Draft 2 PhD Introduction - ResearchSpace@Auckland

203
Vigil that enhances the sense of enigma and mystery and keeps the viewer
working. 672
In other words, Ward is a director who regards every image and every sound as a
wasted opportunity unless it not only moves forward the narrative but also conveys
mood and theme and has aesthetic interest. It is the intensity of this attention to details
that makes the production of his films such a challenging process. Clearly, Ward has
also had to learn – as his projects became more complex – how to clearly communicate
his aesthetic preferences to technicians who had to interpret and reconcile them with
immediate practical problems.
The overall feel of the sound in the film was inspired by Ward’s visit to Chartres
Cathedral. He has described the acoustics of the cathedral, strongly reminiscent of the
valley in which the film was set, as having a “profound impact” on him.
“Characteristically, noises were soft and muted, but certain sounds became amplified,
and those close by were extraordinarily clear, like drops of water falling into a still pool.
That’s how I wanted Toss to hear the world: muffled, unclear, then suddenly rent by the
scream of a hawk or the thud of a knife into wood, sharp and lucid, reverberating down
the valley like the echoes at Chartres”. 673 Jack Body’s sparse musical score also makes
an important contribution to the film’s soundtrack, sometimes functioning as sound
effects or as echo effects for the dialogue. The vividness of the film’s soundtrack has
been noted by critics such as Nicholas Reid:
Few films have Vigil’s acute ear for significant natural sounds – the bleat of
sheep, rattle of stones, or suck and squelch of gumboots in the mud. The loud
click and ringing reverberation of each cartridge as Toss plays with the rifle.
The loud, immediate boom (rifleshot or thunder?) when Toss walks on the
cloud-bound ‘tops’. The hollow, distant boom (the land talking back?) when
Birdie stamps on the rise to show Ethan where his contraption should go. And
the scream of the hawks when Toss first puts on the balaclava. 674
672 Martin, "Vincent's Vigil," 18.
673 Ward, Edge of the Earth: Stories and Images from the Antipodes 72.
674 Reid, A Decade of New Zealand Film: Sleeping Dogs to Came a Hot Friday 110.