Interview by Jennifer Walden, photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures; Ralph Tae-Young Choi, Eilam Hoffman
Mickey 17 director Bong Joon Ho teamed up once again with Ralph Tae-Young Choi — South Korea-based re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor at Live Tone Studios whose known for his work on Parasite, which won four Oscars including ‘Best Picture.’ Their previous collaborations include films like Okja, Snowpiercer, and The Host.
For Mickey 17, Choi brought on MPSE Award-winning sound designer Eilam Hoffman at Cinphonic, whose credits include Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, Cary Joji Fukunaga’s No Time to Die, and Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn.
Mickey 17 follows the story of Mickey Barnes, an Earthling who decides to escape his troubles by joining a colonizing expedition to an icy planet as an “expendable” — a living human who donates their body to science with the promise of being reprinted after each death. Each time Mickey is printed, his print is given a new number. The film mixes sci-fi and action with dark comedy, providing a plethora of opportunities for fun sound design.
Here, Choi and Hoffman talk about creating the sound of the Creepers, the human printing machine, the ‘cycler,’ the icy planet Niflheim, spaceships and vehicles, novel weapons like the taser grenades and an electric chainsaw, and much, much more!
WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!
Mickey 17 | Official Trailer
When did you get started on the film, and what were some of Dir. Bong Joon Ho’s initial ideas for using sound in Mickey 17? Was there a specific scene or specific sound he wanted you to focus on first?
Sound supervisor/re-recording mixer Ralph Tae-Young Choi
Ralph Tae-Young Choi (RTC): I first read the script for this film around January 2022. Dir. Bong asked me to do preliminary sound design for Mama Creeper’s voice, Baby Creeper’s scream, and the Creepers’ ululation.
These preliminary sound design sounds for the Creepers were used as a guide for the VFX animation team to work.
Then, on set, the sounds of Mama Creeper and Baby Creeper were played through speakers and used for Mickey17 (played by actor Robert Pattinson) to imitate the voices of Mama Creeper and Baby Creeper.
I organized my library of animals to design these preliminary sounds for the Creepers. I also recorded myself imitating the sounds of Creepers and did the preliminary synthesis design.
I later gave these preliminary sound work sessions to Eilam to develop them further and use them as a guide for his work.
through collaboration with the VFX team and Eilam, we lip-synched Mama Creeper’s mouth shape and sound
In particular, Director Bong emphasized that the syllables of the words Mama Creeper was trying to speak should be heard naturally in the scene where Mickey and the Creeper talk through the translating machine. And later, through collaboration with the VFX team and Eilam, we lip-synched Mama Creeper’s mouth shape and sound.
In addition, Director Bong hired French actress Anna Mouglalis to design the sound of Mama Creeper’s English lines translated through the translating machine by recording her voice remotely via Source-Connect.
After completing the shooting from August to December 2022, Dir. Bong edited the picture from January to March 2023. From March to June 2023, we did sound design, editing, and recording for DX (dialogue editing) and SFX (sound effects), and used Source-Connect to work on remote recording with overseas locations such as L.A., New York, London, and Melbourne for ADR. After pre-mixing all the tracks by myself for four weeks in July, we completed the final mix work with Director Bong for about three weeks in August.
Eilam came to South Korea for two weeks for the final mix and modified the sound to suit Director Bong’s wishes.
What went into the sounds of the human printing machine and all its parts, like the memory transfers and the body scan?
RTC: The sound of the human printer was designed by Eilam and my studio sound designer, and I mixed it during the pre-mix.
Director Bong specifically wanted to hear the sound of the metal roller rolling on the stand when the human is printed.
Dir. Bong’s concept for the human printer was to have a sound with an analog feel, not too ‘Hollywood’ or futuristic. So I used an old dot matrix printer sound and an Inkjet printer sound. Director Bong specifically wanted to hear the sound of the metal roller rolling on the stand when the human is printed.
Eilam’s sound was more futuristic and Hollywood-style, unlike mine, so I mixed the digital and analog sensibilities appropriately with the score music during the pre-mix.
The human printer in the nightmare scene at the end of the movie was mixed with a concept of creating an anxious and tense atmosphere, so the mix emphasized the low-frequency elements.
