Sound Support for the Enigmatic Environment of ‘Caddo Lake’ – with David Forshee

Some places are eerily beautiful and Caddo Lake looks like one of those places. Directors/Writers Celine Held and Logan George capture this enigmatic environment in their thriller film Caddo Lake – now streaming on MAX. The lake is home to a supernatural anomaly where time becomes fluid. Those who enter find their lives forever changed when events altered in different time periods have dramatic impacts on others.

Emmy-winning supervising sound editor/re-recording mixer David Forshee, who grew up in a town near Caddo Lake, designed rich ambiences using sounds of local insects and birds that he captured over the years, recordings he captured from the set, and ambience recordings that the directors captured while scouting and researching Caddo Lake.

Here, Forshee talks about changing the ambience sounds to match the different time periods, creating the sound of the ‘time portal’ and how the portal affects the environment, the challenges of mixing the boat scenes, and more!

[WARNING: SPOILER ALERTS]

Caddo Lake | Official Trailer | Max

When did you start the sound work for Caddo Lake? What were some of your initial conversations with the filmmakers regarding the role of sound on this film?

Logan George and David Forshee on the dub stage for ‘Caddo Lake’

David Forshee (DF): I like to think my work on the film started the first time I read the script in 2021. I started thinking about some of the concepts and marinating in ideas for a while before starting the actual work.

I’d worked with directors Celine Held and Logan George before on Topside in early 2020, so we had an established creative rapport. In the summer of that year, I reached out to check in with them amidst the pandemic. They mentioned they were staying near Caddo Lake and had begun writing a new script. We had this funny realization that I was actually from Shreveport, Louisiana, just a short drive from Caddo Lake. Discovering that their new project was set around my hometown area was a great surprise for all of us!

Our early conversations about sound design began after I read the script, and I started sending some preliminary sound experiments by early 2022, as they worked on the first cut. But most of the editorial and mixing work happened over the summer of 2022.
 

Field recording at Caddo Lake

Caddo Lake is set in a real location, an interesting lake that borders Texas and Louisiana. How did you create the sound for this location? Since you’re familiar with the area, did you record sounds in this location?

DF: I had a collection of recordings from Northwest Louisiana, where I’m from. Every time I visit, I bring my recorder (a Sony PCM-D100) and capture as much local ambience as I can. Tapping into this archive gave me plenty of authentic insect and bird sounds to help shape the background atmospheres of the lake.

Every time I visit, I bring my recorder (a Sony PCM-D100) and capture as much local ambience as I can.

I happened to be in Louisiana visiting family during filming and I went out to the set and recorded additional sounds. Celine and Logan also captured ambiences while they were scouting and researching Caddo Lake, and we incorporated those into the mix.
 

Location scouting for ‘Caddo Lake’ at Caddo Lake

The story is set in one location, but it unfolds in different times: 1952, 2003, 2005, and 2022. How did you adapt the environmental sounds, and the sounds in town, to fit the different years?

DF: For each time period, contrast was the key idea. Every time we shift to a different era, we wanted that transition to feel distinct, not only through the portal sound itself but in the subtle details of the background that reflect how the environment may have changed over the decades.

Every time we shift to a different era, we wanted that transition to feel distinct…

There’s even a brief scene where Ellie is transported to a time that feels almost prehistoric. For this, we worked in some more exotic, otherworldly insects and frogs to set a clear contrast to the more modern time periods. It was a fun opportunity to get a bit experimental with the background sounds.

What went into the sound of the ‘time portal’ that Anna, Ellie, and Paris walk into? Can you talk about your process of discovery for this sound design element?

DF: There are a few elements to the sound of the portal (and the sounds around the portal). First, when a character enters the portal, the sound punctuates that moment to draw attention since the visual cues are intentionally subtle.

…it was established early on that sound can and often does travel from one side of the portal to the other.

The next layer is the ‘crossing’ sound — the experience of moving through the portal. Inside, sounds are heavily distorted and muffled, amplifying the feeling of being in a void. That said, it was established early on that sound can and often does travel from one side of the portal to the other. Celine and Logan use this often as a motivation for where the characters go inside the portal – they hear other characters shouting from different times, helicopters, the dam construction site explosions, Ellie’s cell phone left next to the portal, etc… There are more than a few easter eggs in here if you listen closely.

Some of the early design experiments were around how the portal can warp sound and how it travels through to the other side. We ended up dialing this effect back a bit for clarity, but hopefully, you still get the sense that it’s a little warped.

How did you use sound to help the audience follow the story, especially when the timelines get tangled?

DF: It was all about contrast at the portal, punctuation, and being consistent. There’s a moment in the film when after going through the portal, Ellie revisits a scene that we saw play out earlier in the film, and we were very careful to use the exact same sounds and that the timing was exactly the same as before. Subconsciously, I think this attention to detail can help with clarity and is hopefully rewarding in a rewatch.

What was the most challenging scene for sound editing? Why was it challenging?

DF: The portal scenes were probably the most challenging because they’re central to the story. Important plot points are baked into the portal’s sound design and its impact on nearby sounds. Balancing style with clarity to serve the storytelling was critical here, and it was challenging to make sure the effects never overshadowed the narrative.

What was the most challenging scene to mix? Or, was there a scene that went through many iterations on the dub stage?

DF: The boat scenes were among the most challenging. With engines revving, naturalistic dialogue, and performances with overlapping speech, balancing all these elements was tough. It led to some tricky ADR moments, and we went through several iterations on the dub stage to get it right.

On location at Caddo Lake

What have you learned while working on the sound of Caddo Lake? Now that it’s over, what have you carried with you from this experience?

DF: Working with Celine and Logan is always a learning experience. They’re very sound-minded directors and write so much sound directly into their scripts. They push boundaries to create immersive, visceral soundscapes that bring you into the characters’ headspaces. They’re always questioning the “safe” choices, which pushes me to evolve as a sound designer. Every time I work with them, I come away with new insights that deepen my approach to sound design.

I’d like to give a huge thank you to my crew, who did an incredible job on a very tight schedule. Full credits below:

Supervising Sound Editor/Re-Recording Mixer
David Forshee, MPSE

ADR Editor
John Bowen

Dialogue Editor
Jon Flores

Assistant Sound Editor
Nora Linde

Re-Recording Mix Technicians
Sanghee Moon
Alex Uriati

Foley Services Provided By
Alchemy Post Sound

Foley Editor
Nick Seaman

Foley Artists
Leslie Bloome
Shaun Brennan
Curtis Henderson

Foley Mixers
Ryan Collison
Connor Nagy

ADR Mixer
Jerrell Suelto

ADR Services Provided By
Parabolic

Dolby Sound Consultant
Paul Capuano

ADR Voice Casting
Dann Fink & Bruce Winant

A big thanks to David Forshee for giving us a behind-the-scenes look at the sound of Caddo Lake and to Jennifer Walden for the interview!

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