The first piece of four 5 minute sound design pieces created for my final university professional practice portfolio. I received 1st Class Honours for my work across all four sound design pieces.

Better Call Saul is a live action drama; in Season 5 Episode 3, it opens on a progressively growing number of ants swarming an ice cream. Following the title card, protagonist Jimmy is transported by cartel members to meet with antagonist Lalo in a warehouse. 

Impressed with how tension is built entirely through the acting while the soundtrack maintains a sense of ironic obliviousness to the suspense present, I approached my piece following the same perspective; even during incredibly stressful moments, the surrounding world and soundscape can be indifferent to your troubles. 

When choosing music alternative to the show’s original selection, I decided upon Misty (1960) by Ella Fitzgerald and Así Se Compone Un Son (1973) by Ismael Miranda. Misty plays non-diegetically during the ant scene. I felt it would be ironically fitting for a smooth song about feeling hopeless due to love’s entrapment to play as backhanded foreboding for the cartel’s entrapment of Jimmy. This contrasting irony is further exaggerated by the progressive horror drones I added (starting 0:59), the discomfort presented by the saturated sound of the ants’ swarm (1:34) and the violent ant screech (1:40). When the clip cuts to a zoomed out view of the ice cream (1:42), I emphasised the contrastingly uncaring ambience of the city, once again bringing forth the idea of a soundscape oblivious to the action.

Así Se Compone Un Son was mixed to sound like it plays diegetically through the mens’ radio (2:20) and was edited to sync the brass hits with the show’s hard cuts. It was chosen due to its lighthearted sound; as far as Jimmy understands, he may be being driven to his death while the men uncaringly play salsa music.

Past the title card, every sound occurs diegetically and is rooted within the realm of reality to fit the show’s live-action aesthetic. Attention was placed on the reverb present as the car turns off the main road (2:57) and for sounds within the warehouse (3:11+) to guarantee convincing sound spatialisation.

The warehouse’s ambience (3:11+) was made to sound empty despite the tension to greater place the viewer within Jimmy’s reality; there are no drones that artificially increase suspense. 

Jimmy’s footsteps (3:43) were characterised as nervous through making them sound subdued and quieter than the other men’s. Lalo’s brashness is characterised by how loud and fast he rummages through his toolkit (3:22). His footsteps (4:22) also include a greater crunch, displaying an increased weight and thus confidence compared to Jimmy’s steps.

Additionally, I added the sound of a VHS tape being inserted when ‘A Netflix Original Series’ (2:14) displays to reference Netflix’s origins as a VHS rental company, presenting a skeuomorphic nostalgia based off sounds audiences would historically hear before a Netflix show began.