Congratulations from Juniper Post to the “Rising from Ashes” sound team on their Golden Reel Nomination for Best Sound Editing: Documentary Feature Film!
Director, T.C. Johnstone; Producer, Greg Kwedar; Producer/Narrator, Forest Whitaker
My team and I are very proud of this film and the sound editing therein. Because much of the locations had extremely noisy environments, we had to clean up the dialogue and remove the distracting elements in the sound so the dialogue could be heard and understood. This resulted in most of the environments and actions on the screen being completely recreated with Foley and Sound Effects by Juniper’s sound team. The detailed sequences of training and bike races were more than challenging.
To capture a realistic feel of the bike sounds, much of the Foley we recorded out doors. Later my team painstakingly matched the actions to synch perfectly with the images. Some of the sounds that had to be captured were mountain bike tires on various surfaces, shocks, bumps, splashes, all of which were recorded and then cut to match the action sequences in addition to crowds, ambiences, etc. It was hard work, but we had a blast!
The first 10 minutes of the film is a good example of this, in that it contains almost no natural sound from production but rather all actions were either augmented and/or recreated in Foley or sound effects. The director wanted the sound to be natural and authentic, in other words to maintain the sound and feel of a documentary film.
The comment from those who have seen the film in theaters has been, “How did you capture such good sound in those environments?” So we feel we achieved the director’s vision of a great sounding doc with the audiences believing that the great sound was captured live, even though we recreated almost all of it in sound editing. – David Kitchens, M.P.S.E.
The sound design that’s come together on this film is probably one of the aspects I am most proud of. Just listening to the film I hope tells a story on it’s own.” – T.C. Johnstone, Director (Click here to read TC’s quote in full and see prior Blog.)
The Motion Picture Sound Editors
61st GOLDEN REEL AWARDS
will be held February 16, 2014
“This documentary, covering six years in the development of Rwanda’s first national cycling team, is heartfelt. The scenery — described here as the Land of a Thousand Hills, ideal for the sport — is compelling. The lessons about professional cycling are detailed. And the title is earned by the attention drawn to the horrific Rwandan genocide of 1994, which haunts the athletes and has left their nation in emotional ruins. It’s an underdog story, which always has appeal.” By David DeWitt
“Narrated by Forest Whitaker and directed by T.C. Johnstone, “Rising from Ashes” offers a unique look at life in Rwanda. With the country rebuilding itself in the shadow of unspeakable violence, the next generation has matured into leaders and fathers, with these men hoping to distinguish themselves after lives pummeled by nightmares and personal loss. The production provides a history lesson on the history of the Hutu and Tutsi conflict, helping to establish the private pain shared by the cyclists, but the majority of the documentary clings to positivity and a sense of national pride, detailing the aspirations of a Rwandan cyclist such as Adrien, who finds himself with renewed function and drive, blossoming under Boyer’s tough-but-fair leadership as he transforms a hobby into a lifestyle.” – Brian Orndorf
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