‘The dialogue is king': ‘Adolescence' sound editor James Drake on the ‘chaotic and intense' first episode
Drake says that Barantini first mentioned Adolescence while the two were working on Boiling Point. 'It sounded unbelievable what they wanted to achieve,' admits the sound editor. He knew from this early moment that each episode of the show would be shot in a single, continuous take, which added to the excitement. 'He explained the opening of Episode 1, going from the car to the house to the van to the police station, all around the police station. … Nothing had been done like this, at least in the U.K.,' reflects the BAFTA nominee.
More from GoldDerby
'Have I said too much?' David Chase and Alex Gibney on revisiting 'The Sopranos' for 'Wise Guy' doc - and, yes, that finale
Every Disney live-action remake, ranked from worst to first (updated)
All the 'Mission: Impossible' movies, ranked (updated)
This unique approach to the production of Adolescence meant Drake became involved earlier than usual. 'The process was different, and really early on Phil said you really need to come to set,' remembers the sound editor. He explains that he was there for the shoot of both Episode 1 and Episode 2, which afforded him and the sound team unique opportunities: 'We had this approach where post sound and production sound were working together. … We were doing two takes a day, which meant we had down time after every single take to go away, go up to the edit room, and listen to everything.' The result was 'a huge library of 600 sound effects recorded on set' and '10 takes of each episode' from which Drake could work.
SEE 'It's saving lives': 'Adolescence' stars Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper on the series' stunning success
The first episode of Adolescence wastes no time in gripping the audience, as the series begins with police breaking down the door of the Miller house and conducting a home search to arrest Jamie and collect evidence of the crime he is accused of committing. 'I spent a week just on the production dialogue of that first 12 minutes,' says Drake, continuing, 'I knew that was going to be the biggest challenge we were going to have, maybe in the series.' A big element of that challenge was conveying the chaos of the situation without sacrificing the audience's ability to gleam important information. 'We needed the audience to understand as much as they could about what was going on, so it was very much taking a very slow approach with the dialogues and working through and finding alt takes,' he says, adding, 'The dialogue is king … so we're always trying to keep that clear and front and center, but also … it needed to feel chaotic and intense.'
Another standout scene from a sound perspective comes much later in the episode, when Jamie undergoes saliva and blood tests and a strip search. Part of creating the intrusiveness of that scene came from 'the air condition unit in the room, the room tones being more abrasive, more uncomfortable, and being able to shave those away and have this really stark and really upsetting moment of a dad hearing his son being strip searched a meter away from him,' describes Drake. He and Barantini also wanted to foreground Graham's performance as Jamie's father, Eddie: 'It should at that moment be Eddie's breath and hearing P.C. Jenkins and Jamie going through the strip search. … When the performances are that good as well, we just want to let them shine.'
Episode one culminates in a long interrogation scene, where the detectives lay out their case against Jamie to the teenager, his father, and their attorney. Drake notes that an early cut of the scene featured 'a few sounds coming from the police station,' but he and the sound team quickly realized 'we want to be behind that door and be sealed off from the world.' He shares that the biggest hurdle in getting the sound design right for this pivotal sequence was separating the performances from the technical aspects of the shoot, revealing, 'There's three or four people — camera operator, two boom operators — actually walking around that room, all throughout that scene, and in real life, that's a tiny, tiny room.' The sound editor thus embarked on a 'really careful cleaning process so we didn't affect anything, but kept every performance we could.'
This article and video are presented by Netflix.
SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions
Best of GoldDerby
Dream Team: 'Étoile' creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino on the secrets of their partnership: 'You want to be jealous of something someone has done'
TV sound editors roundtable: 'Adolescence' and 'Secret Level'
'Secret Level' sound editor Matt Yocum on using the 'punchy aesthetic' of video game audio for new animated series
Click here to read the full article.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
35 minutes ago
- USA Today
Adam Sandler dishes on what he's most proud of in 'Happy Gilmore 2'
Adam Sandler has grown up at least a little bit in the past three decades. His 'Happy Gilmore' co-star Julie Bowen noticed. In the first film in 1996 featuring Sandler as the accidental golfer, Happy's 'happy place' is a dreamy scene where love interest Virginia (Bowen) is clad in white lingerie and double-fisting pitchers of beer. (Happy's bad place? Virginia in black lingerie and canoodling with rival Shooter McGavin, played by Christopher McDonald.) Cut to 29 years later. In 'Happy Gilmore 2' (streaming now on Netflix), Sandler, 58, includes a moment when present-day Virginia shares screen time with her younger self and quips to Happy that she "can't believe" this was his happy place. "I'm sorry," he says, and Virginia replies: "Oh, sweetie, don't worry. I'm not here to judge your fantasies." Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox 'When I read that he wanted to update it a little bit and comment on it, I wasn't sure anybody even needed that,' Bowen, 55, says in a video chat with Sandler and McDonald. 'I love that scene. I love it when it's the bad place and Shooter grabs my (rear). I didn't feel objectified. It was too much with the tongue, though.' ('Oh, sorry,' jokes McDonald, 70.) Filming the new scene felt 'exactly right' to Bowen, though, 'because Happy would have grown up, too,' she says. Bowen figures that Sandler was making a little 'love you' ode to his two daughters 'as far as saying 'Yes, maybe I was a little immature.' But maybe I am really immature because I always liked that scene.' Adds Sandler: 'Seeing you at this age talk to a young version, you still look phenomenal and you're sweet as hell and people love you. It was nice to watch it.' In the sequel, co-written by Sandler, Happy has left golf behind after a tragic accident years ago. When he needs to raise $300,000 to send his daughter Vienna (Sunny Sandler) to a prestigious ballet school in Paris, Happy hits the links again, where he runs into old pal Shooter (and his celebratory finger guns). Happy also has to save traditional golf when an energy drink mogul (Benny Safdie) tries to popularize a more extreme version of the sport. The OG "Happy Gilmore" trio have a freewheeling chat with USA TODAY – and goof on one another – about the long-awaited reunion: Q: Adam, it takes Happy a few holes to get his signature swing back. How about you in real life? Sandler: I didn't practice at all before the movie. I don't know why. And then I was like, "Oh, yeah, how's this go again?" And then it came back pretty quick. The beauty of the movie is you can swing and miss and then they say, "OK, let's do another take." We got a few chances to get it right. Julie and Chris, this movie is packed with cameos. Who were your favorites to see walk on set? Sandler: None of them would talk to Julie. Bowen: Also, my trailer was a mile away from set. McDonald: By design. Bowen: The call sheet was coded. It did not have anybody's names on it and there were 135 different cast members. I was flying back and forth because I still have kids in school in California and we shot in New Jersey. I would see Polaroids in the hair and makeup trailer and I saw a person that no one's mentioned yet. And I'm like, "When was he here?!" "He's Newscaster No. 4." And I'm like, "Are you kidding me?" Sandler: Bubba Watson. You loved your Bubba. Julie knows her golf, by the way. McDonald: He's a good man, Bubba Watson. I have known a few of these golf legends and legends-in-training. But seeing them one-on-one, it's like: "Oh, my God, that's Rory McIlroy. That's Bryson DeChambeau. That's Scottie Scheffler." It was mind-blowing for me. And I came in on my days off just to hang out with them. Sandler: They all love seeing Shooter. Adam, both your daughters and wife are in the sequel. What does it mean to you to have these kinds of movies that you used to make with your friends now become part of this bigger family legacy? Sandler: It is just all happening fast. Kids are growing up − they really are into acting and movies, and it's always been our thing to work with our friends and family. It's cool to see them getting better. They work hard and they go to school for it, and they love it. So, yeah, I'm just proud. Couldn't love them more. Was there anything from the first movie that you all used in the new movie? Bowen: I got my hair back. Was that your OG jersey? Sandler: I got a different size (laughs). The hockey jersey went from a medium to a something. There were a couple Xs in there. The real grandpa's clubs (from the first film) are in the movie. Bowen: Finger guns? McDonald: I brought the kids out. Chris, how many times in a week do people do the finger guns to you? McDonald: Well, it depends on where I am. Airports, 4,000. Walking the city streets of New York, 9,000. It seems like it's every day when I'm out in public. It's really cool. People are kind enough just to go, "Shootah!" and we have a good laugh. The fans are what keeps this classic going. So I have no problems at all pulling out the guns when necessary.