Eilam Hoffman (EH): The printer was an interesting one to work on. Its sound was built from processed recordings of EMF signals, piston pumps, and a 3D printer.
Sound designer Eilam Hoffman
It had a strong tonal quality that I tried to keep in tune with the score as much as possible to avoid tonal clashing. The close-ups were built with rhythmical sounds, blades, and some subtle gore elements.
For the roller conveyor, I recorded metal wheeled trolleys spinning in circles on the studio floor to create a continuous sense of movement, then I pitched them down slightly to add some extra weight.
Image shots of ‘Creepers’ used in pre-production
What went into the sound of the Creepers, including their vocals? They’re so expressive, and have a tremendous range, like in the ululation scene. Can you talk about creating that range as well?
EH: Mickey 17 is a unique film where sound plays an important role in the storytelling, especially through the Creepers, who speak in their own language but still communicate with humans. Despite their goofy appearance, the Creepers are intelligent, sentient, and expressive beings. At first, their voices might seem threatening, but as the story goes on, their sounds change and develop into a language, showing their intelligence and changing the audience’s perception of them. As we get to know them, we start to feel sympathy, especially for the baby Creepers.
their sounds change and develop into a language, showing their intelligence
When I joined the project, Ralph and his team shared concept art and temp Creeper sounds, which helped guide me in the right direction. I was excited by how different the Creeper looked from traditional creature design, how they moved in strange herd formations, and just how many of them there were.
Bong Joon-ho didn’t want the Creepers to roar or growl; he was after something completely unusual. He wanted them to ululate, which is a sound that is rarely heard in nature, so finding the right source material was a bit of a challenge. I started by imagining what they might sound like based on how they looked. Their design reminded me of tardigrades with insect and octopus-like mouth anatomy. The ululation ended up being one of the first sounds I explored for the Mama Creeper character.
Designing Language
There are many Creeper types in different sizes in the film, and with Director Bong’s remarkable attention to detail, each one has its own unique role and personality on screen. This meant we needed to approach the sound with the same care, giving each creeper type a distinct voice and personality while ensuring they still felt like part of the same species.
Building the Voices
I spent a lot of time listening to animal recordings, pulling out short anthropomorphic sounds that stood out. I sorted them by emotion, size, and strangeness, and then cut and processed them into short segments. These were loaded into samplers like NI Kontakt and Soundminer’s Radium, where I used a keyboard to perform phrases that matched the Creepers’ on-screen expressions and interactions.
I used a keyboard to perform phrases that matched the Creepers’ on-screen expressions and interactions
There are many comic moments in the Creepers’ voices. I played with the tone and timing, especially with the translator voices, using reversed or sped-up animal sounds to match the funny subtitles. These sounds were different from Mama Creeper’s voice but worked well in the context.
The adolescent and baby Creepers also have funny moments, particularly when they’re being silly or cheeky. Even their screams, like when they’re burned by the blowtorch, were meant to be dramatic but still have a comedic feel. The baby Creepers especially had many cute and funny moments, particularly when interacting with Mickey.
Sound Sources
Overall, I was looking for expressive, emotional sound sources that could be processed into something fun, alien-like, with odd and stuttery qualities.
Eilam Hoffman recording cheetahs
The baby Creepers are playful and cute but also express emotions like joy, fear, pain, anger, laughter, cheeky behaviour, and more. I worked to build a broad emotional range for them by processing a mix of animal recordings, such as bird chirps, monkey calls, alpacas, African wild dogs, cheetah chirps, irritated pug, and more.
The adolescent Creepers are more aggressive and assertive, with a rougher, more unpredictable energy. For these, I treated recordings of sea mammals, vultures, hyenas, wolves, apes, foxes, camels, and various medium-sized mammals.
For Mama Creeper, I was aiming for a deep commanding presence that still felt connected to the rest of the species. I treated some of the weirdest low-frequency animal sounds I could find, including walruses, seals, dolphins, whales, camels, cows, and hippos, and shaped them to get the tone and movement I was after.
Footage from one of the wolf recording sessions for Mickey 17
Eilam Hoffman recording seals
For extra detail, I layered in whale clicks to create a teeth-like effect and used the sound of a wooden gate scraping to add a gritty stuttering texture to some of her more intense moments. I also used gentle pitch modulation to help blend everything together and follow the way her strange-looking mouth was moving, especially during the ululation scene.
