Off the Record

Evie Dallmann 0:00
Hi. This is Evie with WKNC Talking to Carter Hall and Connor Smith about their sound design for Opal nine, Nines production of hell squad two fresh meat.

carter bentley 0:10
When it came time to do the second one, there was just a whole lot more to do. So I had my buddy Connor up because I knew Connor had also been involved in film with boyks in the geezer and other stuff. I was like, hey, hop on and join the team. Got to work, and some of the songs in hell squad two Connor can speak more to it. But are, like, totally Connor. Some of them were even for, like, other projects, and a lot of the like, music that people are listening to is Connor's music. So Connor can speak more to that.

connor smith 0:57
Yeah, I literally jumped at the chance to do something like anything with this project, music wise, like, I didn't really know all the things that were going to be included of mine until, like, the final like day when I saw the film like that was when I just saw a bunch of little, like musical easter eggs, or just like little snippets of my songs that I didn't think were going to be included, and we just had a lot of fun, like throwing in stuff that we thought would work, that I already kind of made, just instead of using some like, royalty free traffic or something like that, like we even had one that I made as a joke that we put in because it just worked so well. Your whole discography is in the movie. By the way, had a lot of like songs. I feel like that we worked on step by step process of like, okay, this needs to be more like this way, or this needs to be more that way. I feel like we had one that I initially had for a burning scene that we used for a burning scene in this one, like in hell, squat two, it like something about, like, the Sonics of it just matched with, like, I didn't even put any like flame noises in the track or anything. It was just like, kind of like emulated just, I guess, things going up in flames. So it just worked for a fire scene in this movie as well. So, I mean, I guess stuff was already kind of laid out, and once we saw that everything that I was using, or everything that Carter was using is free range, it kind of just like built itself around that, like, because, like, everything that we do kind of sounds very similar anyway, because we have a lot of the same influences. Like, I know that going into it, we kind of agreed upon having, like, a synth focus sound John Carpenter being, like a super big inspiration, I know, for like, both of us, for like everything, score wise, at least totally 100% trying to pay homage more than rip on

carter bentley 3:13
classic horror stuff like that. As far as like other music like that, they're like listening to in universe with like building a universe, I think that definitely took on a life of its own a little bit with like us using the frisky fireball discography, because then we even have Connor pop up In a scene as the DJ at the party, and so all like your music playing throughout the movie, kind of like it becomes, like you said, Evie, like it, it becomes like part of the universe, almost, and the world building like benefits from the songs we threw in there. I think like, part of it is just like, some some of the like effects and stuff on on the score is meant to sort of evoke, like tape degradation, where, like on a VHS tape, like, after you've had it for a while and it's been played a bunch the synths can kind of like pitch, like out and in slightly, and like detuned. So there is, I think, just like the sounds we use, they're like some of the effects we threw on a couple of the tracks, like, sort of do that just naturally to sort of replicate that. So definitely, like an attempt to, like talk to me, feel more retro, but it also just works well for for slasher movies to do more melody based stuff.

connor smith 4:59
Know that there's a point where there's a clock motif that comes back, like, oh yeah, first one. And I know that that is like a conscious like, kind of like telling that the killer is around. Or like, when there's a scene that, like, Hilda is like, prevalent, that that, like sound, I know is meant to, like, evoke some sort of danger. So, like, I know that we, we had a lot of like, um forethought in that sense, and like, including stuff from the first one, I feel like, Yeah,

carter bentley 5:35
I'm actually glad you brought that up. It's like a melody um, as well as, like, a clock sound, but it's the the like at the hour melody that'll play on like a clock tower.

carter bentley 5:57
We heard that on a like, an actual, like, clock tower that we were right next to when we were filming the first one, and it just made it in camera. And then I was like, I'll just put that in the score.

