Best Sound Editing
Sound Editing is the
process of selecting and bringing together the sound elements such as Foleys
and effects of a film to be processed eventually for mixing.
As with the last
award, I will once again point out that sound is by far my weakest of studies
as a filmmaker and thus if I do not get this right, do bear with me.
Since this is a new
award that I am unsure of, let's get straight to it...
Vivek
Sachidanand and Jyoti Chetia for Phobia
It is in
the meticulous thought put into each simple and ethereal sound in Phobia, is
what makes the film.
Horror
movies are a relish for the technical aspects of filmmaking and those handling
them, especially sound where the vibe of the film is found and the
psychological plane created. It's the sound that helps inch by inch bring the
viewer closer to the picture and mesmerize and immerse them into the very
shattered frame of mind that Mehek adopts.
Phobia
hits an absolute haunting high not just as a film but as a genre masterpiece
[especially in Hindi cinemas oft derided horror genre] thanks to the simplistic
sound design that lets the silences remain scary silent while the sound around
play a game of minds with us.
This is
how film magic happens, when works like these come to fruition.
Vinit
D'Souza, Jyoti Chetai and Robinkutty for Raman Raghav 2.0
Fear is the game
that Raman Raghav 2.0 plays.
It helps that the
sound team is very much aware of the little ticks that amplify this fear.
In order to hold a
constant uneasiness and dread over situation and make that grip slowly tighten
over the audience, the design of the movie is very much minimalistic. Rarely
are the sounds in silences made profound, yet like the nimble cat that titular protagonist
Ramanna is; the sound floats across the screen and brims with stark pain once
shit hits the ceiling and chaos seeps in.
Thus, Raman Raghav
2.0 is twisted in a web of absolute fear that keeps us arrested.
Anirban
Borthakur and Subhash Sahu for Neerja
Silence
can only be profound and cathartic when it is marred in absolute chaos.
That is
the pattern with which the taut thriller Neerja's sound design works. In a
piece brimming with an absolute rush and panic, the sound of the film
consistently jars and interrupts allowing for the world of the plane and its
poor stranded hostages to come to life for the viewer.
Immersing
you with each heavenly strain of the airport to the complete mad frenzy of a
hijacking and all the way towards its climactic bursting shootout, Neerja hooks
one with the sound and never lets go; sinking the viewer into the terrible day.
It is
then that the truthful moments of silence Neerja has to contemplate her heroism
that shines through.
Great
sound immerses you into its world. The finest sound however goes beyond that,
in order to tell a story and this one does just fine.
Kunal
Sharma and Anuroop Kukreja for Udta Punjab
In Udta Punjab just
as drug scenes rush on screen, that expected swish or ting ting sounds of
snorting or hitting the syringe don't come into play.
It's the all
important sign that the film isn't looking to glorify the drug taking process,
nor is the sound edit going to rest on its laurels and clichés.
Just as the mix
crafts an ethereal connection between its divergent stories, the edit keeps
itself grounded in building the world of Punjab. The Punjab we never knew, so
while the sights and smells might be the same; it is the sound that excavates a
darker truth from within.
Without a reliable
score to elevate the tension and dreariness of the situation which once again
would have been an obvious route to go to, Chaubey's sound team comes to the
fore in elevating each and every emotion the film wishes to evoke; even
refusing to let the silences speak of emptiness.
It's a unique and
wonderful way to deal.
Ryan
Juggler and Anthony Prochaska for Parched
Unlike the very
vibrant rustic folk music that is littered through Parched, the sound of the
film is aptly dry [pun intended] creating for a well juxtaposed if not purely
mixed sound palette.
The very design's
high point is in a tender scene between its protagonists, as the painful score
smartly fades away and the little shuffling of feet, shocks, shedding of
clothes slowly and rubbing of medicine are closely followed; echoing with
profound pain and intimacy until they evaporate into silence.
Sound in the film is
the silent speaker, the side of femininity in the film as it plays around the
brash louder judgemental harshness around the narrative.
And the Winner is...
Vivek Sachidanand and Jyoti Chetia for Phobia!!!
Phobia makes it two for two in the sound department, a sign of things to come...you'll just have to find out!
Up Next: The final edit of a film is the film, so who wins Best Film Editing...does that one win Best Picture?
'Nuff Said,
Aneesh Raikundalia
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