Inside the Ground Breaking Sound Design Behind BCC's 'Reunion'

​BBC's latest drama, 'Reunion,' has been praised by critics and audiences alike, with some calling it 'an absolute revelation.' Company 3 was proud to provide the colour grade for the series by senior colourist Gareth Spensley and colourist Gareth Thomas, as well as immersive sound that elevated the series' storytelling, led by senior re-recording mixer Jamie Selway.

The sound team worked closely with director Luke Snellin and the Warp/BBC team to create a nuanced and authentic sonic landscape that reflects the diverse experiences of the characters, particularly those with varying levels of hearing loss.

'Reunion' presented a unique opportunity for the sound team to push the boundaries of sound design, moving beyond conventional filmic representations of people with hearing loss. "This project was a real gift for us as the sound was such a big part of the storytelling in the script," said Jamie Selway. "We were lucky to get involved early in the project, which meant we had time to experiment and consider the approach we were going to take when tackling the complex direction the script was going to take us."

Jamie and his team collaborated with the production, focusing on portraying the characters' experiences of sound through their hearing perspectives. "We had lots of conversations with Luke and the Warp / BBC team about how we could portray the different characters' experience of the world through their multiple/varied levels of hearing," Jamie explained.

The team experimented with unconventional techniques to achieve this, straying from typical sound roll-offs and high-pitched tinnitus effects. "We wanted to stay away from filmic conventions of just rolling off the sound and using high pitched tinnitus style sound design to portray hearing loss, so we started experimenting with techniques more tailored to the authentic feel Luke wanted to achieve," Jamie noted.

One innovative approach involved reversing iZotope RX de-noising software to create a 'ghost' of the original sounds layered with similarly treated foley. This proved particularly effective in recreating characters' experiences using cochlear implants, drawing inspiration from the sounds of stethoscopes and hearing aids.

For profoundly deaf characters, the team employed contact microphone recordings and subharmonic layering to build a rich sonic palette. "For the characters who were profoundly deaf, we took another approach. Trying to convey the feeling of sound using contact mic recordings and layering/building up subharmonics to build a sonic palette tailored to each character's different sound experience," Jamie added.

A standout scene featuring the character Brennan, who enjoys bass-heavy music, required a particularly immersive approach. "Brennan, who is profoundly deaf, talks about enjoying super bassy music... especially in his car, which is fitted with huge speakers and subwoofers. There is a scene where we enter his POV while he is blaring a Prodigy track," Jamie explained. To accurately depict this, Company 3 consulted with a sound bed company, experiencing first hand the physical vibrations of sound. "To understand what this might feel like, we were lucky enough to consult with a sound bed business that brought it into Company 3 and demonstrated it for us. It's a device you lie on; you can feel the sound through your body through physical vibrations. We used various techniques to portray that experience. We made recordings using contact mics to record the song and the vibrations you would feel through the seat. We also recorded the sounds a car of that age would make. There would be lots of rattles and shakes when music was played that loudly in an old car. This was all enhanced after using subharmonics to build low energy."

The collaboration extended to Company 3's picture post team, with senior finishing editor Clyde Kellet enhancing the sonic experience with visual shakes. "As we were also doing picture posts here art CO3, once the sound team and Luke were happy with the sound of the track through Brennan's POV, we spent time with Clyde Kellet, the Senior Finishing Editor, to build visual shakes that further enhanced the idea, we were feeling the song rather than hearing it."

A crucial scene involving a shout into a valley was brought to life using advanced reverb and reflection techniques. "There is a cool shot in the episode where Brennan shouts into the valley. Luke wanted this to have a far-reaching, extended canyon-style reverb and reflection to make a big thing of this moment, and we used multiple plugins to achieve this, including Slapper from Cargo Cult and Valhalla," Jamie concluded.

Company 3's innovative sound design in 'Reunion' delivers a powerful and moving experience for viewers, showcasing the team's commitment to pushing the boundaries of audio storytelling.

If you’re interested in collaborating with Company 3 on your next project, whether it’s sound, colour, finishing or dailies, reach out to becky.start@company3.com for episodic sales, jon.gray@company3.com for features, and ellora.soret@company3.com for short-form.