connor smith 6:10
And I cheekily tried to put it in a lot of, like, what? Yeah, I, I definitely come from like, a background of, like sampling, like, with my own music and stuff. So like, I'm very, like, I've made a lot of hip hop production and stuff and rap and like, that's just kind of ingrained in me, like, and I listen to I'm very big into hardcore as well. And that's kind of, like, a huge like factor in like, all hardcore, whether it be like with the cover art or just like covering somebody else's song, it's just like, it's all doing, like, respect, I feel like, as opposed to just like, I mean, I went to school for creative writing too, and they always told me to steal, like an artist and like, have kind of things that people recognize. Everything I feel like is a culmination of stuff that you didn't take. I feel like, we all shared a vision, and I came at it from a like, genuine fan perspective, more so than anything like so I really wasn't thinking of it as like a job of something that I need to like, do something to fit like the mode that's already been placed. I really just wanted to do something that I thought would be cool from like a fan perspective, and that that really like led to making like all the original songs, even like the like ending song, like, I really just wanted to, like, give the character of Helga, like, a cultural send off, like, into like, zeitgeist of just like modern slasher what I felt I hoped to do with all the music, rather than just have somebody be like, I've heard this before, be like, Oh, this rocks, because it's familiar. Like, what I'm interested in, mostly, is hard. So, like, I just tried to, like, you know, mix everything in a blender that, really, that I, like, knew and what we had already agreed, and they Gracie and Carter definitely had, like, a clear vision of where it needed to go, and I just tried to adhere to that as much as possible. Me and Carter both were like, sleep away campus, like the one movie that needs to be emulated the most, I think, like just the magic behind the like balance of having it be like, genuinely, like, shocking in a lot of regards, and then having it be funny, or just having, like, a very home goofy vibe throughout like, that was one that I know that we've connected over multiple times, and that's just one that I Feel like was like a perfect like, if you like this, then you'll like hell squad too. And then there's some times when the chaos just kind of, like in the middle of my case, melts together into something that's just like a Frankenstein of what everybody thought it should be. And that's kind of usually the best, because everybody's just playing to their own strengths, and the cameras just kind of capturing it. The end song definitely was inspired by man behind the mask. There's, like, an Alice Cooper song that they made for Jason for, like, the end credits that I was like, okay, like, needs their own theme song, encapsulating everything about the culture at the time, and I really wanted to, like, ham it up, yeah, no, I used, like, tinny bell sounds for any time that, like, Helga was on screen. And if you think about it, in a film theorist, like, point of view, Helga, like, died and is in a perpetual state of, like, having, like, the apron. The Meat Packing thing going, Yeah, so for going with, like, when people die, they're getting turned into minced meat. Then it could be, like a dinner bell. Like, to

carter bentley 10:08
me, a thriller has always been, like, more like cerebral courtroom drama, or like, like crime procedural type, like,

connor smith 10:24
serious topic, serious tone, like you have to work everything with, like the utmost, like grounded sincerity, like you can't really like, because that's what you're attacking with thrillers. I feel like is like people's like actual human nerve of being scared, and like real life situations, whereas this is, like, this is never gonna happen to me. So I'm allowed to kind of suspend my disbelief to the point where it's like, I'm allowed to laugh along. Because I feel like a lot of people when they were watching this, that like the opening night where, like I was in this, or I could have been in this, or, like, it would have been fun to be in this. So that's what, like, what everybody's kind of feeling, as opposed to like, oh God, Helga is coming after me, after I, like, leave the theater. We

carter bentley 11:15
probably gravitated toward it because it's the most fun genre to do, like, at this budget level. You know, I'm sure action movie is super fun too, but we weren't gonna be blowing anything up or doing car chases or anything. So I think, like, for a low budget movie, like good old, just straight up slasher is like probably the most fun you could have. Well, I definitely see more horror movies these days heading towards what we I feel like we did, which was the synth heavy John Carpenter esque. I mean, John Carpenter himself just did the past three Halloween movies, which those like had to have that kind of a score, I mean. And again, I think that's another reason why we went with it, because our movies are evocative of that kind of movie and that kind of, you know, a Halloween movie or just any classic slasher movie, I feel like would be incomplete without a synth heavy score. So I like that you brought up, like, culture capital and so, like someone who, has seen like, you know, all the classics and stuff like that, definitely would be able to, like, pick out what we were sort of referencing. But even if you haven't, I still think it's a fun vibe. You

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