Paste full analytics here
LOADING

Forgiveness

Scene from Forgiveness: A Time To Love and a Time To Hate

Forgiveness: A Time To Love and a Time To Hate is a two-part film airing on PBS. The documentary was created by acclaimed writer, producer, and director Helen Whitney. It examines the concept of forgiveness through the lens of personal and global experience. For the audio post production of this film, Whitney returned to Flavorlab Sound to work with mixer/sound designer Brian Quill.

The first installment delves into personal stories. The second takes a wider look at global events, such as the Rwandan genocide and the Holocaust. Working closely with Whitney and editor Ted Winterburn, Quill provided sonic depth and balance to this probing film. It comprises interviews with survivors and witnesses, reenactments, location views, and news footage.

“Brian has perfect pitch for sound levels between dialogue and music and remarkable creativity with sound design. He has an unusual respect for the power of silence. He also has a fierce intellect that allows him to ‘get’ the content of the film. Combined with his exceptional mastery of the technical skill required, he can execute his exact vision of each scene,” says Whitney.

“It was pure pleasure sitting with him during a session and watching him ‘ride’ the controls. Brian works with breathtaking speed and efficiency.”

– Helen Whitney, Writer/Producer/Director on Forgiveness

Quill sound designed and mixed broadcast, theatrical, and Director’s Cut versions of Forgiveness in stereo and 5.1 surround sound. He was Granted the creative freedom to underscore the film’s heavy themes. Utilizing creative sound design, Quill helped to further deepen the impact of each account.

Whitney describes: “A ‘Brian’ moment in the film occurs in the Amish act. It’s emblematic of so many of his grace notes that enhanced the series. Above, the film portrays the Amish community grieving over the killing and wounding of 11 of their young children by their non-Amish neighbor. We explore the Amish unconditional forgiveness of the killer – and the Jewish response to this immediate forgiveness.

“A challenge in this act is to give a visceral sense of the shattering of their peaceful world. TV crews swarmed into the Amish community along with police and their helicopters. It was Brian’s use of the helicopters, sharply juxtaposed with the silence of the Amish waiting by the road, that heightened this scene. In Brian’s sound design, it wasn’t just one blaring loud, brutal sound of the propellers. It was a true symphony of helicopter wings, each with subtle gradations in volume and texture.”

From Forgiveness Part I to Part II, Quill calibrated his approach to the subtle change in tone. “I tried to give each night its own sound. We go from very personal stories of people like Terri Jentz and Kathy Power to points of view on these much larger experiences in Part II,” he describes.

“I wanted that intimacy to come across in the first night. The second night need a sense of universal or global magnitude. So it feels like a progression of the concept, which is what the film does. It contemplates the idea of forgiveness.”

– Brian Quill, Partner & Lead Audio Engineer at Flavorlab

Whitney added, “I’ve had to opportunity to work with a variety of mixers over the last 40 years producing, directing, and writing documentaries and dramatic features. Some had a great deal of experience, a few were at the beginning of their careers. Many of them were good, some very good. But Brian was superb, truly in a class by himself.

“His independence was also a blessing on this project. With many of my post production experiences I stayed in the mix room every minute of the day. By contrast, I felt free to leave knowing that Brian would execute my directions – and take them to a different level.”

Join our mailing list!

LEARN MORE
CONTACT US