WEBVTT - A Moment Behind the Scenes with Sound Designer CJ Drumeller 0:00:05.190 --> 0:00:07.860 The sound design of solar is almost like a character 0:00:07.860 --> 0:00:10.740 in and of itself. And today we're talking about it 0:00:10.740 --> 0:00:14.700 with more excerpts from our behind the scenes. I'm Jenny Curtis, 0:00:14.700 --> 0:00:17.759 director and producer, and we're getting into a conversation here 0:00:17.760 --> 0:00:21.180 where creator Chris Porter, executive producer Bill KURTIS and I 0:00:21.210 --> 0:00:24.779 are chatting with Solar's sound designer, mixer and Master C.J. 0:00:24.780 --> 0:00:27.780 Drumheller about some of our favorite world building moments in 0:00:27.780 --> 0:00:29.130 the sound design of this show. 0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:34.770 Speaking of episode eight, I would like to talk about 0:00:34.770 --> 0:00:38.070 one moment in particular in episode eight that actually ties 0:00:38.070 --> 0:00:41.010 back to episode one ends the communication that we had 0:00:41.010 --> 0:00:43.890 with C.J. during this project. I had a nine throwaway 0:00:43.890 --> 0:00:47.250 line in the first episode where Jamal says, I miss 0:00:47.260 --> 0:00:48.360 the sound of the ocean. 0:00:48.420 --> 0:00:51.830 I have 52 unique recordings of the Ocean Alley, Please. 0:00:51.840 --> 0:00:54.060 And I always knew that later on in Episode eight, 0:00:54.060 --> 0:00:56.190 when Jamal was at a dark point, he was going 0:00:56.190 --> 0:00:59.790 to retreat into that sound as a way of comforting himself. 0:00:59.790 --> 0:01:03.090 And that was that particular moment, which shows how important 0:01:03.090 --> 0:01:05.730 and how much thought was put into the sound even 0:01:05.730 --> 0:01:07.650 before we were able to give it to C.J. to 0:01:07.650 --> 0:01:11.010 do his magic. But when C.J. was reading the script, 0:01:11.100 --> 0:01:13.320 he was like, I wonder if Ali could just play 0:01:13.319 --> 0:01:15.360 a whole bunch of different ocean sounds on top of 0:01:15.360 --> 0:01:17.970 each other when she says she has 52 unique recordings. 0:01:18.390 --> 0:01:21.810 And I was like, I actually love that. That's actually 0:01:21.810 --> 0:01:24.929 a really cool moment. I appreciate you mentioning it, but 0:01:24.930 --> 0:01:28.740 every wave is different. There aren't 52 different sounds. 0:01:28.740 --> 0:01:31.200 I have 52 unique recordings. 0:01:32.720 --> 0:01:35.210 I get it. Ali, thank you. Please just let me 0:01:35.209 --> 0:01:37.010 get through this and trying to figure out how I 0:01:37.010 --> 0:01:37.610 want to say it. 0:01:37.970 --> 0:01:38.840 Okay, Jamal. 0:01:39.680 --> 0:01:41.420 And I just thought that was a really cool moment 0:01:41.420 --> 0:01:44.510 of the sound design being a part of the script 0:01:44.510 --> 0:01:45.380 and storytelling. 0:01:45.410 --> 0:01:47.390 When we first talked and we first agreed that we 0:01:47.390 --> 0:01:49.100 were going to do this thing, I just went on 0:01:49.100 --> 0:01:51.410 to see what was going on with space sound or 0:01:51.410 --> 0:01:54.320 like sound for astronauts and different things and what they'll use. 0:01:54.320 --> 0:01:56.570 And a lot of people don't know that actually audio 0:01:56.570 --> 0:02:00.309 is used a lot in space for not only just 0:02:00.320 --> 0:02:03.200 communication and stuff like that, but also for comfort and 0:02:03.200 --> 0:02:06.410 to add soundscapes that are familiar so that you're not 0:02:06.410 --> 0:02:08.000 like if you're on the space station or whatever, you 0:02:08.000 --> 0:02:10.130 