The Flash tackles a lot of different tones throughout its run-time. Even beyond the multiverse stakes come into play, the Andy Muschietti-directed superhero movie balances a deft mix of emotional vulnerability, goofy comedy, and bombastic action. The film isn't afraid to indulge in some very fun music cues either, with the score kicking into DC classics when needed and pulling from an eclectic mix of loud rock, classical music, and acoustic ballads to help reinforce the shifting tones of the film.
During an interview with CBR, The Flash Supervising Sound Editor and Sound Designer John Marquis and Supervising Sound Editor Nancy Nugent spoke about their collaborative experience on the DC movie, getting to play with Danny Elfman's Batman theme, the importance of focusing on the character despite the scale of the surrounding action, and which songs almost replaced Michael Keaton's needle-drop introduction.
CBR: How did you approach showing off the Flash's super speed through the sound design?
John Marquis: Knowing Andy and the folks that were going to be involved with it -- when you think about a big blockbuster movie like this, you're thinking about giant battle sequences and all this stuff. But it didn't seem like from the script. The spectacle of that stuff wasn't going to be the bells and whistles. It was going to be like the emotional content. Making sure that we're going to be able to tailor the effects and tailor the music so the audience doesn't get distracted by the spectacle of things -- everything we'd loved about the script was in the story.
We didn't want to distract or trip over the music, but we were given the go-ahead to design, experiment, and invent at will. We didn't have to necessarily stick to any conventions that we used before in the past. Andy was super receptive. He had direction, but it was focused on the emotional direction -- wanting to feel that massive contrast between high-speed moments and super slow-mo, where music's gonna lead and when sound effects are going to take over. It's exciting to try to figure out how to do stuff like entering the Speed Force.
It's a convention now, the whole bullet time thing in regard to just slowing time down, but we didn't want to necessarily just do the standard base drops and all that. It was more like shifts with regard to visceral realism into subjective stuff. We really played up and made a point to get tactile and immediate with all the sound effects, at least before we shift into the subjective abstract slow-mo stuff.
You also got to play around with one of the most memorable scores in cinematic history -- that Danny Elfman Batman score. How did you approach sliding that music into the film without letting it become too overwhelming?
Marquis: Well, we mostly want to stay out of the way [laughing]. Because, yeah, people want to hear that. When you hear that theme for the first time, I mean, I can only speak from our perspective, but [The Flash composer] Benjamin Wallfisch was doing that tap dance, really. Andy had some specific ways that he wanted to make sure that the theme was honored.
Nancy Nugent: It was one of those moments in the film where we just wanted to hear the music. And we want to hear Keaton say those lines, you know? So anything to protect those, that's what we did while still keeping the momentum going. I mean, it gives you chill, to see him in that costume and hear that music. Oh my gosh, it's a great moment.
It's not the only notable needle-drop moment in the film, either. We've got CULTV and White Stripes for these fun action beats, and you get that heartbreaking sequence at the end of the film with Barry and his mother.
Nugent: I cried when we got to that scene. It's so beautiful. And I cried when I read it in the script. So now here, years later, I think they delivered that emotional impact of him seeing his mom, and that song choice is beautiful. Andy has great taste in music. Even going back to his previous movies, where he'll put a certain song from the '80s. He just has fun with it. Even when they go back to Barry's apartment and his roommates, [and] they're playing keyboards. I think it's just perfect. At one point, he was thinking of trying a different tune, and we were like, "No!" It's so perfect. It's so funny.
Marquis: That's something you worry about with some of these movies. Sometimes, we have the luxury of a pretty decent amount of time to mess around with stuff. So you worry that the longer you work on something, [There is] more potential for people to maybe steer things off course and experiment themselves into the black hole.
Nugent: Another great scene was Keaton's first scene. There were a couple of other songs. For a long time, that was set to a couple of different songs. I think, at the end, they came up with the perfect choice with that Chicago song, "25 Or 6 To 4." It just works so great. It's something you can picture [Bruce Wayne] putting on the turntable and listening to in his mansion by himself. And it worked out timing-wise. Every beat hits. That was a really late addition.
Marquis: The film's Picture Editors, Jason Ballantine and Paul Machliss, worked and reworked that scene, making sure all the cuts and everything was spot-on, tempo-wise.
What were some of the other songs that almost played in that scene?
Nugent: I know it was "My Sharona" by The Knack for a while.
Marquis: There was something else stuck in there for the longest time.
Nugent: It was "You Really Got Me Going" by the Kinks. I mean, they were all great in different ways. But dialing it into that perfect balance of what would he be listening to, what works with the motion of the scene, with the power of the scene? I think they nailed it with Chicago. I loved it.
You both have such a wealth of experience in this industry and have worked with so many different filmmakers. What would you say makes Andy Muschietti stand out from everyone else you've worked with?
Nugent: I think one thing that is great about him, even though he's done horror and superhero movie and all these things, it's his attention to his sense of humor and his attention to emotion. Whatever movie he's creating, it comes down to the characters and their relationships with each other, not just a spectacle of a gross and scary moment or a chase scene. And his humor is all over the films he does.
Marquis: He's such a collaborator, too. It was beautiful -- between the picture department, visual effects, music, sound design, and everything. Everything about it was really collaborative. He was very open. It was always a dialogue, always a conversation, and you are free to disagree or argue with him. He changed his mind when it made sense. And when he did, he would tell you why. He was very much the boss, obviously. But he wasn't overbearing. It was always a work in progress that was always being elevated every step of the way and was focused on whatever made the movie better.
The Flash is now playing in theaters.