Masterclass: Aural Hygiene
09 October 07
Sound editing is often overlooked or misjudged as an important skill for the screen. Award-winning Eddy Joseph explains the 3D world of sound to Anwar Brett.
His late father Teddy, who rose to become an experienced producer on some of Britain’s best films, nevertheless warned Eddy Joseph that working in the industry wasn’t really a safe career option.
“He said that he didn’t want any of his offspring entering the film industry,” Joseph nods, “and he was right, it can be the most precarious thing. But the funny thing is that my brother Richard, who died earlier this year, was a really brilliant BAFTA-winning games designer and composer, and my younger brother Patrick runs The Mill. So we all went into it in some way or other.”
With his own son Alex working as a Foley supervisor, the dynasty is set to continue. In recent years Eddy Joseph has worked as supervising sound editor on major films such as Enemy At The Gates, Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone, Cold Mountain, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Black Book and Breaking & Entering.
Now, as the Creative Director at post production sound company Soundelux in Soho, he enjoyed success this year with a BAFTA for sound on Casino Royale as well as a nomination for United 93. But the follow-up win to his first has been a long time coming – 25 years on from Pink Floyd – The Wall.
“It’s a relief when somebody’s name is called and it’s over,” he sighs. “It’s an extraordinary relief, almost an exhilaration, even if you don’t win.”
Yet sound is one of those categories that is so specific, so specialised that some members abstain from voting for it, uncertain of what constitutes the very best work in the industry. For when it’s done really well, it’s a seamless part of the movie.
“You’re right,” he smiles, “though I think you’d notice it if it was bad. A lot of people are saying these days that they can’t hear the dialogue in films and this is, I think, a disease. They are aware that the mix possibly isn’t as good as it was. Of course, that’s simplistic because many old films were basically made in studios and there was no attempt to put on exterior atmospheres and try to make things more real.”
Picture editing is linear, whereas sound is three dimensional ... you've got to look at it from all disciplines
A sound editor since working on Alan Parker’s Shoot The Moon in 1982, Joseph credits the British director with getting his fledgling career on track, as well as providing a major highlight with the joyous experience of shooting The Commitments. And while his role at Soundelux may be more managerial, he has not lost his love for the craft.
“I’ve done sound editing for 25 years, and there are times when I would love to get my hands dirty again but I don’t have the time. There’s actually a lot of organisation to do; I go into every editor’s room and listen to what they’ve done and make sure that I’m happy with it. It’s just another way of doing it.
“I often go in for the ADR sessions, I go in for all the Foley, I’m always there for the mixing. I go in for the dialogue and do as much as I can. I’m still there but I don’t physically play around with the bits of sound too much.”
Citing industry veterans Winston Ryder, Les Hodgson and Les Wiggins as major influences early in his career, he may have joined the sound department by accident – making an expedient decision to secure his union ticket – but feels totally at home there. It is a discipline, he insists, that requires a quite different skillset to that of a picture editor.
“Picture editing is linear, whereas sound is three dimensional. You can’t really compare them, but when you’re putting two pictures together you look and see if the join works.With sound you’ve got to look at it from all the disciplines: the dialogue, the crowd dialogue and extra voices that tell you you’re in a big scene.
“There are the sound effects themselves, and whether you need to enhance them after they’ve been recorded. If the sound was recorded on a set, will you need to put an atmosphere on to make it seem like it’s not a set? Then there’s the Foley; the individual footsteps need to be done, and you also create sounds by recording yourself in a booth, and so on.
“There are many strands that need to be linked up and united. I’m not saying that picture editors couldn’t do it, but it’s a very different way of looking at things.We don’t just look at the picture, we hear the sound of it.”
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