can hear the sound of a park or so like 0:02:10.130 --> 0:02:12.440 the idea of having those ocean sounds was actually something 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:14.839 that came up in some of the talks with actual 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:17.180 astronauts and different people that we were talking to. But 0:02:17.180 --> 0:02:20.480 it was also, I know with episode one we were like, 0:02:20.690 --> 0:02:23.900 Let's define the rules of the game. What can we 0:02:23.900 --> 0:02:26.990 do here to make sure that the sound design things 0:02:26.990 --> 0:02:29.570 are going to happen? And we know that from the 0:02:29.570 --> 0:02:32.750 sound design level of episode one. We want it to 0:02:32.750 --> 0:02:35.390 be something that grabbed the attention to where like, Hey, 0:02:35.389 --> 0:02:37.460 we're not going to go full out here, but we 0:02:37.460 --> 0:02:39.890 want you to know that things are going to happen. 0:02:40.400 --> 0:02:43.700 And so where headphones and and get into this space. 0:02:44.570 --> 0:02:46.610 But it's a good point. 0:02:47.000 --> 0:02:49.080 I don't know. It's probably the most used pun ever 0:02:49.850 --> 0:02:52.100 on our project, but but we wanted to get into 0:02:52.100 --> 0:02:54.710 that space early and even talks with Will. And we 0:02:54.710 --> 0:02:58.040 were talking about the mapping of the spaceship itself, everything 0:02:58.040 --> 0:03:01.280 having its own sound and the idea that each capsule 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:04.310 has its own identifiable thing. And so we literally went 0:03:04.310 --> 0:03:07.130 to the drawing board, even in 3D mapping on where's 0:03:07.130 --> 0:03:11.910 the door, where's Rin's door, and where's the ants nest habitat. Yeah, yeah. 0:03:12.020 --> 0:03:13.880 And so we knew that from the beginning and kind 0:03:13.880 --> 0:03:16.100 of since we're kind of jumping around in time and stuff, 0:03:16.100 --> 0:03:18.620 I think it's another layer of like just keeping the 0:03:18.620 --> 0:03:23.630 listener engaged in identifying different without having to say, Hey, 0:03:23.630 --> 0:03:26.450 you're in this capsule like on the nose. We could 0:03:26.450 --> 0:03:27.980 just play the sound and they would kind of know 0:03:27.980 --> 0:03:30.440 that it was there. So we knew that this coming 0:03:30.440 --> 0:03:31.640 from the other side of that idea. I knew it 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:34.910 was going to be more discourse or more dialogue than 0:03:34.910 --> 0:03:37.790 than I think I've done before. And just knowing that, like, 0:03:37.850 --> 0:03:41.240 even the subtleties and and the details of what we 0:03:41.240 --> 0:03:44.690 could do with a more dialogue heavy show was something 0:03:44.690 --> 0:03:47.030 that we're going to be bringing a personality to the 0:03:47.030 --> 0:03:49.910 show that people will know, you know, whether they're flipping 0:03:49.910 --> 0:03:52.490 through shows like when they get to solar, like, Oh, 0:03:52.490 --> 0:03:54.740 I'm listening to solar. Now. Part of the reason that 0:03:54.740 --> 0:03:58.100 we really encourage listeners to use headphones is because of 0:03:58.100 --> 0:04:00.650 that perspective. If you picture yourself watching a movie at 0:04:00.650 --> 0:04:03.290 home and you're sitting on the sofa, the TVs all 0:04:03.290 --> 0:04:05.720 the way across the room, so that no matter how 0:04:05.750 --> 0:04:08.600 much the sound designer wants to be close to you, 0:04:08.660 --> 0:04:10.790 they are still going