Time Magazine
36 minutes ago
- Time Magazine
The Real Person Who Inspired 'Happy Gilmore'
Since the sequel was confirmed in May of last year, fans have been anticipating the return of Happy Gilmore's wild swing. Nearly 30 years since the original movie became a box-office and home video success with its quotable lines, over-the-top cameos (see: Bob Barker's legendary fight scene) and quirky sports-underdog story, Adam Sandler returns as the anti-establishment golf dynamo in Happy Gilmore 2, premiering on Netflix July 25. When the new movie picks up, decades after his rise to golf fame, Happy's life has changed a great deal since we last saw him. Now a father to five mostly grown children, having weathered some critical life events that led him to pack up his clubs, Happy's reluctant return to the green isn't about saving Grandma's house—it's to pay for his talented daughter's expensive Parisian dance lessons. The stakes are different, but the hustle remains the same. With his signature temper and unorthodox swing still intact, Happy takes on a new generation of rivals, reconnects with old allies, and proves that he's still got what it takes to shake up the golf world. But as the character returns to the center of pop-cultural discourse, it's worth revisiting an origin story that many fans might not know, or remember: that the idea for the goofy, hot-tempered golfer actually came from Sandler's own childhood. Here is the story of Kyle McDonough, the lifelong friend who inspired an iconic character. The making of Happy Gilmore When Happy Gilmore went into production in 1995, Sandler was just coming off of a five-year run on Saturday Night Live, where he had become a fan favorite for characters like 'Canteen Boy' and 'Opera Man.' Though he had appeared in a few supporting film roles, it was the unexpected success of 1995's Billy Madison, a film he co-wrote with his writing partner Tim Herlihy, that positioned Sandler as a rising big-screen comedic lead. In finding a formula that worked, Sandler and Herlihy doubled down on Madison's "man-child" archetype by crafting a character whose immaturity, explosive temper, and oddly endearing charm would become central to Sandler's on-screen identity. Their writing process often involved riffing on simple, silly concepts and building characters around bizarre premises or one-joke ideas that could evolve into something more substantial. The film's influences included the obvious, like the golf comedy Caddyshack, as well as unexpected genre nods. Carl Weathers' Chubbs Peterson, a one-handed former golf pro who lost his other hand to an alligator, had direct visual and tonal references to Weathers' previous role in Predator. But before all those things came into play there was McDonough, Sandler's childhood friend without whom there may never have been a Happy Gilmore. Kyle McDonough's hockey-infused golf swing Sandler met McDonough when he moved from his birthplace of Brooklyn to New Hampshire at age 6. The two became friends and went on to play hockey together for their high school team. McDonough comes from a family with deep roots in hockey. His father, Hubie McDonough Jr., coached high school hockey, while his brother, Hubie III, enjoyed a 13-year professional career, playing for teams including the Los Angeles Kings and the New York Islanders. Even though McDonough's talents were primarily dedicated to the rink, they transferred to the green, where he could demolish golf balls handily, outdriving even technically skilled competitors using pure hockey power. Sandler's dad watched McDonough in awe and said five words that would inspire a cult classic: 'There's something funny in there.' The influence of Stanley Sandler In the 1996 film, Weathers' Peterson serves as a golf mentor to Happy, offering guidance much like Sandler's own father did. Throughout his career, the younger Sandler has often spoken about the significant influence his father had on him. Stanley Sandler, an avid golfer, often brought young Adam to the driving range, where the two bonded over the game. After watching McDonough play, it was Stanley who pointed out how hockey players have an uncanny ability to transfer their talents onto the golf course. That influence extended to his son's creative work, particularly when it came to shaping the golf scenes in Happy Gilmore. Since Stanley had such an extensive knowledge of the game, Sandler and Herlihy, who re-teamed on Happy Gilmore 2, would use him as a sort of unofficial fact-checker during the writing process to ensure the accuracy of their screenplay. 'We'd call my dad and say 'does this make sense?' and 'when you putt what are you thinking?'' the comedian and filmmaker explained last year on the Kelce brothers' New Heights podcast. The iconic 'It's all in the hips' line that Chubb delivers to Happy was pulled directly from one of those conversations between father and son. Lines like that weren't solely for laughs—they came from real memories, which lent heart to the humor that resonated both on and off the screen. Sandler's father's legacy also brought extra meaning to golf legend Jack Nicklaus agreeing to cameo as himself in the sequel. 'I talked to him [Nicklaus] on the phone a couple of weeks before we shot and it reminded me of growing up so much and what he meant to my dad,' Sandler said in an interview last year with Dan Patrick, who also appears in the new movie. Where is McDonough now? While Happy struggled to make the hockey roster in the first film, McDonough's accomplishments are the kind his fictional counterpart could only dream about. After high school, he became a star player at the University of Vermont, where he was a three-time ECAC All-Star and a first-team All-American in 1989. He led the Catamounts to the program's first NCAA tournament appearance in 1988 and the team's only ECAC Division I title game appearance in 1989. He led the team in scoring for three out of his four years there. Following his collegiate career, McDonough took his talents overseas, spending 11 professional seasons playing for teams across Europe including Denmark, Sweden, and Scotland. But it was in 2000 with Frisk Asker Ishockey in Norway, during his final season, where he had his greatest success. 'I've had so many good memories from hockey,' McDonough reflected, 'but I'd say winning the Norwegian Elite series championship in my last year would be right up there at the top.' All of his accomplishments led him to be inducted into both the UVM Athletic Hall of Fame and the New Hampshire Legends Of Hockey. Since retiring from professional hockey, McDonough ventured into coaching, like his father, at both the high school and collegiate levels. As far as his role as the inspiration behind Happy, McDonough owns the connection. Sandler and McDonough's friendship has endured the long Hollywood chapter between films. 'I've been to many movie shoots and a couple of Super Bowls with him, he said in an interview with British Ice Hockey, 'and he always takes care of everything and treats his old buds like kings.'
