Soundscapes of Memory and Journey: Memoir of a Snail and The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Soundfirm’s commitment and determination in bringing Australian projects to life through sound has been on display in recent months. Soundfirm is very proud to have collaborated on Justin Kurzel’s highly anticipated series The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Adam Elliot’s hugely successful claymation feature Memoir of a Snail. These projects called for imaginative creativity and a willingness to think outside the box in order to do justice to these two incredible stories.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Justin Kurzel’s series based on the novel of the same name, recounts the story of life, war and the impossibility of love through the eyes of an Australian doctor and prisoner of war in the midst of World War II. The post-production process of this film, pushed the bounds of how super a sound supersession could be and stretched Soundfirm’s parameters creatively and technically. The team’s commitment and dedication to crafting the sound of this series required an out of the box working style and significant creative adaptability.
“The Narrow Road to the Deep North was one of those shows you look forward to being a part of. Challenging, absolutely, but you can feel the passion that others have invested into it and you want to do the same. It was an incredible opportunity to immerse the audience in the hardship of the time and play with evocative memory to elevate the themes of love, mateship and living with loss. A sonic rich landscape with a hauntingly beautiful score, it was a pleasure to mix in Soundfirm’s Theatre 1 in Sydney.” Andy Wright, Re-recording Mixer and Supervising Sound Editor, THE NARROW ROAD TO THE DEEP NORTH.
During the post-production process, director Justin Kuzel’s entire involvement was handled remotely due to overseas commitments. The Soundfirm team didn’t allow this to slow them down. Colorfront was a key tool utilised throughout to ensure Justin’s creative connection to the craft was as technically accurate as possible while allowing for the flexibility his collaboration required with the team no matter where he was in the world.
Due to the nature of this story, the project required a monumental amount of world building through both sound design and dialogue. On account of costuming restrictions through the filming, an immense amount of ADR was recorded in post-production at both the Sydney and Melbourne Soundfirm offices. This was critical to elevate and enhance the show’s rich dialogue.
Sound designer Mick Boraso worked imaginatively and diligently in his commitment to bring the director’s vision to life. Justin wanted to focus on the feeling of the flashback sequences and for them to read as more ‘memory pieces’, rather than completely historically accurate set pieces. He wanted to use the sound of their environment to convey the emotion of the POWs and the oppressive conditions they were in. During travel to Vietnam, Mick saw an opportunity to capture the sounds of this unique environment, in order to build them into the soundscape of the series. This creative undertaking provided Mick with the challenge of sourcing essential power for his equipment in a secluded area. After finding help in an online community of sound recordists, Mick ended up working with a custom altered power source that kept him recording. Ultimately, this challenging endeavour formed the bulk of the source material for the impressionistic wildlife sounds that went on to craft the dark and otherworldly feel of the series.
“Working on The Narrow Road at Soundfirm was a dream. Andy and the rest of the post team fostered a truly creative environment at the Sydney studio to deliver on Justin’s ambition for the sound of the series, facilitating seamless remote collaboration with the entire team. Hearing the work come together in Theatre 1 has been a definite highlight of my career.” Mick Boraso, Sound Designer, THE NARROW ROAD TO THE DEEP NORTH.
Kurzel’s series premiered to critical acclaim at the 2025 Berlinale Film Festival and will debut on the streaming platform, Prime Video on April 18th.
Memoir of a Snail chronicles the bittersweet memoir of the melancholic snail enthusiast, Grace Pudel in a sweet love letter to Melbourne. The film began post-production completely soundless, providing Soundfirm’s David Williams with the challenge and opportunity to build the world of sound from the ground up. This formidable challenge provided space for creative collaboration and artistic expression.
“When I was at university, it was my dream to work in sound design for animated films. So when the opportunity arose to work with a world-renowned animation storyteller like Adam Elliot, I eagerly jumped at the chance.
The double-edged sword of a completely empty Pro Tools timeline is both exhilarating and terrifying. Much like Snail’s set builders, prop-makers, sculptors and animators, this film had unparalleled creative control, but you also got nothing for free. From the slightest squish of a snail’s eyeball to the most bombastic explosions, every line of dialogue, character vocalisation, foley recording and sound effect needed to be sourced, curated, edited and mixed to help bring life to these little blobs of plasticine.
And for little blobs of plasticine, this film’s scope was remarkable – countless cutaway gags to far flung locations, surprisingly intense action sequences, and quiet, intimate, and emotionally charged moments really pushed our creativity to the extreme. It was both glorious and gruelling, and I loved every second of it.” – David Williams, Sound Designer and Re-recording Mixer, MEMOIR OF A SNAIL
Memoir of a Snail’s recent nominations for Best Motion Picture-Animated at the 2025 Golden Globes and Best Animated Feature Film at the 2025 Academy Awards has cemented the film’s critical global success and guaranteed its longevity. The love, care and heart put into every stage of this production by the committed and immensely talented filmmakers is evident throughout.
These recent projects provided the Soundfirm team with unique and exciting challenges. They pushed creative and technical parameters and opened up opportunities for out of the box thinking. Bringing to life these two vastly different worlds was done by putting creativity and collaboration at the forefront of the post production process.