to be across the room. So 0:04:10.790 --> 0:04:13.370 when you wear headphones, it opens up a whole new 0:04:13.370 --> 0:04:16.130 world to where now I can bring that perspective super 0:04:16.130 --> 0:04:19.729 close and I can also control what position you are 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:22.760 in relation to everything else that's happening. And so the 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:25.640 mindset from the beginning on solar was almost like a 0:04:25.640 --> 0:04:28.460 VR mindset to where we're in virtual reality. We're going 0:04:28.460 --> 0:04:30.680 to have all these different things that are happening that 0:04:30.680 --> 0:04:34.909 can actually be placed spatially around you because we're taking 0:04:34.910 --> 0:04:39.890 it from mono dialogue to this interactive immersive experience for 0:04:39.890 --> 0:04:44.510 Inside the Home. I just got out all my junk 0:04:44.510 --> 0:04:47.029 that I have. I have this big I think it 0:04:47.029 --> 0:04:50.029 used to be like a cheeseball container. We could go 0:04:50.029 --> 0:04:53.839 for sponsorship on the cheese balls probably without even having 0:04:53.839 --> 0:04:56.990 to eat them. And I have this smaller size binaural 0:04:56.990 --> 0:05:00.140 microphone and also just this little tiny little speaker that 0:05:00.140 --> 0:05:02.450 has a little line input. And so I would put 0:05:02.450 --> 0:05:05.630 some of the sounds in through and I would place 0:05:05.630 --> 0:05:08.719 that little tiny speaker and the binaural microphone and then 0:05:08.720 --> 0:05:11.960 cover it up with this plastic jug and play some 0:05:11.960 --> 0:05:13.640 of those sounds through there. And you can hear like 0:05:13.640 --> 0:05:15.710 literally you can hear some of these sounds coming through 0:05:15.710 --> 0:05:17.870 that speaker and then the different voices. 0:05:17.870 --> 0:05:20.900 Specialist Dizzy you may begin payload bay arm extension for 0:05:20.900 --> 0:05:21.770 orbital placement. 0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:25.610 All right payload bay arm extending for orbital place over 0:05:26.150 --> 0:05:26.730 around time. 0:05:26.779 --> 0:05:34.070 You guys, you are right there Margaret I was caught 0:05:34.070 --> 0:05:34.610 off guard. 0:05:35.060 --> 0:05:38.450 The arm extension began moving us faster than I anticipated. 0:05:39.710 --> 0:05:40.460 Please continue. 0:05:40.940 --> 0:05:43.250 I'll tell you, the other secret was I use my 0:05:43.250 --> 0:05:46.700 dryer a ton, so I have a big circular dryer 0:05:46.700 --> 0:05:48.980 that I would just put the mic in there and 0:05:48.980 --> 0:05:51.620 I'd close the door, and a lot of the sounds 0:05:51.620 --> 0:05:54.409 was like I would do the actual Foley like on 0:05:54.410 --> 0:05:56.540 some of the spacewalks, like to where they're attaching their 0:05:56.540 --> 0:05:57.530 tethers or whatever. 0:05:57.529 --> 0:06:00.440 I'm confirming visual and physical lock and tether, failsafe safe. 0:06:00.620 --> 0:06:02.510 Chief Scientist Cohen can you confirm the same? 0:06:05.300 --> 0:06:08.600 I confirm. Oh, my God. I can hear it. Yeah. 0:06:08.900 --> 0:06:10.130 That's my dryer. 0:06:10.550 --> 0:06:13.610 Yeah. Yeah. Well, what I love is that C.J. is 0:06:13.610 --> 0:06:17.930 actually fairly active on his social media, in particular on Instagram. 0:06:18.230 --> 0:06:20.810 And he when he wasn't allowed to talk about the show, 0:06:20.810 --> 0:06:22.910 but he was working on it, I would sometimes see 0:06:22.910 --> 0:06:25.190 these photos that you would post of like the microphones 0:06:25.190 --> 0:06:27.140 in these weird places. And I was like, I know 0:06:27.140 --> 0:06:29.570 what you mean. Where you creating. 