Next year’s Oscars are currently scheduled for the 12th of March 2023, which may seem a long way away right now, but time flies in the creative industries, not least because these projects often take several years to come to fruition. Several movies are already considered to be in contention for the best sound category, most notably Top Gun Maverick, which combined an amazing musical score with realistic sound effects in such a way that some are even considering this contest to already be a fait accompli.
The Best Sound category is an interesting one, as even the best soundscape can fail to make an impact if it is not combined with similarly impressive camera work. Cinematographer Claudio Miranda played a big part in working with the sound team to approximate Mavericks experience in the cockpit, favoring dynamics over the more typical “wall of sound” type of audio track that many other Hollywood movies have favored in recent years. The result was breathtaking, and the resulting sound will be a formidable challenge for other movies to overcome if they want to be in with a shot of collecting the coveted Oscar next year.
So, which other films are currently considered to be in the running for this prestigious award? Let’s take a look.
The Batman
This re-imagined detective procedural is set in a grungy, corrupted future vision of Gotham City, and in any other year would have certainly stood out as a top contender for the Best Sound award. The sound team included such names as Will Files (supervising sound editor), Douglas Murray (supervising sound editor), and former Oscar winner Andy Nelson, best known for his work on “Les Miserables” and “Saving Private Ryan”.
Much attention was placed on Robert Pattinson’s softly spoken yet physically imposing portrayal of Batman and his Batmobile, which contrasted beautifully with the disguised voice of The Riddler, created using distortion and voice changer technology. Batman’s frequent voiceovers made use of both boom and lav mics in tandem, counteracting his deliberately slow body movement and footsteps. The results were nothing short of menacing in effect and could be enough to cause a major upset when March comes around.
Nope
Sound represented a vital element of the experience of Universal’s “Nope”, and Johnnie Burn (“Under the Skin”) pulled off nothing short of a blinder with his work on the audio track of this top-tier production. The sound team focused on creating a mysterious, predatory vibe to represent the alien entity which is initially hidden behind the clouds before subsequently unfolding into a unique and mysterious wind-based creature.
The sound for this film can only truly be experienced in a Dolby Atmos equipped theatre with support for 360-degree sound; in that environment, the “dome of sound” created by effects director Jordan Peele is breathtaking, however, some of the finer detail of the mixdown is inevitably lost when the film is viewed outside of such a setting, which could harm the chances of this impressive piece of audio engineering.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
This impressive piece of multiverse-hopping cinema contains an array of impressive sound techniques, crafted by a team led by Brent Kiser (supervising sound editor/re-recording mixer), along with Andrew Twite (sound designer) and Alexandra Fehrman (re-recording mixer). Each universe shown on screen features hundreds of unique sound effects, all created specifically for those particular worlds, and it really shows; while the contrast between each universe visually is striking, it is the unique sounds and ambiance which really ups the immersion to Oscar-worthy levels.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
The original Black Panther movie was nominated for an Oscar, but never quite managed to seal the deal. The team behind Wakanda Forever will no doubt be hoping this time will be different, and the unique soundscape they have created by blending organic sounds of nature with high-tech futuristic effects is sure to impress those with the unenviable task of choosing a winner from a pool of so many strong contenders.
Avatar: The Way of Water
Finally, we’ve waited years for the continuation of the story of the Sully family, and Avatar: The Way of Water has to be one of the most eagerly awaited sequels of all time. We’ll get to explore many other regions and civilizations away from Pandora this time around, but the title gives a huge clue as to the aquatic nature of many of the places we’ll be visiting. The same sound team responsible for the Oscar-nominated soundtrack of the original are back, once again led by Christopher Boyes as supervising sound editor, sound designer, and re-recording mixer, and if any movie has the potential to dethrone Top Gun Maverick from its current front-runner position, our guess is that this would be the one.