Actually, there is only one human element in the Creeper voices, which is Mama’s burp. We blended it with a walrus burp and lightly adjusted to find the right balance of strange and funny.
Mama’s Ululation Scene
One of the biggest sound moments in the film is Mama Creeper’s ululation, which sets off a massive vocal response from the entire Creeper crowd. Bong Joon-Ho and Ralph wanted this scene to feel overwhelming and loud enough to make Mickey cover his ears. The challenge was to create something chaotic and powerful, while still keeping enough detail to hear all the individual Creeper voices within the crowd.
Eilam Hoffman recording a rhino
There are thousands of creepers on screen in this scene, which meant it could take a lot of sound and depth. I wanted to build a vocal landscape that reflected that scale. I started with the close-up vocal layers, focusing on individual creatures and their different behaviours. Then I added mid-distance elements to bring in more texture and density without losing too much detail.
After that, I built general vocal crowds using completely different frequency ranges and animal sources to give a sense of mass and variation. Finally, I added distant solo calls and large-scale vocal shifts to create depth and space.
I found that the key to creating separation and a true sense of size was making sure each layer sit in its own distinct frequency range.
Behind the scenes: Mickey 17 animal recording sessions:
Recording cheetahs & wild African dogs
Recording gibbon monkeys for the film
Movement
The Creepers’ movement was just as interesting to design. When they moved as a herd or broke into group formations, I used Doppler effects and tools like Sound Particles to shape motion and weight. Galloping horse sounds added rhythm, while footsteps, boulders, and avalanche recordings provided texture and size.
When they moved as a herd or broke into group formations, I used Doppler effects and tools like Sound Particles to shape motion and weight.
Director Bong’s spotting notes were incredibly thought-provoking. Instead of using technical terms, he described sound through emotion and personality. One note that stayed with me was his idea that Mama Creeper should sound genderless but carry the presence of an old wise man sitting alone in a park. That kind of direction really helped me understand what he was going for with the character’s voice.
What went into the sounds of the icy planet Niflheim? Did you do any custom recordings for this place, like wind and ice?
RTC: The sound of the planet Niflheim is expressed by the air tone of the cave on the ice floor, the sound of the wind flowing through, and the sound of the cold, snowy wind outside on the planet.
I did not do any custom location recording for these sounds. We found the necessary sounds from the sound libraries that we currently subscribe to or own, and newly layered and designed them to create a new library that fits the environment of the planet Niflheim.
Multichannel recordings from the Boom and TONSTURM libraries were particularly helpful. Custom field recording is difficult because it’s hard to find the right location and environment in small South Korea, unlike in large countries. Using these libraries allowed me to spend my time on other work.
To express the ice molecules of a snowstorm, we recorded the sound of coarse salt being sprinkled and rolled on the cement floor of the foley studio.
The wind and air tone of the cave were created with the LiquidSonics Cinematic Rooms plug-in in the pre-mix to create very dense harmonics of reverb for the sound sources. The strong snowstorm and wind outside on the planet were maximized by using the bed channel ceiling speakers of Dolby Atmos. This created a super impactful experience for the audience in the outdoor space.
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When panning sounds such as wind noise to the ceiling speakers as an object channel, they can sometimes sound incongruous, so they should be used with caution.
To express the ice molecules of a snowstorm, we recorded the sound of coarse salt being sprinkled and rolled on the cement floor of the foley studio.
What about springtime in Niflheim? What went into the sounds of the planet here at the end of the movie?
RTC: The concept of the spring ambient sound of Niflheim was designed as a very static ambient sound without any air or wind flow. Occasionally, the sound of a spaceship crane lifting a container in the background was mixed in to sound like the wind.
springtime on the planet was mixed as an ambient sound that is not flashy to maximize the contrast with what’s come before.
This sound is a very detailed sound production that can only be heard in a theater, and Dir. Bong likes this simple and plain approach.
As the story of the movie is coming to an end and the scene is cross-edited with Mickey’s narration and a flashback and a nightmare scene, springtime on the planet was mixed as an ambient sound that is not flashy to maximize the contrast with what’s come before.