0:06:29.570 --> 0:06:33.410 Ali Obviously incredible talent on the. Part of the actor. Yes. 0:06:33.420 --> 0:06:35.670 But you also did a lot of work and I'm 0:06:35.670 --> 0:06:38.880 not sure how many different renditions of how Ali would 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:41.430 finally sound you went through, but I know it was 0:06:41.430 --> 0:06:42.680 more than two or three. 0:06:42.690 --> 0:06:45.750 The ones that actually got submitted to Chris and Ginny 0:06:45.750 --> 0:06:49.289 was around 60 different options probably. It came down to like, 0:06:49.710 --> 0:06:53.130 what is Ali and where is Ali and how does 0:06:53.130 --> 0:06:56.210 Ali interact? And I think from the get go, I 0:06:56.220 --> 0:06:59.400 know that we had this idea of Ali was going 0:06:59.400 --> 0:07:04.260 to continually become more and more relatable and almost more 0:07:04.260 --> 0:07:07.140 human as the show progressed, which was, you know, obviously 0:07:07.140 --> 0:07:09.930 a challenge in itself. And looking at the different, you know, 0:07:09.930 --> 0:07:13.920 ideas of like what a I might sound like, I mean, 0:07:13.920 --> 0:07:16.830 this is my tie into also like was the idea 0:07:16.830 --> 0:07:19.100 of we had this printer that was like super or 0:07:19.170 --> 0:07:22.200 this came into also creating the personality of the ship 0:07:22.200 --> 0:07:27.780 itself because Ali is is a super caring and understanding AI, 0:07:27.780 --> 0:07:31.230 but she's not something she's not a robot that walks around. 0:07:31.230 --> 0:07:33.630 She's part of the ship. She's a part of these 0:07:33.630 --> 0:07:36.870 locations to where like she would be coming from either 0:07:36.870 --> 0:07:40.620 the alley speaker's from above you or beside you and 0:07:40.620 --> 0:07:43.380 through these playback speakers. And I think the identity of 0:07:43.380 --> 0:07:46.050 what Ali is as we get to the end of 0:07:46.050 --> 0:07:49.620 the series really comes in and hits a home run 0:07:49.620 --> 0:07:51.480 at the end. And I'm not going to give any spoilers. 0:07:51.480 --> 0:07:55.110 It's really great. I think it's the acting the with Jenny, 0:07:55.110 --> 0:07:58.350 what you did with it was amazing and knowing that 0:07:58.350 --> 0:08:01.710 we were going to try and find something subtle enough 0:08:01.830 --> 0:08:03.900 that they would know that it's in the ship, but 0:08:03.900 --> 0:08:06.390 it had room to grow and it had room to 0:08:06.660 --> 0:08:08.910 go places to where we had a good par for 0:08:08.910 --> 0:08:11.250 the course. We're going to have other things that happen 0:08:11.250 --> 0:08:13.230 with Ali that are going to bring this out. And 0:08:13.230 --> 0:08:16.290 I loved placing Ali in the room, especially, I think 0:08:16.290 --> 0:08:18.420 in episode one to where you'll if you listen to 0:08:18.420 --> 0:08:21.750 the distance of where Ali is, like some of the times, 0:08:21.750 --> 0:08:25.520 Ali's really close and sometimes she's far away, almost too far, 0:08:25.650 --> 0:08:27.630 like now listening to them. Like I should turn to 0:08:27.630 --> 0:08:28.290 Ali that moment. 0:08:32.250 --> 0:08:36.150 There are so many more sonic moments to discuss. Make 0:08:36.150 --> 0:08:38.790 sure you check out the full conversation with C.J. on 0:08:38.790 --> 0:08:43.620 the solar panel, available exclusively on our Apple Podcasts Premium Channel.