Music & Sound Design: Factory

What sets Honda Ignition apart from any other space-travel themed commercial? An ear-thrilling aural cocktail of revving, rocket rush, opera and interiors with their own sonic characters. We talk to Anthony Moore, CD/founding partner of Factory UK, whose sublime sound for the spot saw them win the Best Sound Design category at the shots Awards 2015

At what point did you become involved in the Honda Ignition spot and what was the brief you received?

As with all my Honda jobs for W+K London, I was involved in the Ignition project from an early stage. Before production had even started, I’d had conversations with Scott Dungate [creative director at W+K London] about how sound design needed to play an important role for this script to come alive. We talked a lot about science fiction and space references that both of us found interesting. From here, I went and listened to lots of rocket launches, NASA clips, old sci-fi B-movies and a ton of other space-related influences.

As the production began to shoot in Kiev, the sound design brief began to focus in on early space flight, power and the expectation of a mission launch. Space concepts have been done many times, so it was very important for me to create something that drew on the rich heritage of sci-fi, while also feeling fresh, exciting and unique to the film.

What were your first thoughts when you read the brief?

From my early chats with the agency, I was massively excited about the project. The chance to work on a film that has sound design rooted to its very core is a dream. I loved how the brief wanted to embrace the feelings and sounds of early space travel, a time of real human endeavour and bravery. This attitude demanded rawness to the sound. It needed to feel visceral, and it needed to live on the edge.

This is a spot where the sound design is at the heart of the commercial. Is it the case that, too often, sound and music are overlooked until too near the end of the process?

Thankfully, I think this attitude is starting to change. At Factory, we encourage our clients to involve us early on in a project. Sound and music needs to be woven into the fabric of the idea and thinking about it from the outset can achieve this. You can always hear the difference in jobs where this has happened.

There is so much going on in the spot in terms of sound. How challenging was the project?

The job was a challenge, but for all the right reasons. The initial sound design started with the first edit and continued to evolve throughout the two-month post production schedule. This allowed me the time to experiment; time to play and create sounds that related directly to the feel and story of the film. I strived to work with material that had a solid connection with space flight and sci-fi. It added richness to the film that was impossible to ignore.

This idea also filtered down into our music choices, the main track being a fantastic reworking of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and Mozart’s Queen Of The Night aria [from The Magic Flute] produced by SIREN and composer Walter Mair. These two pieces of music featured on the Golden Records that Voyager took into outer space in 1977.

It was also vital to capture the feeling inside the vehicles as we travelled through the film. Contrasted against the ferocity of the sound outside, each vehicle interior needed to have its own sonic character to tell the story of its crew. These were to be little pockets of sound design that surprised and intrigued whilst adding some human warmth to the piece.

Could you tell, as the film came together, that it was going to be something special?

Working with a brand like Honda, the bar for sound design is set incredibly high. Over the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in creating some great Honda work for W+K London on jobs such as Hands, Inner Beauty and The Other Side. The Ignition project was no different. It had sound design at its core and the expectation to make it amazing was there from the start.

What was the most difficult part of the process and how long did your part in the commercial take?

Work spanned a couple of months, as there was a heavy amount of visual post production to be done. This actually made the sound design process easier as it gave me the space and time to experiment. The core sound palette of the piece came together quite quickly, in part due to the valuable time spent researching the reference material. What followed became a meticulous process of refining and improving as the visual effects moved on.

How did you feel when the winner of the shots Award was announced?

Thrilled to say the least! Our work for Honda Inner Beauty picked up the shots Best Use of Sound Design award in 2014, so it was fantastic to follow up that success in 2015 with Ignition winning gold and Honda The Other Side picking up silver.

These wins say something about the calibre of the Honda work and their desire to focus on sound design as an integral element of their brand identity. I’d like to thank Scott, Tony & Kim and the W+K London team for all the Honda projects they’ve brought my way – it’s a real honour to work on such great stuff. Sound design is damn powerful – let’s hear more of it!