Guest Post! Sound Fx with Ben
Behind the Scenes: The Story that Shaped the Sound
The Beginning
I was asked to do the sound design and mixing for the Joseph: Light of Patriarchs film for the Songs of the Saints animated shorts series for Claritas Studios! But first I will introduce myself. My name is Ben and I am a freelance sound designer. Sound plays a big role in my life as I’m either editing and mixing sounds or I am listening to the laughs, babbles, and shrieks of my one and a half year old.
I remember when I first saw the rough storyreel. I was sitting on my couch when I saw these incredible, colorful, cinematic images of St. Joseph in the middle of the desert singing a chilling, haunting, and moving version of The Magnificat prayer. I had seen some of the other Songs of the Saint videos but this one felt quite different. I immediately got excited. It felt like something from The Chosen, only animated. I was ready to get to work with the sound design.
Behind the Scenes: The Story that Shaped the Sound
The backstory of the film takes place when Joseph, Mary, and Jesus left Bethlehem and traveled to Egypt. And the film takes place specifically on their journeys in the desert. Joseph stands in the desert with a purple and orange sunset behind him exhausted and worn out from his travels as Mary rocks the crying baby Jesus in the tent. We had a meeting with Trevor (executive producer), Lindsey (the creative director), and Eva and Paul (the composers). We began to share ideas of what the sound design could sound like. We talked about Star Wars, Dune, and some other films.
Sound Effects and Mixing: Bringing the Desert to Life With Sound
Then Lindsey began to share her vision for a part of the film where Joseph is singing about remembering the greatness and faithfulness of God in past generations, specifically how God freed the Israelites from Egypt. And what’s cool is that the desert where Joseph is standing is placed exactly between Israel and Egypt. Joseph is looking back at Israel remembering his people and looking forward to Egypt and remembering the freedom God won for them.
We talked about how cool it would be if we could hear the whips and chains of the enslaved Israelites, the frogs, flies, livestock, thunder, and fire from the plagues, a mother and father mourning the death of their firstborn, and the Red Sea parting and crashing down on the Egyptian chariots. I had chills and couldn’t wait to get to work.
The musical score was just incredible so I knew I needed to make sure that whatever sound effects I added supported the amazing music we had. The voice actor for Joseph was perfect with his rugged, manly, and tender voice. We decided to have the beginning and ending of his singing have no effects on it and only bring in any extra reverb on his voice until the music swelled to help the audience feel like we are right there with Joseph. I also worked on the desert ambience with sweeping winds, scattering sand, and crickets and other desert bugs. I then added sand footsteps for Joseph.
The area I put the most time into was, of course, the Egyptian flashbacks. This particular scene quickly became my favorite and was a bit of work to get to a place where the team liked the blending of it with the music. I added some deep reverb, echo, and stereo panning to really make it sound and feel like past memories of the hardships and freedom of the Israelites. Being in the headspace of St. Joseph while working on that scene was something quite profound and meaningful. It’s something I think I will be reflecting on for quite a while whenever I pray the Magnificat.
Final Thoughts
I am so excited to see the final animation. I think we made something really special and I hope and pray it moves people and encourages them in their faith. I am so grateful for being able to have the opportunity and honor of working on this film. I hope it moves you and gives you greater devotion to St. Joseph and all he did for Mary and Jesus.
How to Give
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If you feel called to give and support the making of Joseph: Light of Patriarchs, you can do so through our general fundraising link. This is the simplest and easiest way to support us. God bless you and thank you for walking this journey with us! 💜
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