How is Caravan unique for you?

Each project is unique, and you have to get on the director's wavelength and try to grasp their main intention. That's the key for me. Zuzana is a very sensitive filmmaker – the authenticity of situations is very important to her. She works with almost documentary conviction and truthfulness, avoiding any artificiality. As a result, Caravan often works on a subconscious level, getting under the skin of the viewer: even though it is fictionalised and stylised, it feels extremely real. We took a similar approach with the sound, playing with the smallest subtleties and details. But in the final mix, all the elements of the soundtrack have to feel believable, natural and functional.

How did that "playing" go?

Klára Javoříková did the contact sound on set, then we took turns working with my colleague Michal Deliopulos, with whom I often collaborate. I worked with Zuzana mainly in post-production, where we were fine-tuning little things like breath sounds. Even though they were recorded in a studio, we had to make them sound as if they had been contact-recorded on set. The audience should never guess how the soundtrack in a film is created – just as the musical component shouldn't stand out. Ideally, the sound in a film should emerge as a single layer in which the viewer never notices the individual means of expression.

What was your sound concept with Kirchnerová?

Zuzana focused on the intimacy and closeness of the main characters. That's why you’re able to hear even the subtlest sounds the actors make as if you were right there with them. Zuzana didn't want the sound and music components to be “prescriptive” either – the sound design and the music should create a mood but not dictate any emotions. The musical dramaturgy is very deliberate so that it does not interfere with the feeling of authenticity.

How did you capture the subtle sonic expressions of the actors?

The main male character, David, a boy with Down syndrome, doesn't speak much. We, however, needed to get authentic sounds like breathing and munching from the character's portrayer, non-actor David Vodstrčil. It's difficult to shoot post-synch with non-actors in the unnatural environment of a studio, where it's quiet and dark and nothing inspires you to react appropriately to the situation – which experienced actors can do. So sometimes Zuzana would tickle David, or I would squeeze and twist him, and when we needed panting sounds, we made him run up the stairs. Nevertheless, David proved to be a very skilled actor. Michal Deliopulos, meanwhile, selected and processed sounds that conveyed the character of Italy – cicadas, crickets, the sea… It was great that we had enough time to really play with the sounds. If Zuzana and I are not really happy with what we're working on, we can't move on.

You already collaborated with Kirchnerová on her film Bába. Now you are both working on a series about the writer Simona Monyová for the VOD platform Oneplay. How has your partnership progressed?

We are friends, so our collaboration is very pleasant, and I know her working style very well. In Bába, for example, we worked with the concept of relatively sharp sound edits and onsets, whereas in Caravan the transitional sections are much more colourful, gradual and varied.

You have worked on very diverse films, such as the animated Goat Story with Cheese, the fairy tale Devilry and the musical documentary The Grand Finale of PSO. How did working on them differ?

Goat Story with Cheese was the first Czech full-length 3D animation. In a feature film, the sound designer works with contact sound as a basis, having at least the dialogue, whereas in an animation you have nothing. It's a blank sheet of paper; everything that occurs in the soundtrack is up to you. Even in a fairy tale you have more room to work with stylisation. In general, variety is important to me in my profession, as well as the possibility to be involved in a film from beginning to end.

Isn't that the norm?

It used to be, but in recent years there has been a tendency in our country to follow the Western model and professionalise individual categories of sound engineering work. There are sound engineers who specialise in recording contact sound on set, recording foley effects, sound editing, sound design, mixing… Each of them does a good job, but with so many people involved in the sound, what happens to the overall concept? These days, it's not possible for one sound designer to do everything, from prep to recording, sound cleanup, editing, atmospherics, and even recording the music. But I find it more appealing when one person has signed off on a unifying idea and imprints his or her style on the film than when several professionals do their work properly, but with a lack of originality. When you're with a film from the beginning to the end, you can think things through in advance and keep an eye on them. For example, working on a fairy tale, I would discuss with the director where the actor walking through the forest should be frightened, and I could go ahead and prepare the material for post-production on the set.

Is there a phase of working on sound that you particularly enjoy?

I really like how diverse it is. When I get on set, I just record what I need. I'll decide I want a certain vibe on a multichannel mike, for example, and know that no one else is going to do it for me. But on set, it's often a long and challenging process, so I really look forward to the post-production phase for sound design, selection, editing, and mixing. But if I'm in the studio for too long, I like to go see live people on set. The routine would kill me otherwise.

How did you become a sound engineer?

When I was a teenager, I was totally into music. I picked up the electric guitar, and my friends and I formed a bunch of bands. I worked in a music studio for two years – I got to try my hand at recording a band and a symphony orchestra. When I started at Czech Television, I thought I'd be drawn to sound engineering, but I found that working in film was much more varied and interesting.

Is there a sound you particularly like or dislike?

Of the ones I include in films? We use a huge variety of newly recorded and archival sounds when creating sound design for a film. It's kind of like how orchestral music is composed. Sometimes it's just a solo instrument, sometimes a full orchestra, and sometimes a number of sounds and tracks are playing at the same time in the sound layers of a film. Usually, a single sound is made up of dozens of layers mixed into one. I really like an old archival wind that sounds almost fairy tale-like and has a harmonising and relaxing effect on me. It doesn't work always and everywhere, but it plays in the credits of Caravan.