Meantime

Short film

Meantime (or 'Tussentijd' in Dutch) is a short film, directed by Christian van Duuren, about Pascal who is the first to arrive at a heavy car accident.
A fatal occurrence of conditions makes two different persons designated to each other in a very special yet bizarre manner. They are both involved in a situation none of them has chosen for.

Overall sound design concept

The idea is to let the viewer be part of the story. What would you do if you were in the same situation?

So how can we as sound designers contribute to this experience? We will be pointing out a few techniques and tricks that we used in creating the sound design for this short film.

Ambience

The film sets scene in a quiet rural area in the Netherlands. We don’t know exactly where. We want to emphasize the feeling of loneliness by enhancing the ambience sound and contribute to a cold night in autumn.

Another thing we have added is sounds that suggests the presence of people nearby. However, they are too far away to help and therefore unaware of the situation Pascal is in.

All these ambient sounds are quite subtle, but they have a tremendous impact on the narrative of the film. They tell you that Pascal is completely on his own. He has to do this all by himself.

Foley

The biggest part of the film takes place in an area not bigger than two square meter, which gives a huge sense of intimacy.

We want to pull the viewer into the car and let them sit between the two characters.
We over-exaggerate every sound the characters make, sounds you would normally edit out of the soundtrack. Every move and breath is enhanced by foley sounds (reproduction of everyday sounds like cloths, footsteps and squeaky doors). These foley sounds create a bond between the viewer and the characters that intensifies the emotional connection and create an immersive experience.

Another part of the narrative is told by the car. We make it moan, creek, huff and puff. It makes you feel endangered. Will it catch fire? We don’t know. But if it does, that will change the whole situation.

This constant feeling of fear brings suspense into the scene. You want to get the hell out of that car, but you can’t.

Mixing

During the final mix, we route most of the dialogue and foley sounds through a reverb which imitates the acoustic behaviour of a car’s interior. This effect accentuates the feeling of claustrophobia.

Most of the film is very intimate and quiet. The goal is to brutally interrupt the emotional bond that is developed between the characters by the arrival of the ambulance and fire truck.

The moment the emergency services arrive, Pascal isn’t needed anymore. We emphasize this by dropping all the ambience and sound effects. You only hear the music, his breathing and the sound of his clothes. This creates a moment of reflection.
When he is back in his own car and shuts the door, Pascal is back in reality and so are all the sounds like the ambience and that sound of the hazard lights. And we cut to black...