FILM
Out Director Navigates Art of Sound
“Making Waves” doc elaborates on invisible side of cinema
BY GARY M. KRAMER
In her upbeat documentary,
“Making Waves: The Art of
Cinematic Sound,” out lesbian
director Midge Costin pays
loving tribute to the unsung heroes
of cinema: the sound designers.
Costin explains how sound
helps us make sense of the world
(and the movies) by illustrating
the ways sound triggers emotions
— be it from voices, sound effects,
or music. She celebrates Foley artists
who create the noises that
bring characters to life and she
pays tribute to masters of sound
design by profi ling Walter Murch
(“Apocalypse Now”), Ben Burtt
(“Star Wars”) and Gary Rydstrom
(“Saving Private Ryan”). Costin
also shows the history of sound
in cinema, from the silent era and
fi rst talkies, to mono vs. Dolby
soundtracks, to multitrack. It may
— pardon the pun — sound like a
fi lm geek’s dream, but Costin’s approach
makes viewers appreciate
the importance of sound in fi lm.
Moreover, she interviews Hollywood
heavyweights including Barbra
Streisand, Steven Spielberg,
Ang Lee, David Lynch, and Ryan
Coogler, as well as various sound
and sound effect editors for their
notes on sound.
Costin recently spoke with Gay
City News about “Making Waves.”
GARY M. KRAMER: Your background
is in sound editing. What
prompted this career?
MIDGE COSTIN: At fi lm school,
I would have panic attacks when I
had to work on sound. I fell in to
sound in a funny way. I wanted to
be a picture editor. A friend asked
me to edit sound effects for a fi lm
and I was responsible to set the
mood and tone. I started to work
with story and sounds and then it
was one job after another. I worked
on “Days of Thunder;” I did the
sound effects of the car driven by
whoever was racing against Tom
Cruise. It was surround sound,
and I was working on NASCAR
cars. It was so cool, and fun, and I
was one of the few women cutting
Midge Costin described Ai-Ling Lee (pictured) as “one of the best sound designers.”
sound effects on the big fi lms, so
that kept me interested. In the ‘90s
I was working on all these Michael
Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer movies.
I found myself teaching and I
tell my students how to use sound
for story purposes — which I didn’t
get when I went to school.
KRAMER: I like how Walter
Murch says that he was infl uenced
by John Cage, who thought every
sound — even a piano being shut
— was music. How did you come to
appreciate sound?
COSTIN: It was “Eraserhead.”
One of the fi rst scenes is the main
character walking through a
neighborhood and I remember the
ambiances. When he goes inside
the house, the different room tones
were evocative. That was creative
and had an effect on me.
KRAMER: I like how the fi lm
shows sound as a character, such
as the wind in “Brokeback Mountain.”
Can you talk about that aspect
of the art?
COSTIN: I feel like ambiances
are the music to every scene and
that’s how I’ve always felt. It sets
the mood and tone. It’s beautiful
and subtle; you don’t feel manipulated
like you do with music. It
hits you in your gut whether you
MATSON FILMS
are aware of it or not. I hope this
translates not just to movies, but
how people also think about sound
in their lives.
KRAMER: You use examples
juxtaposing a silent clip of boxers
against a scene from “Raging Bull”
to show the importance of sound
in fi lm. What was your approach
to your fi lm, which is like a master
class on sound?
COSTIN: I wanted to interview
big sound designers, but also the
directors who care about sound.
I wanted to show how these big
fi lmmakers take sound into consideration,
and that sound is used
as an art form to tell a story and
it is super emotional. We know
this from music, but to explore
sound from emotion is important.
I didn’t know anything about the
history, so we got into the history,
and that was a way to explore how
it developed. Sometimes people
think it is technology-led, but it’s
the artists and directors who care
about sound that push for a new
way. Like Francis Ford Coppola, or
George Lucas.
KRAMER: Or, Barbra Streisand,
who talks about the importance of
stereo sound in making “A Star Is
Born” in 1976, and insists on singing
live in “Funny Girl” to generate
emotion?
COSTIN: What’s funny about
Barbra Streisand is that she had
no idea that she was part of fi lm
history in that way. Interviewing
Ioan Allen — he was the engineer
who went to Ray Dolby and suggested
getting into movies — he
talks about going to all the studios
and they said they did not need
and did not want to spend the
money for stereo. Streisand didn’t
know it wasn’t an option and that
they would need to change everything.
The system changed. Allen
gave Streisand the credit.
KRAMER: I was pleased “Making
Waves” has an interviewee address
gender representation and
that your fi lm includes minorities
and LGBT crew members.
COSTIN: I think it’s really important
to see ourselves, and that
there is a diverse group of people
doing the work. I wanted to show
that. Ai-ling Lee is one of the best
sound designers. She worked on
“Wild.” Women sound designers
kind of get in what’s considered
“women’s fi lms,” and I wanted to
bring attention to that. I included
Bobbi Banks who did ADR on “Selma.”
As a lesbian, I wouldn’t see myself
often enough in things, so I
wanted to add “Brokeback Mountain”
to feel included and not have
this be the straight white men’s
history of sound.
KRAMER: Do you feel “Making
Waves” is breaking movie magic by
revealing trade secrets?
COSTIN: No. Because no one
notices sounds, we get to manipulate
audiences. People think that
knowing the secrets ruins things,
but I get caught up in the movie.
Only when it is really good or bad
sound do I notice it.
MAKING WAVES: THE ART OF
CINEMATIC SOUND | Directed by
Midge Costin | Distributed by Matson
Films | Opens October 25 at the
Cinema Village, 22 E. 12th St. | cinemavillage.
com
October 24 - November 6 26 , 2019 | GayCityNews.com
/GayCityNews.com
