would likely overpower your ears). The pop of the guns-the movie plays so deftly with the noises we're expecting to hear, and then adds all of these touches-this is a man who knows how to handle a vehicle, and the sound editors make sure the cars are purring when handled by his gloved fingertips.
Hugo, instead of having cars to rely upon has the grinding of clocks and the suddenly awakened robot to show off the sound editors' skills. I loved how everything seemed to sound like a movie projector rolling-particularly the robot coming alive for the first time. The way that the sound editors animate the robot is definitely the film's aural achievement in created effects, but I have to also recognize the clocks and the gears that are forever a-buzz. With a film this reliant on special effects even in its more mundane scenes, it's hard to know when the Sound Editors are ending and the Sound Mixers are beginning, but with such a rich tapestry coming at your ears, you know that both are on solid footing.
And now since we've hit Hugo, it's time clearly to talk about The Artist (kidding, kidding-even the Academy didn't love it that much). Instead, let's take a sojourn over to War Horse. I included the above picture on purpose-while I suspect that most of the horse sounds were filmed while actually filming, the guns and cannons were not, and the movie smartly focuses on a tinnier, brassier quality to this artillery of old. While the products at the time would have been made new, they also wouldn't have included plastic, but a sturdy metal ringing in the ears. You can hear the echo of war throughout all of the battles, and it continues to ring in your ears scenes after you've left the fighting.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I swear, is not a film I mean to keep picking on-it's not an awful film by any stretch of the imagination, and I promise it's not because I know that Fincher can do much, much better (he can, has, and likely will again, but that's not the point); it's because it's not in the same league as these other films. Dragon Tattoo's better comparatively in Sound Mixing, when the sharp juxtaposition between soft and loud is better able to build atmosphere. Here, though, the Sound Editing seems questionable in trying to deduce its worthiness as a nominee. Unlike its four competitors, it has no particular effect to hallmark it, nor is there a consistent pattern of superiority throughout the film-the gunshots, rustles, and bumps in the movie are largely forgettable and routine. The sound that first springs to mind when recalling the movie is a harsh wind, which was either the Sound Mixers doing or seems like a relatively easy effect in comparison to the work on display in War Horse or Drive. Either way, it seems an indulgent choice when other films were far better in this department.
Finally, we have the movie many of you, I suspect, are expecting to take the trophy. Say what you will about the Transformers movies (lord knows I have), but you have to hand it to their sound department-they have created a distinctive tenor to their movies. Think about Bumblebee or Megatron moving from vehicle to transformer-you hear that sound quite distinctly just from your imagination, and it's not a sound you confuse with another effect. They own it, and with the introduction of multiple new characters and weapons in this movie, they get to further make their mark. The sound and visual effects are almost worth the price of admission, though it'd be nice if Bay thought enough of his audience to throw a less preposterous plot at them, considering they're financing his next G-IV jet.
It's a question mark how many Academy members understand this difference (though considering they're in the film industry, I'd hope it's a majority). The best way to test this theory is to look at the one "odd man out" first-the only film to not also score a Sound Mixing nomination, the car chase-infused Drive. One could make the argument, in fact that, Drive has the Best Sound Mixing of any of these films (good lord that song score is just epic, and perfectly brings together every scene), but it's easy to see what brought it to this particular category. The car chases are strong-the cinematographer helps by bringing us along in extended car chase sequences, and you can almost feel the cars beneath your seat-the shifting of the gears, the accelerated noises as the speed shifts speeds, but not necessarily when its at breakneck (where wind would likely overpower your ears). The pop of the guns-the movie plays so deftly with the noises we're expecting to hear, and then adds all of these touches-this is a man who knows how to handle a vehicle, and the sound editors make sure the cars are purring when handled by his gloved fingertips.
Hugo, instead of having cars to rely upon has the grinding of clocks and the suddenly awakened robot to show off the sound editors' skills. I loved how everything seemed to sound like a movie projector rolling-particularly the robot coming alive for the first time. The way that the sound editors animate the robot is definitely the film's aural achievement in created effects, but I have to also recognize the clocks and the gears that are forever a-buzz. With a film this reliant on special effects even in its more mundane scenes, it's hard to know when the Sound Editors are ending and the Sound Mixers are beginning, but with such a rich tapestry coming at your ears, you know that both are on solid footing.
