How ‘Euphoria’ Captured the Soundscape of Rue’s Breakdown

variety.com:

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorSound mixer Sean O’Malley has landed his first Emmy nomination for the particularly complex fifth episode of HBO’s “Euphoria.”In the fifth episode, “Stand Still Like a Hummingbird,” Zendaya’s Rue hits rock bottom, going through a painful drug withdrawal and experiencing fear and anger as her emotional state spirals.

Zendaya’s journey is hectic and paranoia-inducing, and in order to get it right, O’Malley spent a lot of time discussing how to capture the sound for creator Sam Levinson.The key was capturing the sound in-camera rather than adding things in post, and by doing that, O’Malley delivered the best sonic environment to make audiences feel every moment of the episode.

For the opener, in which Rue wakes up in Laurie’s (Martha Kelly) apartment, kicks down a door and starts throwing things, O’Malley relied on placing microphones on everyone to make it work. “There are subtle breath sounds you’ll hear,” O’Malley he tells Variety. “We wanted to capture that because it can change the actor’s performance and add to it in a lot of ways.”Initially, Zendaya didn’t wear a mic — nor did she want to.

But shooting the scene with a boom mic was not an option, says O’Malley. “There was screaming down the hallway and it sounded like a tin can because chasing her with a boom was almost impossible.”On review, O’Malley could see the powerful impact of the scene was lost.