Aussie director Charles Williams’ film ‘All These Creatures’ nominated for Cannes Palme D’Or

Charles Williams’ short film, ‘All These Creatures’, is the only Australian entrant (of 3943) selected to compete for the prestigious Cannes Short Film Palme d’or. Equal parts heartbreaking and poignantly beautiful, the film tells the story of a young boy coming to terms with his own adolescent fears and concerns for the wellbeing of his volatile father. As the film’s sponsors and sound designers, the Final Sound team is thrilled to discuss their collaboration on the project.

Says Craig Conway, Final Sound co-owner and All These Creatures sound designer: “Working with Charles has always been rewarding. He has an incredible insight into all things sound. The film’s focus is the voice of the main character. We spent a lot of time recording and re-recording the voiceover to get the nuances of the delivery just right. Charles would take the raw takes (sometimes up to 4 hours of recordings) away with him and go through each line to find the perfect take.

Says Paul Shanahan, All These Creatures sound mixer and Final Sound co-owner: “Because the film is a boy’s recollection of events, the design had to be dreamlike without being romantic. This is not a magical time for the main character; more of a fragmented recollection of a confusing period in his life. We designed the sound to reflect this theme – how do we recall memories? They are fragments that can be disjointed. We also used elements like water, wind and fire under scenes to enhance the dreamlike nature of his recollections. We played with their position in the mix, to create a sense of the audience being observers of the memories, rather than participants.

“A lot of time was spent in pre-mix. The first mix we had Charles in the studio and he took it with him back to Sydney to review. He would then make notes and add ideas to the design that we would implement and send through. Being in different cities was never a hindrance to the creative flow of the project.

“The score, produced by the very talented Chiara Kickdrum, added to the strange feel of the film. She came into the pre-mix and re-wrote tracks to fit with the design, and to fine tune to accomodate what Charles was ultimately looking for.

“It’s an honour to have work recognised in one of the most globally esteemed competitions; we’ve always set out for our studio to be a creative incubator, and we feel so humbled to have worked on such a great film.”

To talk to Final Sound about your next project, email Pip Wright at pip@finalsound.com.au or call on 03 9531 6000.