BA(Hons) Sound Design student looking for info/doc on FX :-)

[Drue Johnson]

BA(Hons) Sound Design student looking for info/doc on the Sound Effects/Sound Design in Evil Dead 2

Hay all

My names Drue Johnson and i'm a student at Ravensbourne University London studying a BA(Hons) degree in Sound Design and i'm writing a paper on the importance of sound effects. It's their ability to drive and move a film and its audience through creatively tailor made sounds that strikes me and Evil Dead 2 really does this to a very high standard. The scene where the camera pans along the wall and moves in time to the sound of deep snuffling growling springs to mind, not to mention the sound of "The Evil" itself

It is this kind of interconnection between sound and vision where the 2 become one entity that I personally thoroughly enjoy creating and also experiencing others work within this mind-frame too.

However, i am having a very hard time finding any info on Evil Dead 2s Sound Design so I can only comment on my own perceptions of this sound

So far I have watched:-
The Making of 'Evil Dead II' or The Gore the Merrier
Evil Dead 2 - Behind The Screams
but neither have any info about the sound design at all which is a shame.

I haven't seen Swallowed Souls documentary however because I don't have a blu-ray player but from what I can tell ( http://dailydead.com/new-evil-dead-ii-b ... sed-today/ ) this doesn't cover the sound design either :-/
I find this crazy since Evil Dead 2 has such a rich and wonderful sound-to-image interplay :-/

So I thought i'd ask here if anyone knows of a documentary or a page or paper written by the sound designers (preferably with a link hehe) which talks about the Evil Dead 2 sounds and their creation etc

Anyone have any info?

Thx for your time everyone

Sign:- Drue johnson.

[EvilDeadChainsaws]

Nothing leaps to mind, but you could try both the standard DVD commentary track, that's the same one as on the current Blu-Ray too? As I recall this book covers the ED2 sound design;

The Practical Art of Motion Picture Sound by David Yewdall
Paperback: 424 pages
Publisher: Focal Press; 2nd Revised edition edition (7 May 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0240805259
ISBN-13: 978-0240805252

I've attached scans of the relevant pages.

You'd be far better off looking at the Evil Dead 1 sound design, that is far more widely covered in the various sources available. You could also try some of the books about the trilogy;

If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: L.A. Weekly Books (August 24, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312291450
ISBN-13: 978-0312291457
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches

Rushes by Josh Becker
Paperback: 276 pages
Publisher: Point Blank (May 15, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0809573008
ISBN-13: 978-0809573004
Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches

The Evil Dead Companion by Bill Warren
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (January 15, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312275013
ISBN-13: 978-0312275013
Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 0.7 inches

The Unseen Force : The Films of Sam Raimi by John Kenneth Muir
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Applause Books; illustrated edition edition (May 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1557836078
ISBN-13: 978-1557836076
Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.7 x 1 inches

The Evil Dead by Kate Egan
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Wallflower Press (October 1st, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1906660344
ISBN-13: 978-1906660345
Product Dimensions: Unknown

The Egos Have Landed: Rise and Fall of Palace Pictures by Angus Finney
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd (29 April 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0434002208
ISBN-13: 978-0434002207

[Drue Johnson]

Hay EvilDeadChainsaws

Thx alot for all of that! The interview with Bruce Campbell was an excellent read and it is great to find out his depth of involvement with the sound and his personal love of working with it so thank you very much for going out of your way to get those pages for me here

It really is alot of fun writing a paper when you have a love of the subject, such as I have been writting up some about my analysis of the sound of "The Evil" itself noting the "Rise in pitch" as the evil charges through the woods and towards its victim drawing links with Tolstoys writing for instance and also how this anxiety feeling is a direct cause of a raise in pitch of speech also, "Anxiety can cause the muscles in the throat to tighten, resulting in speech that is higher in pitch." (Jeffrey Frederick, Ph.D. 2006)

My next phase is im going to highlight its influence in the genre and sound design through the years since its release noting such greats as Braindead and Peter Jackson for instance

Off the top of your head are their any films you can think of that have similaritys and hence, have drawn influence from Evil Dead 2 (and the rest of the trilogy) in their sound design, such as, sound effects, directing camera with sound and so forth?

Thx again for your time and all your help

[Drue Johnson]

Hay again

I got a B+!

Just wanted to say thx again for the above info, it was a great help in the research for my essay

Thx man!