Writing over at Lucasfilm.com, the always informative Lucas Seastrom sits down with the director of last years Haunted Mansion film Justin Simien to discuss the work done by Skywalker Sound on the Disney adaptation of the much-loved theme park attraction.
Much of Simien’s approach to Mansion’s sound design was what he calls “a game of withholding. You don’t want to show certain things too soon.” Nelson adds that “it’s always helpful and wonderful when you have a shape that your filmmaker is presenting to you. Justin was very invested in the track. We knew what he wanted right down to how you might feel it build up as a character approaches a portrait in the hallway. The music was shaped in that way as well. The score is a great harkening to the original, but also [composer] Kris [Bowers] did these amazing builds. We’re paying attention to the music and to where the beats are.”
As an example, Nelson explains the early scene when Travis (Chase W. Dillon) and his mother, Gabbie (Rosario Dawson), arrive at the Mansion, which they have recently purchased. What they don’t know, however, is how spooky their new home is. “From the moment we’re out of the car and up the steps, you hear a voice say, ‘Travis,’ and as he turns, you hear just a hint of the door open and it goes quiet,” explains Nelson. “He walks in with his footsteps and the rolling suitcase. Each moment has its little shape. Justin was really helpful in explaining what they wanted and didn’t want to hear. We finally get up to Travis’ room where you just hear the door handle. It’s a playground where you can kind of go crazy, but you also need to build into those specific moments, such as when the blanket falls off the portrait and you hear a voice whisper again, ‘Travis.’ All these components come together.”