What went into the sound of the spaceships in Mickey 17? How about the vehicles, like the snowcat-type vehicles they drive around in on Niflheim?
RTC: The spaceship departing for the planet Niflheim starts off explosively, but on board the spaceship it’s very quiet.
The sound mixing is so quiet that you forget that they are on a spaceship until they arrive at the planet Niflheim.
This is Director Bong’s intention. His general audio direction style is to boldly discard one thing to focus the audience on another important thing.
The sound mixing is so quiet that you forget that they are on a spaceship until they arrive at the planet Niflheim.
To convey that the spaceship has arrived at the planet Niflheim, breaks through the planet’s atmosphere, and descends to the surface, the spaceships were designed and mixed with the sounds of shaking and vibrating as it collides with the atmosphere. For this, the ceiling speakers were actively used. I wanted to mix the spaceship descent sound so it would have more impact on the audience, but, unfortunately, there was dialogue here, and so the actors’ lines took priority.
The corridor with the laundry room in the spaceship, the unmanned small cargo cart that operates alone, and the prison space were designed with appropriate mechanical device sounds, etc. In the prison scene where Timo visits, the cargo space is set close, so the mechanical device sound beyond the wall was designed as an environmental sound.
The ‘Flitter rides’ are used as a means of transportation on Niflheim. The concept is that it flies in the sky and runs on land. The flying vehicle that Timo drives and the cargo truck that transports minerals are both ‘Flitter rides.’ In the first scene, Dir. Bong wanted the sound design for the Flitter driven by Timo – when he’s going to save Mickey, who is stuck in an ice cave – to fly in the sky and transform into a Transformer robot with a propeller power device when it lands on the ground.
In addition, the Flitter that carries large minerals and the Flitter that goes out to fight the Creeper were designed using large cargo trucks, large trucks that transport ore from the mine, and trailer sounds.
The Flitter ride was also mixed by selectively using sounds created by Eilam and my crew in the mix.
Image shot of the Flitter ride used in pre-production
EH: The trucks were mostly built from recordings of tanks, which I then processed and layered with extra low-end elements to give them a bit more weight, along with some sweeteners for rattles and snow texture.
For aircrafts, the base came mainly from processed race car recordings, blended with jet sounds, low frequency whooshes, rumbles, and air distortion to help make them feel more dynamic.
For the large spaceship, I focused on deep low-end textures, using elements inspired by rocket launches and air tearing to try and give it a sense of scale and power.
The film has some fun weapons, like the electric chainsaw and the rolling taser grenades/bombs. What was your approach to the weapon sounds?
RTC: The concept of the futuristic chainsaw was that the motor sound is played through a small speaker on the chainsaw. My crew designed two sound layers for the chainsaw. The first was designed with a filtered sound that came out of the speaker. To minimize this sound, which was distorted, and to maintain the impact of the saw, the second sound layer was designed with the sharp metal blade sound of the rotating saw blade. The two layers were mixed together during the pre-mix.
The bounce sounds were created by hitting a hammer against an H beam covered with leather, and the sound of hitting a metal bar with a metallic ring.
The electric taser metal ball was designed with a heavy, solid, dense metal sound that bounces when it is first thrown. The bounce sounds were created by hitting a hammer against an H beam covered with leather, and the sound of hitting a metal bar with a metallic ring.
In addition, there is a device that detects and tracks the target object, and an electronic beep sound was added to indicate the speed and distance.
The taser metal ball reaches the target, puts a handcuff-like chain on the target, and stuns the target with an electric shock gun. The design uses the sharp metal sound of the handcuff-like chain coming out, the sounds of a sword, knife, electric shock gun, and electric sparks.
EH: I really like the approach Ralph and his team took with the weapon design.
I handled more of the standard sounds, like firearms and explosions, aiming for a grounded and realistic feel.
What really helped sell the explosions was the reactions around them. For example, in the scene with the exploding truck carrying Mickey and Marshall, the impact was heightened by the reaction of the Creepers right after.
What went into the sound of the “cycler”? And the “cycler” room? (This location is showcased nicely in the fight scene between the Mickeys and Timo.)
