On James Mangold’s Searchlight drama A Complete Unknown, the sound team faced a monumental task: bringing the vibrant, raw atmosphere of Bob Dylan’s early years to life. With Timothée Chalamet stepping into Dylan’s shoes and performing live throughout the film, each of his dozens of musical numbers needed to feel as raw, authentic, and spontaneous as possible. After working out innovative techniques to capture Chalamet’s voice and instrumental performances, which included hiding microphones in guitars and even in the actor’s hair, the team meticulously reconstructed the sounds of Dylan’s world.
This reconstruction included the acoustics of a range of musical venues, from the raw energy of Greenwich Village’s folk scene to the infamous Newport ’65, when Dylan famously went electric. The end result is a breathtaking soundscape that transports the audience straight into the heart of Dylan’s musical revolution. In today’s edition of The Process, Mangold interviews the creatives responsible for bringing this project to life, many of whom have collaborated with him throughout his career.
Among the sound team members featured are supervising sound editor Don Sylvester, supervising music editor Ted Caplan, re-recording mixers Paul Massey and David Giammarco, as well as production audio mixer Tod Maitland, who is collaborating with Mangold for the first time. Maitland describes the experience as unique, stating, “This movie was like no other…sound-wise. We pretty much went by the seat of our pants every day.”
Caplan shares insights into the complexities of bringing the sound of A Complete Unknown to fruition. He explains that there were several major elements to “juggle and sort through.” According to him, “The first big lift was working with Maitland’s production recordings of live musical performances, weaving the narrative with the lyrics and the performances.” He also highlights the creative use of Dylan’s songs to score the film during transitional moments, deconstructing tracks and examining their potential to enhance the narrative.
Furthermore, Caplan notes the multitude of source music present throughout the film, emphasizing the necessity of capturing the essence of street music in New York City. “In the very first scene, we arrive on MacDougal Street, and there’s got to be 10 tracks going in and out and feathering, just to get the feel of a real New York scene,” he elaborates.
During scenes that involve musical performances, one significant challenge was managing “music bleed-through.” This issue occurred when the microphone intended to capture Chalamet’s voice also picked up surrounding live instruments and the crowd noise. Sound libraries came into play to cultivate the atmosphere of Newport ’65, as only a limited number of extras were present on set, contrasting the actual event’s attendance of around 15,000 people.
In tackling crowd scenes, Mangold aimed to avoid sensory overload and “gray sound,” which he defines as adding noise to the track that doesn’t contribute meaningfully to the storytelling. He reflects, “In working with Paul and David all these years, I feel like I keep learning. Sometimes, less is more. There’s only so much you can perceive at once. It’s really important that we understand, what do we want [the audience] to hear right now? Because ‘everything’ is kind of not a good answer.”
Mangold expresses appreciation for his sound team’s craft and “the specificity of [their] worldbuilding,” emphasizing how their work brought “an indescribable feeling of reality” to the film. Released on Christmas Day, A Complete Unknown is now up for eight Academy Awards this year, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Sound. Mangold’s collaboration with his talented sound team has resulted in a film that resonates deeply with audiences, showcasing the power of sound design in storytelling.
