Christopher Nolan Discusses the Sound of INTERSTELLAR

One of the biggest complaints about Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar is about the sound mix. There were moments in the film that were so loud that you couldn’t hear what the characters were saying. It was kind of distracting for me the first time I saw the movie, but the second time I saw it, the sound wasn’t distracting at all. This is something that Nolan did on purpose, and in an interview with THR, he opens up about his sound mixing decisions and explains why he went in that direction.

“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.”

This is the first time that the director has discussed the sound of the film since the movie was released. He went on to describe his vision of the sound for the film as “adventurous and creative.” The director goes on to say,

“Many of the filmmakers I’ve admired over the years have used sound in bold and adventurous ways. I don’t agree with the idea that you can only achieve clarity through dialogue. Clarity of story, clarity of emotions—I try to achieve that in a very layered way using all the different things at my disposal—picture and sound.”

Nolan told the site that the sound in the film is exactly the way he intended and he praised movie theaters for presenting it correctly. He’s a strong believer that “sound is as important as picture,” and he likes to hear how his movies sound in actual theaters.

“Usually [I visit] six or seven. I like to hear it out where people are going to see it, not just in the cocoon of the dub stage. That is something I have done for years, because everything we are doing is intended to communicate something to the audience.

“The theaters I have been at have been doing a terrific job in terms of presenting the film in the way I intended. 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.”

He also explains some of the decisions he made in terms of dialogue. 

“We made carefully considered creative decisions. There are particular moments in this film where I decided to use dialogue as a sound effect, so sometimes it’s mixed slightly underneath the other sound effects or in the other sound effects to emphasize how loud the surrounding noise is. It’s not that nobody has ever done these things before, but it's a little unconventional for a Hollywood movie.”

He offers up an example of the the scene where Matthew McConaughey is driving through a cornfield. Nolan was riding in the back of a car while filming the point of view shots, and he says, 

“It’s incredibly loud … exhilarating and slightly frightening. I was very keen to try and give the audience the experience and the chaotic feeling with the sound.

“The idea is to experience the journey the character is going on. [For instance] the experience of being in the cockpit is you hear the creaking [of the spacecraft], it’s a very scary sound. We wanted to be true to the experience of space travel. We wanted to emphasize those intimate elements.”

Nolan and his post-production team spent over six months mixing the sound for the movie. Every decision that was made was discussed, and he’s obviously extremely happy with the outcome.

I understand what he was trying to accomplish, and I can see why people didn’t like it, because I didn’t care for it the first time around. The second time I saw the movie, though, I got what Nolan was trying to do, and I embraced it and enjoyed the ride. 

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