Sound Designer

The goal of the design for Bus Stop of to create two worlds. The first was the blizzard raging outside. The second was the world inside the diner. The storm needed to be harsh and uninviting, pushing the bus passengers inside and trapping them in the diner. Additionally, the sound of debris being blown around in order to reflect the strength of the storm. The opposite was necessary for the diner, which needed to be a warm and inviting place. To that end, I decided that the best way to achieve this warmth was to use the crackel of a wood burning stove. The poping of the wood mixed with the creaking of the contacting and expanding metal of the stove gave a wonderfully subtitle texture and blended well with the wonderful detail of the set design.

Audio Sample Notes

The sound design for Bus Stop was quite simple in that the aural vocabulary consisted of two primary elements: the cold wind outside and the crackle of an iron stove inside. Using these two elements I attempted to draw the audiences’ attention toward or away from particular events. As moments became more intimate and focus needed to be drawn towards a character the sound of the fire would fade into the distance and only return when it was time to pull the audience back. Likewise, the bitterly cold wind outside was used to accent the tumult both inside and out. Likewise the storm outside was a warden that forced its prisoners to face each other and themselves.