Finding a V10 Engine’s Worth of Emotion in the Sound of ‘F1’

“F1: The Movie” was an instant hit with critics and audiences when it came out last summer thanks to director Joseph Kosinski‘s careful calibration of spectacle and story; as he did in earlier films like “Oblivion” and “Top Gun: Maverick,” Kosinski found the sweet spot between character and action to create a crowd pleaser that not only rewards but requires repeat viewings in order to experience all of its pleasures.

The sound design of “F1” plays no small part in the movie’s emotional impact, and the sound team has now been deservedly nominated for an Academy Award for its work. The sound in “F1” is so immersive and effective that it’s almost easy to underrate — its power is obvious, but the nuances that are key to the film‘s storytelling power are more subtle. In less talented hands, “F1” could have been a monotonous and repetitive series of races with diminishing dramatic returns; what makes the movie work is its makers’ determination to use sound as a storytelling tool that reveals something new about the characters and situations in each set piece.

“We figured out pretty quickly that each race needed to have its own signature,” re-recording mixer Gary Rizzo told IndieWire. “If we just put the music in and played the cars against it in a standard way, it would become monotonous, so after an initial pass, we strategized the best arc for the overall film. That meant some races would play with music, some without, and each would have a particular emotion attached to it.” For the early Silverstone race, for example, the mixers made the choice not to have any music at all; the following race in Hungary then uses traditional score, while a climactic contest in Las Vegas is designed purely to share lead character Sonny’s (Brad Pitt) emotional state of mind with the audience, with everything from the filtering of the effects to the announcers’ voices reflecting the hero’s anger and frustration.

Kosinski was determined to infuse “F1” with authenticity, which meant shooting during real Formula One races — a decision that created major challenges for production sound mixer Gareth John. He not only had to attempt to capture usable dialogue in an environment with unbelievable scale and chaos, he had to adhere to the strict directives given to him by everyone affiliated with Formula One. In trying to record the car sounds, for example, he learned that the racers did not want any kind of weight whatsoever added to their vehicles, creating an obstacle when it came to John’s desire to mount microphones on the cars.

“They were militant about how much weight goes on them,” John said. “ Our recording packs were only 30 to 40 grams. I don’t know how many milliseconds that might have shaved off on one of their laps, but they weren’t going to take the risk. So we had to focus on recording during something called tire testing when they run the cars, but not in a real race environment. In that situation, we could get our mics on them.” John adds that while the limitations were severe, there were just as many benefits from collaborating with Formula One. “There were a lot of restrictions placed on us, but we were also given unprecedented access.”

‘F1’

One important resource for everyone on the production was real-life Formula One superstar Lewis Hamilton, who was on hand as a technical advisor throughout not only the shoot but post-production. “Up until we met with Lewis, we thought we were really getting the sound dialed in,” supervising sound editor and sound designer Al Nelson told IndieWire. “We knew exactly which engine to use with which car.” When Nelson came into the studio, however, he specified where different turns would require different driving, where various sounds would be audible to the driver, and other nuances that the sound team then incorporated into their mix.

Everything was aimed at not only creating a visceral racing experience for the audience, but connecting them to Sonny’s perspective — hence that intersection between emotion and spectacle that connected with viewers. “Character always leads,” said supervising sound editor Gwendolyn Yates Whittle. “ That’s the driving force. It’s the story about this loner overcoming a lot of obstacles, and the other people coming to terms with him. If that doesn’t work, then the movie doesn’t work.” Whittle credits Kosinski’s reliance on tactile effects with helping in this regard.

“He’s not against CGI, but he really loves practical effects,” Whittle said. “He likes the gadgetry to be in his hands, he doesn’t rely on computer graphics.” For a key car crash, for example, Kosinski really sent the car sailing off a ramp into the woods rather than create it in the computer, which Whittle said had a benefit not only in terms of image but sound. “That way, Garreth can record it, and we know what it sounds like.”

Knowing what the races really sound like was a particular area of expertise for re-recording mixer Juan Peralta, a Formula One fanatic outside of the mix stage who helped ensure that “F1: The Movie” would hold up to the scrutiny of racing enthusiasts. He was particularly attentive to both the sound quality and the content of the narration provided by announcers, which the filmmakers used to acclimate novices in the audience to the action — but which couldn’t sound over-explanatory without risking the loss of verisimilitude.

‘F1’ Apple Studios

“ I’ve been watching Formula One for a long time, and I’m used to listening to the broadcast on TV,” Peralta said. “When we started working on the movie early on, Gary decided he was going to try to put the announcers in a PA system on the track with all these delays, and at first I was like, ‘I don’t know about this.’ But then he played it for me, and it felt like I was there on the track.” Once that decision had been made, Peralta served as the conscience for the sound department when it came to staying authentic.

“We did a version where the announcers were explaining everything so you knew exactly what was going on, and Juan was squirming in his seat,” Whittle said. “ With Juan’s help, we were able to selectively pick and choose which descriptions to use so that the F1 fans would not be driven crazy, but people who weren’t familiar with the sport would know what was going on.” Whittle says that kind of cross-pollination in the sound department was what made “F1” a special experience not just for the audience, but for the filmmakers as well.

“It was an unusually  cohesive crew,” Whittle said. “Everyone was supporting each other. Juan was giving Gary notes about dialogue and music, Gary was giving Juan notes about the effects, I was giving notes about the dialogue, and we were all applauding Gareth constantly because we had so much usable production. Appropriately for this movie, we had a really great pit crew.”