April 2021

Joe Beal is a Supervising Sound Editor and Sound Designer from London working at Boom Post. He’s worked on a wide range of projects including movie, The Imitation Game, directed by Morten Tyldum, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley, Amazon’s HANNA, and the BBC’s I May Destroy You. In 2019 Joe won BAFTA, Emmy and Music+Sound Awards for his Sound Design work on HBO/SKY's miniseries Chernobyl.

Here we have a quick chat…

MASA: Can you tell us a bit about your training and career path to date?

Joe: I studied Sound Technology at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, graduating in 2012. I was a runner at a few studios before I settled at Boom, and have been there ever since. I've been through a few different roles in my 9 years there - runner, assistant editor, Sound FX Editor - before moving into Supervising Sound Editor and Sound Designer roles. I learnt my craft from the senior editors and mixers at Boom, and continue to learn more with every project.

MASA: Last year you, along with Hildur Guðnadóttir, Stefan Henrix + Sam Slater, won Music+Sound Awards’ Best Sound Design in a Television Programme for the incredible, haunting sound on the HBO / Sky mini-series, Chernobyl. You all also won a BAFTA and an Emmy! Such incredible work; can you tell us a bit about your experience on the project? How did you go about creating such an authentic soundscape?

Joe: Chernobyl was a fantastic project to be involved in. Stefan and I faced two main challenges - to present historical authenticity in sound whilst also representing the magnitude and horror of the disaster, both in a physical and psychological sense. We ensured every sound was well researched and accurate, and we had fantastic access to props to record. The specific sounds that we couldn't easily find, we were able to record - for instance the Soviet era fire engine sirens. These were bespoke recordings of a period vehicle in the Ukraine made for the show.

We had time to experiment and create a palette of abstract sounds that formed the basis of the tonal FX design in the show. All the throbbing, droning, abstract tones were bespoke, created with specific moments and scenes in mind. Many of these were from a manipulated soviet choral music tape we found in a Russian tape machine we bought to use as a Foley prop.

Chernobyl was a fantastic collaborative project, and our Director Johan Renck and Writer/Exec Craig Mazin were brilliant at understanding the role that sound would have to play in creating a threatening environment. We were encouraged to push the design to the extremes, and space was left in the script and edit for us to be able to make a big impact. This has such a big part to play in the success of sound in the show - it is given space to flourish.

MASA: Can you tell us what you’re currently working on? How has Covid impacted things?

Joe: I'm about to start Series 3 of Amazon's HANNA. It's a brilliant show with a great crew, and I'm really excited to make a start on the 3rd season. Similarly to Chernobyl, sound is given space to be impactful alongside a brilliant score.

Covid has meant that our process has moved online/remote where it has to. Spotting, mixing and review sessions have been taking place virtually and face time with other crew members is reduced to where it is absolutely necessary. ADR sessions have also been remote, with Boom establishing a brilliant remote ADR process so that actors can remain at home and safe, but still record on pro quality equipment couriered to their houses and controlled from an isolated studio. We've had great success at delivering shows through the lockdowns, but I think everyone involved in the process is looking forward to getting back onto the mix stages together once restrictions can be eased.

MASA: Has there been a scene you’ve worked on over the last few years that has stood out as being particularly challenging? And one you’re particularly proud of?

Joe: In S2 of HANNA we had a drug trial, hallucination scene where Hanna is watching a forest-scape on a screen but experiencing auditory flashbacks. It was visually quite simple, but we had to bring a lot with sound. Helicopters, guns, dogs were warped and manipulated with distorted forest atmosses. We got to a really good place with it, and it really sold her hallucination induced panic attack.

I'm proud of the scene in Chernobyl where they're shovelling graphite off the reactor roof. There's a lot going on in that scene, and it all comes together really effectively. A constant design pulse, FX/Foley shovelling and running, ADR breaths in radiation suits, dosimeter clicking as we move closer and further from the core, drones that rise and distort as we move closer to the core, etc. It all comes together without you being really aware of any one element, just the terrifying idea of having to be on top of an exposed nuclear reactor.

MASA: What is your most used software / hardware?

Joe: Pro Tools is at the centre of our whole process, from tracklaying and designing to mixing and delivery, so that would be the most used software! In terms of hardware, my trusty Roland R26 recorder is probably the most used. Often successful sound editing isn't about having a complex tracklay or a lot of gear, it's about simply having the right sound. Having a seemingly indestructible mic/recorder in my backpack for the last 10 years has allowed me to collect a huge range of interesting sounds that you come across in day to day life, and having these at my disposal is key to my work as an editor.

MASA: And lastly, what will you be looking for when judging? In your opinion, what makes a piece of sound design outstanding?

I'll be looking for novel approaches to familiar scenes, where people have done something outside of the ordinary. Subverting the viewers expectations and adding value to a scene in an interesting way are things that I love to see. I think what makes a piece of sound design outstanding is doing something that no one else would think to do. We can all cut big booms and crashes, but what can you do that is unique, unexpected and impactful?

Enormous thanks, Joe, for giving your time here. Hearing more about your processes is so valuable to us. Look forward to hearing your future work!

Find out more about Joe and Boom Post at www.boompost.co.uk