SoundWorks Collection Interview Series - Sound Designer Martin Hernandez

This week we talk with Supervising Sound Editor and Sound Designer Martin Hernandez about his recent collaboration with Director Alejandro González Iñárritu for his film, Birdman.

BIRDMAN or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance is a black comedy that tells the story of an actor (Michael Keaton) – famous for portraying an iconic superhero – as he struggles to mount a Broadway play. In the days leading up to opening night, he battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career, and himself.

Directed by Alejandro Iñárritu, and also starring Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone, and Naomi Watts.

# ABOUT DIRECTOR ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ INARRITU:

ALEJANDRO G. IÑÁRRITU (Directed by, Written by, Produced by) is the first Mexican director to be nominated for an Academy Award and a Directors Guild Award. He is also the first Mexican-born director to have won the ‘Prix de la mise en scene’ at Cannes. Iñárritu’s four feature films, AMORES PERROS, 21 GRAMS, BABEL and BIUTIFUL, have garnered critical acclaim worldwide, having received a total of twelve Oscar nominations in different categories including ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director,’ a ‘Best Picture’ Golden Globe, and a BAFTA Award for ‘Best Foreign Film.’

In 1985, while studying Communications at the Universidad Iberoamericana, Iñárritu began his career as a radio host at the Mexican radio station WFM. In 1988, he became the director of the station, and over the next five years, he spent his time interviewing rock stars, transmitting live concerts, and making WFM the number one radio station in Mexico. In the nineties, Iñárritu created Z films with Raul Olvera in Mexico. Under Z Films, Iñárritu started writing, producing and directing short films and advertisements, but in order to make the final transition into television and film directing, Iñárritu studied theater for three years under the tutelage of the well-known Polish theater director Ludwik Margules, as well as Judith Weston in Los Angeles.

In 1995, Iñárritu wrote and directed his first television pilot called “Detras del dinero,” starring Miguel Boise. Z Films went on to be one of the biggest and strongest film production companies in Mexico, launching seven young directors in the feature film arena. In 1999, Iñárritu directed his first feature film, AMORES PERROS, which was written by Guillermo Arriaga. The film explored Mexican society told through the perspective of three intertwining stories. In 2000, AMORES PERROS premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won the ‘Critics Week Grand Prize.’ After its historic first showing at Cannes, AMORES PERROS went on to be nominated for ‘Best Foreign Film’ at the Academy Awards. After the success of AMORES PERROS, Iñárritu revisited the intersecting story structure in 21 GRAMS. The film starred Benicio del Toro, Naomi Watts and Sean Penn, and it was presented at the Venice Film Festival, winning the ‘Volpi Cup’ for Penn. At the 2004 Academy Awards, Del Toro and Watts received nominations for their performances. In 2005, Iñárritu embarked on his third film and the last one of his trilogy with BABEL. Set around three continents, four countries, and in four different languages, Babel consists of four stories set in Morocco, Mexico, the United States, and Japan. The film stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett but introduced a full cast of non-actors and some new actors such as Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza. It was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006, where Iñárritu was awarded the coveted ‘Prix de la mise en scène,’ the ‘Best Director Prize.’ BABEL was released in November 2006 and received seven nominations at the 79th Annual Academy Awards, including ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director.’ 29 BABEL went on to win ‘Best Motion Picture - Drama’ at the Golden Globe Awards, and the film’s composer, Gustavo Santaolalla, won the Academy Award for ‘Best Original Score.’ In 2008 and 2009, Iñárritu directed and produced BIUTIFUL, starring Javier Bardem and written by Iñárritu, Armando Bo, and Nicolás Giacobone. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010, and Bardem went on to win ‘Best Actor’ (shared with Elio Germano for LA NOSTRA VITA). BIUTIFUL is Iñárritu’s first film in his native language since his debut feature, AMORES PERROS. For the second time in his career, his film was nominated for ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ at the Academy Awards. It was also nominated for the Golden Globes in the category of ‘Best Foreign Film,’ for the BAFTA awards in the categories of ‘Best Film Not in the English Language’ and ‘Best Actor.’ Javier Bardem’s performance was also nominated for the Academy Award for ‘Best Actor.’

Iñárritu’s next film will be THE REVENANT, which he co-wrote with Mark L. Smith. The film is based on the novel of same name by Michael Punke, and it stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy and Will Poulter with shooting set to begin in September. The film has a release date of December 25, 2015.

Subscribe to the SoundWorks Collection Audio Interview Series