RTC: The “cycler” is a space that converts all waste into energy and creates organic matter. In the film, we see a very hot lava-like substance under the floor. I chose library sounds recorded in lava fields and hot spring areas near active volcanoes, adjusted the pitch and time speed, and used filters and reverb to design the sound of the lava-like substance continuously moving and boiling under the floor.
I also added steam sounds that maintain an intermittent rhythm, so that the audience can imagine the temperature in there. And I intermittently added soft and heavy machine sounds under the floor.
Image shot of Cycler used in pre-production
There’s a quiet scene with Kai and Mickey chatting about Jennifer’s death in Kai’s room. There’s quiet music playing in the room, in the background. What were some of your challenges in this scene?
RTC: Dir. Bong selected the song “Twilight” by Elliot Smith. The concept of this song was neither typical film score music (non-diegetic) nor a source music flowing from some audio prop (diegetic). Dir. Bong asked me to mix this song more as a psychological and emotional device for Mickey and Kai.
Dir. Bong asked me to mix this song more as a psychological and emotional device for Mickey and Kai.
The mix concept for “Twilight” is the feeling of clothes gradually getting wet in a drizzle, and like the morning sun slowly rising through the dawn; the audience will gradually perceive the music that is heard unconsciously according to the emotional flow of Mickey and Kai.
To achieve this, I used a little filter and hall reverb to mix it so that it feels like only two people who don’t know where it is coming from can hear it (non-diegetic).
What were some of your challenges in designing and mixing the chaotic scene with Kenneth Marshall, after he was attacked by the baby Creepers that fall out of the big, black rock?
RTC: That scene is one of mad chaos and super mayhem that can be seen in almost all of Dir. Bong’s movies.
Quite a lot of wallas and screams, Marshall’s lines through the microphone, the sounds of Nasha looking for Mickey, musical score, lots of foley, sound effects, etc. had to be mixed.
I had to mix the pointed sounds for each scene like the effect of a cocktail party
Marshall’s lines were panned according to the direction of the scene, and my goal was to mix various sound effects with an edge while the music and the sound of people’s walla fought each other in front and back.
Also, the scene where Mickey 17 and Dorothy imitate the Baby Creeper had to be expressed clearly.
During the final mix, under Dir. Bong’s direction (like an orchestra conductor), I had to mix the pointed sounds for each scene like the effect of a cocktail party, and I remember it as a very exciting mix.
I used the Wilhelm scream for the pigeon man’s scream sound.
In the last scene where Kai and the crew shoot guns to kill the baby Creeper, the gun sounds get smaller as it goes back, the score is emphasized, and the tail of the baby Creeper’s scream leads to Mama Creeper’s cave.
As a side note, when the pigeon man tries to escape the commotion by sliding on the door that comes down and he gets stuck in the door, I used the Wilhelm scream for the pigeon man’s scream sound.
EH: That scene was a lot of fun to work on because of how quickly the tone shifts. It starts off almost playful with the baby Creeper jumping on Marshall and running through the crowd, trying to communicate with Mickey, who even responds in Creeper language. There’s this light, absurd energy to it, then it all turns bad quickly. I tried to make the baby’s scream the focus in that moment, something that cuts through the gunfire and chaos to shift the mood from playful to genuinely shocking.
I also really liked the different direction for the score; it had an odd, unexpected feel that added something special to the scene, and the way it was mixed helped carry the energy and mood shifts throughout.
What was your favorite moment for sound (either edit or mix) in the film? What went into it?
RTC: I really liked the mix of the montage scene where Mickey dies multiple times through various experiments. The film score by composer Jung Jae-il, the sounds for each scene, and the mixing for this sequence with Mickey being discarded and reprinted, matched well.
The mixing of the scene where Marshall captures and kills the baby Creepers that emerged from the large mineral rock was exciting because the sound had to be well-organized in the chaos of the storm of sound.
The mixing of the scene with all the Creepers’ ultra-super ululation and hundreds of junior Creepers surrounding Mama Creeper and making her look like a mountain was a very exciting challenge for me. I was able to focus well on the movie mix.
It feels like the whole film has been leading to that point, and Ralph’s Atmos mix gives it such a sense of scale and power.
EH: It’s hard to pick just one favourite moment because the film is packed with so many brilliant scenes, so I’ll mention a couple. The one where Mickey gets dragged through the cave by Mama Creeper and ends up swarmed by Creepers out in the snow is completely chaotic, but there’s also this strange, playful energy to it. It was great fun to work on.
