Michael Babcock has spent nearly three decades crafting soundscapes for some of Hollywood's biggest films, from Christopher Nolan's Inception to Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Two. He's a sound designer, supervising sound editor, and re-recording mixer, so in different projects, he's got his hands in every part of the sound post-production.He designed sound for Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters, which has become the streaming platform's most popular English-language film ever, with more than 236 million views. The animated musical about demon-fighting K-pop stars required him to master K-pop production techniques and integrate them seamlessly with traditional film sound design.KPop Demon Hunters follows the K-pop girl group HUNTR/X, who lead double lives as demon hunters protecting their fans from supernatural threats. The group consists of lead vocalist Rumi (Arden Cho), rebellious Mira (May Hong), and cheerful rapper Zoey (Ji-young Yoo). But Rumi harbors a secret—she's half-demon. Just as they are about to defeat their demon enemies for good, they encounter the Saja Boys, a rival boy band who are actually demons in disguise, led by the charismatic Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop).The film includes legit K-pop hits that have already topped charts. For Babcock, who oversaw sound, his own background in music helped, including degrees in jazz saxophone and music engineering. We hopped on a Zoom call with Babcock, bonded quickly over our love of woodwind instruments, and then dove into a conversation about sound design for animation and the unique mix that makes all of the music in KPop sound different from every other...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Yesterday