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Kyle Newacheck says 'Happy Gilmore' is part of his comedic DNA
NEW YORK, July 25 (UPI) -- What We Do in the Shadows and Murder Mystery director Kyle Newacheck says the new comedy Happy Gilmore 2 was made for lifelong Adam Sandler fans like himself. "I had to insert myself into the audience chair more than normal because I, too, am a fan of the first one, so I really tried to approach it with the love of the first one and I really enjoyed that," Newacheck, 41, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview. "That's a critical part of my comedic DNA," he explained. "I was 12 when I watched it. I didn't know I wanted to be a director at that point, but I think it did inform me of what I should do." He added that the sequel is made "with a lot of respect towards the first one and then a desire to make something new that stands on its own two feet." Premiering Friday on Netflix, the movie finds the titular former hockey bad boy-turned-champion golfer (Adam Sandler) down on his luck and coming out of retirement to pay for a prestigious Parisian dance school for his teen daughter Vienna (Sunny Sandler). Adam Sandler wrote the screenplay with Tim Herlihy. Julie Bowen returns for the sequel as Happy's supportive wife, Virginia, Christopher Macdonald as his frenemy Shooter McGavin, and the late Carl Weathers is seen in flashback as Happy's mentor Chubbs. The film balances the laughs with the emotion that comes from real-life challenges such as addiction, grief and financial insecurity. "Broad comedies -- comedies that put the genre first -- need to have those deeper themes, if you want your audience to feel, and we wanted people to feel and feel good," Newacheck said. "The only way you can get the heart warm is if you kind of earn it... going through trials and tribulations. What Happy is up against in this sequel is hard. They're hard things to get through. When you see your character make peace with those tough, relatable life milestones, for a lack of a better term, you feel good. You feel positive for the character." When the sequel catches up to him, Happy also is the father of Vienna's four rambunctious brothers, played by Ethan Cutkosky, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Philip Fine Schneider and Conor Sherry. Newacheck loved filming group scenes where the chaotic crew constantly argues and loudly talks over each other. "That's how real conversations go down! Not everybody waits for their turn to say their line," the filmmaker said. "Adam loves it, too," he added. "I've seen him be a father to his two daughters [in real life] often and that's a certain person, but, in the moment, to have four boys that are surrounding him, it was really cool to watch him be a dad to four boys." Bowen has been candid in recent interviews about feeling surprised that Sandler wanted her back for the sequel, given that middle-aged women are sometimes replaced as love interests when there is a big time gap between movies. But Newacheck insisted that hiring a younger actress was never even discussed. "Julie Bowen brings an energy that is unrivaled. She was there when the first one started. She's knows Happy Gilmore better than anybody, so when she's on set, she can click right into that and watching her and Adam click into that love, that genuine admiration for each other is real," Newacheck said. "I could not see a world where there was a recast of Julie Bowen. She is phenomenal and I really enjoyed working with her. I love watching her. She truly is the heart of this movie and she knew that. She knew she was the heart and she played it right." Several scene-stealers, including Weathers, Bob Barker, Richard Kiel and Frances Bay -- died in between the making of the two movies, but Sandler and Newacheck lovingly included meaningful nods to them in Happy Gilmore 2. "We tried to use as much care and as much love as we could when bringing them back and trying to bring them back in a way that services the humor, but also makes you fondly remember those that helped build this universe," Newacheck said. Solve the daily Crossword
