How ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ sound designers found the ‘rhythmical, lyrical’ pace of comedy
“It just took a lot of time to sort of refine and make it rhythmical, lyrical,” explains Craig Henighan of the challenge facing the sound department of “Deadpool and Wolverine.” Amid the dynamic action sequences was the ever-present banter of the fourth-wall-breaking “Merc With a Mouth” (Ryan Reynolds) and his erstwhile mutant ally (Hugh Jackman). Henighan and his co-supervising sound editor Ryan Cole spoke with Gold Derby about honing in on the comedic sensibility within their sonic landscape. Watch the video interview above.
The film’s outrageous opening fight sequence, where Deadpool cracks jokes while using Logan’s adamantium skeleton as a deadly weapon, perfectly encapsulates the challenge that faced the sound designers. “You don’t want to feel the dip in energy so that you hear a quip,” says Cole, “you want to hear the quip with the energy building the entire time.” He embarked on delicate work to place the dialogue in exactly the right frame so that each joke got out of the way of the action and flowed together with the underscored music. “For me, it was about keeping it tight so that we could get the lines in and out, have them play loud so that Craig’s effects could still go hard,” describes Cole.
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The mention of music, prompts Henighan to point out that ironically, the sound effects needed to be tied to music instead of the action on screen. In the case of the opening battle, it’s all underscored with “Bye Bye Bye” from NSYNC. “If you listened to that sequence without the music in and watched it, you’d be like, well, all these sound effects are out of sync. They’re not in sync with the picture,” notes Henighan. Each punch or stab sound has to be carefully placed in order to achieve the right pacing, even if the effect occurs a second before or after the visual.
Henighan and Cole share a long working history, even winning two Emmys together for “Stranger Things.” For that series, they also worked alongside “Deadpool and Wolverine” director Shawn Levy and editor Dean Zimmerman. The team also became friendly with Ryan Reynolds after creating the soundscape for “Free Guy.” “We’re all family,” admits Cole. “We get texts at three in the morning from each other, or Ryan in Budapest saying, ‘Hey, I want to add this sort of thing.’ And it’s never a nag or a bother.” Henighan is thankful for the creative freedom that those relationships cultivate. “Shawn creates this amazing environment where you can try ideas,” he reveals, “The shorthand becomes such a valuable asset.”
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