In 2018, writer-director, Lucy Brydon took on her most ambitious project to date: 'Body Of Water'. In her first full length feature film, Lucy looks to capture the stark loneliness of someone living with anorexia and the cascading effects that it has on the relationships of those around them.
After the shooting and editing of the film were complete, Blue Fox Studios was approached by the production house, Lions Den Films, to take over the sound work required for the completion of the film. Lions Den Films was looking for a partner to provide the following services: sound editing, sound design, foley recording, ADR recording and mixing. The deliveries also needed to meet the standard ready for broadcast and film.
After meeting up with Lucy we realised that we shared similar creative approaches, and that by working together, we could use sound to support the narrative of the film.
With the film being an independent production, the budget was tight. We therefore also agreed that we needed to find a creative way to get the sound to a good place, without cutting corners. The partnership was an obvious one, we accepted.
After reviewing the picture locked film, we found that 'Body Of Water' had an incredibly powerful, but equally uncomfortable, narrative. We knew that well-crafted sound had the potential to elevate the film and at the heart of it, it needed to evoke emotion.
Our focus was on two things: to use sound to portray the uncomfortable helplessness that is associated with eating disorders, and add another layer for the audience to experience.
After reviewing the picture locked film, we found that 'Body Of Water' had an incredibly powerful, but equally uncomfortable, narrative. We knew that well-crafted sound had the potential to elevate the film and at the heart of it, it needed to evoke emotion.
Our focus was on two things: to use sound to portray the uncomfortable helplessness that is associated with eating disorders, and add another layer for the audience to experience.
"We wanted to use emotive sound to enhance the feeling of what the main character is going through. It should mirror her feelings, together with the music and encourage the viewer to be submerged into the film." - Carine Koleilat, Supervising Sound Editor
Our first step was to analyse what this film needed.
"After reviewing the film, it was clear from a sound perspective that we had to unify the feeling of the film, while also creating an auditory experience that supports the visuals on screen." - Carine Koleilat, Supervising Sound Editor
With that in mind, we focused on bringing consistent sound to the film, by working on the audio fidelity, clarity and perspective. We then got creative about when - and how - we used sound to convey the emotions that were happening on screen.
In some scenes, we deliberately set out to make people feel uncomfortable, like adding unconventional frequencies to the audio that created an unpleasant listening experience.
We also played with silence. In one climactic scene towards the end of the film, we decided to remove the production sound entirely. This silence created a gripping vacuum which dramatically pulled the audience into the story.
Upon release, the film went to festivals and received praise from many industry critics, as well as being long-listed for three British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), which we’re delighted to have played our role in achieving.
Empire Magazine described the film as 'a powerful watch because it favours realism over melodrama', and describes the sound design and score as 'evocative' and 'mournful', which met our objective perfectly.
We delivered the project on time and on budget, which delighted the director and production house, particularly as we delivered the project under difficult budget constraints.
The film was commissioned by the Film London Microwave Scheme and World Premiered at Glasgow International Film Festival in February 2020.
Our extended thanks go to composer Rory Attwell for his collaboration and musical talent, as well as Lions Den Films for partnering with Blue Fox Studios and trusting our creative vision and execution.