And now since we've hit Hugo, it's time clearly to talk about The Artist (kidding, kidding-even the Academy didn't love it that much). Instead, let's take a sojourn over to War Horse. I included the above picture on purpose-while I suspect that most of the horse sounds were filmed while actually filming, the guns and cannons were not, and the movie smartly focuses on a tinnier, brassier quality to this artillery of old. While the products at the time would have been made new, they also wouldn't have included plastic, but a sturdy metal ringing in the ears. You can hear the echo of war throughout all of the battles, and it continues to ring in your ears scenes after you've left the fighting.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I swear, is not a film I mean to keep picking on-it's not an awful film by any stretch of the imagination, and I promise it's not because I know that Fincher can do much, much better (he can, has, and likely will again, but that's not the point); it's because it's not in the same league as these other films. Dragon Tattoo's better comparatively in Sound Mixing, when the sharp juxtaposition between soft and loud is better able to build atmosphere. Here, though, the Sound Editing seems questionable in trying to deduce its worthiness as a nominee. Unlike its four competitors, it has no particular effect to hallmark it, nor is there a consistent pattern of superiority throughout the film-the gunshots, rustles, and bumps in the movie are largely forgettable and routine. The sound that first springs to mind when recalling the movie is a harsh wind, which was either the Sound Mixers doing or seems like a relatively easy effect in comparison to the work on display in War Horse or Drive. Either way, it seems an indulgent choice when other films were far better in this department.
Finally, we have the movie many of you, I suspect, are expecting to take the trophy. Say what you will about the Transformers movies (lord knows I have), but you have to hand it to their sound department-they have created a distinctive tenor to their movies. Think about Bumblebee or Megatron moving from vehicle to transformer-you hear that sound quite distinctly just from your imagination, and it's not a sound you confuse with another effect. They own it, and with the introduction of multiple new characters and weapons in this movie, they get to further make their mark. The sound and visual effects are almost worth the price of admission, though it'd be nice if Bay thought enough of his audience to throw a less preposterous plot at them, considering they're financing his next G-IV jet.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Golden Reel Awards which separates its nominees between feature and animated films (animated films, and Pixar in particular, has done well here in the past, and so it bears mention that Golden Reel nominees Cars 2 and The Adventures of Tintin were probably strongly under consideration here). The Sound Editors skipped War Horse, and added in Hop, Priest, Super 8, and The Tree of Life to its slate of nominees, and ultimately gave the trophy to Hugo.
Films I Would Have Nominated: There's little comparison to the Sound Editing on display in The Tree of Life. They convince you they're creating the universe, for Pete's sake! Since The Tree of Life is a place I seem to be returning to with some frequency, I'll also mention that Rise of the Planet of the Apes, with the constant use of animal sounds and inter-species war cries, is also a worthy inclusion if you'd like to skip Malick's brilliant movie.
Oscar's Choice: Oscar, like the Golden Reel Awards, picked the stirring mechanisms of Hugo for their awards.
My Choice: I'll go backwards this time-clearly Dragon Tattoo is in last place. Next, I'm going to go with a bit of an upset and pick Hugo-I just don't feel like it's quite at the level of the other three films, though it's most directly competing with War Horse, my third place-I guess I'm more of a sucker for a cannon than a clock. That leaves the giant sound work of Transformers and the balanced car shifts of Drive. I'll admit quite readily that I debated between the two (and tried to keep the fact that Oscar-winning Michael Bay film is all kinds of wrong), but I think on its sole merits, I still would go with Nicholas Winding Refn's film about one man's trip into purgatory. The sound work in the film may not be as complicated, but it interacts better with the audience, and more appropriately, the character's actions. It's considerably easier to turn the volume up and amaze when you have giant transforming robot aliens in front of you-it's another thing to do that with something as run-of-the-mill as a car. So, my vote, and my trophy, goes to Bender and Ennis for Drive.
And now, of course, I welcome you to discuss in the comments-of the five films, what movie deserved the trophy? What films should have been nominated? And of all films in 2011, which had truly the best Sound Editing?
Also in 2011: Original Score, Original Song, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume, Editing, Visual Effects, Makeup, 2011 Recap
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