Filed in: camcorder cloverfield film sound jj abrams matt reeves sound design
The Cloverfield Perspective
If you live in the UK and you didn’t watch Cloverfield on Channel 4 a few weeks ago, you missed out. I love the Blair Witch inspired camcorder style and the fact it daringly portrays Manhattan in a state of panic less than a decade after New York was attacked on 11 September. I think this post is spoiler-free, so read on.
You know what else I love about Cloverfield? The sound (what a surprise). The style in which Cloverfield is presented allowed for some quite simple, yet satisfying uses of sound. The ‘camera-man’ in the film is Hud, who’s voice is sonically different to the other characters - his voice has a fuller frequency range which is technically accurate, but because Hud is also our narrator (since he has the camera) his clear close-miked voice benefits the audience - his voice cuts through the sound mix to allow us to hear ever nuance of his voice, even when whispering - through his narration we ‘see’ what is around him, when the camera can not. The only time we are sonically shown a glimpse of what is happening to the city outside of the main characters is when the military makes it’s first appearance and we hear nothing but gun-fire and engines rolling past the group. Perspective is used to keep what is happening in the city away from our ears to keep the focus on the group of friends, trying to make their way across the city. There are no cutaways of action happening elsewhere; gun-fire is often distant, and only when the action is in arms length of the camera do we feel it’s impact on the soundtrack. Despite there being a fair amount of action in Cloverfield, the sound is much more subtle throughout the film. It’s all about the perspective of this group of friends and the sound filling-out the image, with suggestion of what is happening outside the viewfinder of the camcorder.
Of course, if you really were stuck in a city with the military being attacked by a massive alien sea-monster, your crappy camcorder microphone would turn most sounds into clipped unrecognisable noise… but that wouldn’t be a very good film.
Matt Reeves is directing the remake of Let The Right One In, which I think is a silly idea. The original is absolutely amazing and I can’t remember there being an American remake of a foreign thriller, sci-fi or horror which I enjoyed more than an original.
Ryan
