In my score and sound design for the clip from ‘No Country for Old Men,’ I am expanding on the Coen brothers’ approach to utilizing proximity and sound as a theme throughout the film. While the film does not have a score, there is an emphasis on silence as well as observation through sound.

I currently have a rough mix of the foley sounds and themes I am using in my soundtrack for the scene I have chosen. The two musical themes in my composition are very different in tonality. Theme No. 1 follows a structured progression and melody, however, places an emphasis on dissonant rhythmic qualities. Theme No. 2 is a prolonged drone for which I recorded saxophone across different timbres and in different positions from the Sennheiser 418 microphone I was using. Playing two octaves of g with slightly different embouchure styles in order to get different tones, the second piece is my approach to creating dissonance and tension through tone and volatility.

My foley was all recorded live in my bedroom using a variety of props and miking techniques. The session quickly grew to roughly 50 different stereo and mono tracks and in organizing them I found that balancing and including and excluding certain sounds is an entire creative process, as well as deciding between tones and objects to use.

I used a series of guerilla foley recording techniques as well as in-studio techniques. Recording cars tailored to the scene was a difficult process, especially getting single-car takes that matched the low rumbling of a Chevrolet Impala. I used a Sennheiser 418 stereo 5 pin microphone for the majority of the recordings but for the outside ambience and other guerrilla foley (i.e. cars), I used a stereo zoom h6 microphone.

One of the most challenging aspects of my recording was the timing, and estimating the different weights and toe placement of recording steps in my room. I used carpet, tile, and a large Moog subsequent 25 tour case to record the variety of materials pictured in the scene I chose. Another challenging aspect of this recording process was the recreation of a motel vent. I used the Sennheiser 418 and recorded a boom pole hitting the vent above my stove in order to get the metallic clanging in the motel air ducts.

Tape was another sound object that was important to me in recording foely for this project. I used a very direct miking position while recording the duct tape being used in this scene. The two themes followed and emphasized throughout my composition of this soundtrack include proximity and tension, focusing on recognizable sounds that depict closeness and both fear and hostility. Another object I used in the recording is a pair of Red Wing boots I own; both for footsteps and the part of the scene where Anton Chugah removes his boots before attempting to murder Llewelyn Moss in the motel room. The Senehiser 418 has a great frequency response and in recording the shoes I was able to capture a very clean leathery sound.