But if I had to choose just one, it would be the moment when the two Mickeys step outside and come face to face with Mama. She rises up, lets out this ululating call, and the whole herd responds. The way that moment builds both visually and sonically is something else. I still get goosebumps watching it. It feels like the whole film has been leading to that point, and Ralph’s Atmos mix gives it such a sense of scale and power.
Any useful indie sound libraries for this film? Or plugins? What were some of the essential sound tools that helped you create the sound for this film, and how did you use them in your work?
RTC: I used the AMS NEVE DFC3D console as the main equipment for mixing Mickey 17, using the mixing “out of the box” method.
For the DAW for playback, I mixed two Pro Tools systems, with 192 channels each, for a total of 384 channels. I used one dubber Pro Tools for recording with 128 channels.
For Dolby Atmos, I used three 7.1.2 channel format bed channels: DX bed, MX bed, and SFX bed. I used 16 objects each for DX and MX, and 32 object channels for SFX.
For Aux, I used Audio Ease Altiverb, Cinematic Rooms, The Cargo Cult Slapper, NUGEN Audio Halo Upmix, The Cargo Cult Subquake, Audio Ease Indoor, and Pro Tools plugins.
Currently our team subscribes to Boom Library, Boom One, SMARTSOUND FX BUNDLE, Complete TONSTURM, and SoundMorph annually.
‘Mickey 17’ mixing signal flow
EH: There are loads of plugins and tools I rely on for different tasks, but it’s really about the choices and what works for the story. Sometimes, just pitching, reversing, or changing the speed of a sound is enough.
I used quite a few of my own recordings for this project. The Baby Creepers actually started with cheetah and alpaca sounds. They had this choppy, expressive quality that felt oddly fitting, almost cute, but still full of energy.
For Mama Creeper, I used whale recordings from the Azores Islands. It has this weird, otherworldly alien-like quality to it, especially in her ululation.
For Mama Creeper, I used whale recordings from the Azores Islands.
Since there were so many Creepers to cover, I also reached out to a few friends for interesting material. One of my favourites came from Samuel Justice, who recorded a grumpy pug getting its nails trimmed. The pug made this funny, stuttering sound that still makes me smile whenever I hear it.
I’m also a big fan of Mattia Cellotto’s Animal Hyperrealism libraries, as well as Boom, HISS and a ROAR, and Articulated Sounds. They’re all incredibly well recorded and offer a huge variety of character.
On the dub stage after mixing of ‘Mickey 17’
What are you most proud of in your sound work on Mickey 17? What’s been your greatest personal achievement on this film?
RTC: I was so happy to be able to work on all of Bong’s films up to Mickey 17. Also, the collaboration with Eilam was so smooth, and his Creeper sounds were amazing. Also, the schedule for the WIP (work in progress) session that I discussed was precise and ended well without any problems. I am so excited to work with Eilam again on Bong’s next project.
I was so happy to be able to work on all of Bong’s films up to ‘Mickey 17’. Also, the collaboration with Eilam was so smooth
This project was the first project that I signed directly with Warner Bros., a Hollywood studio, and the contract process was more difficult than managing the sound work or mixing, but I was so proud that the audio post-production was completed perfectly as planned without any delays or problems.
My team, Eilam, and I are preparing for Bong’s next project, and we are ready to do well and enjoy his first new animation project.
EH: I’m extremely grateful to have been part of such a talented team. The collaboration on this project was something genuinely special. Bong Joon-ho has an incredible eye for detail and a real gift for storytelling, and working with him Ralph and his brilliant sound team was an amazing experience.
I also worked closely with Dan Glass and the VFX crew. We had a lot of back and forth, especially on the Creepers, making sure their movement and sound felt connected and believable. The amount of thought and care they put into every detail really brought the creatures to life and gave them so much character.
Travelling to South Korea for the final mix was a definite highlight. Seeing the level of care and precision everyone brought to the process was genuinely inspiring.
Eilam with the Live Tone crew
A big thanks to Ralph Tae-Young Choi and Eilam Hoffman for giving us a behind-the-scenes look at the sound of Mickey 17 and to Jennifer Walden for the interview!
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