If Trenches Could Talk; A Sound Design Analysis of 1917
1917’s stunning sound was spearheaded by sound designer and supervising editor Oliver Tarney. This scene begins at 01:25:15:00. It evokes a very specific emotion through its sound design; one of absolute defeat and despair, edging gently back into a sense of quiet hope.
Lance Corporal Schofield has just plunged over a waterfall, and is semi-conscious, holding loosely onto a floating tree branch. The only sounds that are heard are the calm current of the river, Schofields labored breathing, and faint bird sounds in the surrounding woods. There is not yet any score in this scene. As Scofield falls further out of consciousness, his head slips quietly under the surface of the water. He stays submerged for an agonizing moment, before abruptly resurfacing and gasping for air. The lack of score in the beginning of this scene gives the audience a sense of suspense. We are used to hearing the score as context or a hint to what is about to happen. In the theater, there is no way of telling how much time is left in the movie, so the use of a somber score in the beginning of this scene would have led the audience to believe that Schofield gave up, and died peacefully in the river, before being shocked by the fact that he came back up for air. The sound designers instead chose not to add the score yet, which left the audience with no idea what was going to happen next.
As Schofield regains his bearings and slowly opens his eyes, however, he notices flower petals falling from the trees, which is a reminder of his friend and the promises he made to him as he died. This is where the score starts. Gentle strings begin to accompany the three sounds from before, and as Schofield remembers the importance of his mission, and begins swimming to shore, the score becomes slightly quicker, more urgent, yet still gentle and hopeful. Minor key notes are added as Scofield approaches the shore, and must navigate through the bodies of fallen soldiers that have washed ashore, but Scofields does not slow down. As he finally frees himself from the gory scene, he braces himself against the muddy ground. His soaked clothes squelch on the riverbank as he pants and cries out in horror and disgust.
As Schofield begins to catch his breath and regain his bearings, a faint, distant sound is heard. It is hard to make out what it is exactly, but as the weary Schofield rises to his feet and ascends upward the sound becomes more clear. A single voice is singing, and the song carries through the trees, barely over the soft ambient sounds of the river and woods. Schofield’s footfalls are very audible. They are wet, tired, and deliberate, and they invite the viewer to feel every ounce of effort that each step is costing him.
The young man who is singing stays in the same place, and sings at the same volume throughout the scene, but as Schofield follows the sound, the song grows louder, clearer, and closer, until the troops that the man is singing for come into Schofield’s view. Schofield drops down at the back of the group to lean against a tree and listen. All other sound fades away; there is only ambient tone and the sharp vocals of the song. This is a beautiful way of portraying Schofield’s exhaustion, and his inability to listen to anything but this soldier’s singing. Schofield sits and rests until the song is over. When it ends, the soldiers all stand up at once, abruptly. The sudden rumble of men clamoring to their feet and weapons clanking together as they do so shakes Schofield out of his tired trance, and reminds him of his life-or-death mission.
The sound design of this scene may seem simple, but its apparent simplicity is what makes it effective. Each sound is given attention, and is not distracted from by loud, complex scores or overpowering sound effects. This choice is impactful because it mimics reality in a way that places the viewers in the scene with the main character. Everything, save for the soft score, is heard by the viewer almost exactly how Schofield himself would have heard it.
