Undoubtedly, audio is one of the most important story telling tools in cinema. Improper use or overuse of sound can dramatically affect the impact of the viewing experience. After the recent release of Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, there has been a lot of buzz about the 'mix being muddy'. Many theater goers are reporting sound issues; that the booming sound effects are too loud. The majority of the complaints state that the sound drowns out key dialogue, making the film difficult to follow. However; this blockbuster wasn't intended to be a dialogue driven film. In this behind the scenes video short, Supervising Sound Editor and Sound Designer Richard King discusses technique behind creating sound for this epic film.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Nolan describes his approach this movie's audio mix as "adventurous and creative". He goes on to say that clarity through dialogue is not the only way to tell a story, there's also "clarity of emotion and clarity of story". While many people are criticizing individual theaters' sonic presentation, Nolan praises them for properly representing his audio intentions.
I’ve always loved films that approach sound in an impressionistic way and that is an unusual approach for a mainstream blockbuster, but I feel it's the right approach for this experiential film ... Broadly speaking, there is no question when you mix a film in an unconventional way as this, you’re bound to catch some people off guard, but hopefully people can appreciate the experience for what it’s intended to be.
Awesome!