TECHNOLC ANNA HICKEY-MOODY AND MEU! 7B» Motro Magazine No. 14 ‘A 10CCO. AURATORS INTRODUCTION his article posits the notion of ‘aura l torship’ as offering a useful way of discussing the explicit postion ing of the spectator in relation to Rolf de Heer's 1998 fim Bad Boy Bubby. In Bad Boy Bubby, crafting the listener's disgust becomes an artform. It is a practice mas- tered primarily through the use of binaural microphones, which work to increase audience identification, and alternatively, to provoke a corporeal response. The use ‘of music, for example punk, in Romper ‘Stomper (Geoffrey Wright, 1982), pro- voked the audience to describe the film as ‘appalling and .. repellent.” In Bad Boy Buby, the intimate re-creation of humble human sounds, such as gurgling, eating and pissing, disrupts the listener's experience, provoking a similar affect of revulsion, shock and disgust. In de Heer’s film, the viewer's primarily a listener, or aurator, and secondly, a spectator ‘A multi-award winning fim both locally ‘and internationally,’ Bad Boy Bubby con- tinues to enjoy critical acclaim and a cut following in Australia and abroad. Filmed in and around the streets of Port Adelaide in South Australia, the film's modest visual style, (featuring gray industrial land scapes, nightclub interiors and the drab ) ‘scenography of Bubby’s [Nicholas Hope] flat), works to privilege the cinematic soundscape, The film isan exploration of ‘a man-chila's journey of sel-discovery after @ life of confinement and abuse. In constructing this fragmented narrative, {de Heer's employment of sound and silence works to create a powerful and Cften unsettling aural experience. Indeed, the industrial noise, aggressive dialogue, ‘claustrophobic binaural soundscape ‘and range of music featured in Bad Boy ‘Bubby are anything but innocuous. Firstly, this article investigates the affec: tive employment of binaural microphones in Bad Boy Bubby and examines how this technology eratts the aurator's journey. It willbe argued that the employment of binaural technologies in de He's film constructs an intense, claustrophobic atmosphere. Secondly, areas of possible future research will be identified. These in- clude the emphases placed upon sound, silenca and speech, particularly within the first haf of the fim, and the sonic connec- tions made between Bubby and the wortd outside his dank flat. It will be suggested that momants of sonic connection in Bad ‘Boy Bubby open up new possibiities of auratorial and spectatoral identification Interpretation and atfective response, This analysis of Bad Boy Bubby therefore posLeft to Right: Bac 8 its @ movement towards fim auratorship, rather than fil spectatorship. SOUNDS OF A DEPRAVED LIFE Bad Boy Bubby offers a unique listening experience, given that much of Bubby’s social activity is structured around the reproduction of other characters’ ut- terances, For example, Bubby's sonic (re)constructions of his lived experiences, in the form of mimicry and performances (on stage with his rock band, are com= prised of his reproduction of the linguistic statements of others. There are also a ‘number of occasions in the film where ‘musie and the soundtrack are privileged inthe text. As such, sound and music play particulary crucial roles in the con- struction and re-construction of Bubby’s subjectivity. The role played by music and ‘sound in carrying the narrative ofthe flim text as a whole is remarkable. In theoszing the sonically atfective ‘qualities of Bac Boy Bubby, this article undertakes some bret investigations Cf the ways in which music and sound feature in, and constitute crucial ele- ments of, Bubby's subjectivity. While this article investigates specific aspects of the aural construction of Bubby's subjectiv- ity, we would also lke to suggest that a reading of the significance of music and sound, without recourse to subjectivity, is another area of possible research. For the purpose of our discussion here, binaural microphones, speech, silence, mimicry {and moments of sonic connection outside the home, remain the foc! of our work. Bubby isa thity-five-year-old man who livas with his mother, Fio (Claire Benito, ina diny, dark, sparsely furnished flat Bubby’s mother bathes him, feeds him, beats him and has sex with him. Bubby has never left the flat, gone cutside nor had any contact with anyone besides his ‘mother, the tormented cat and the cock- roaches that dart about their home. The role of binaural microphones in rendering Bubby, and the spectator's, experience ot Ife inside the fat is crucial Binaural microphones make evident the pedestrian sounds of everyday life. Imag Ine a loudspeaker playback of every thing you hear through one ear. Now bring up the other channel and you'll be close to the experiance of binaural microphones. (Or block your ears while eating a crunchy biscut or cereal. Seemingly insignificant ‘sounds of dally Ife are brought to the forefront of the listener's consciousness. {As the name ‘binaural microphone’ sug ‘gests, binaural microphones produce a detailed kind of stereo sound, employing fone microphone for each ear. Each ricro- phone performs an analogous function, recording music and sounds with two, tiny, omni-directional microphones at the entrance to each ear canal These microphones are usually built on an artificial human head which includes the thickset ridges ofthe outer ears in ‘order to adapt the frequency balance of sounds depending on the direction from which they derive. In order to craft a cohesive synchronicity between Bubby's journey in the fim text and the spectators journey, de Hear designed an original style of binaural microphones, modeled cirectly on actor, Nicholas Hope's head, This allowed for an unusual accuracy in the construction of the central character's ‘sonic position. Ths also created an in tense, claustrophobic soundscape where the listener is iterally)aurally positioned between Bubby's ears. The spectator’s ‘and protagonist's journey are thus aurally, ‘and at times visually, n synch, Bad Boy Bubby was infact the first fea ture film to employ binaural microphones ‘a8 a key feature of the sound track. The production of binaural sound forthe lis- {ening end requires a number of complex and expensive processes, which allow +79 (© Magazine No. 14amplification of binaural sound while retaining 360-degree realism. The cost involved in building binaural microphones and producing binaural sound has limited the application ofthis technology in fea~ ture fim productions. However, a number fof manufacturers are currently working on ‘improved binaural playback via crosstalk- cancelled loudspeakers, a development ‘that will see the use of binaural sound increase exponentially. Nevertheless, the ‘employment of Binaural microphone tech- olagies in film is stil eatively new.* Binaural microphones work by keeping two channels of sound completely divided. The listener's let ear is directly fed one half of a stereo soundtrack recording: unmixed, amplified recordings of dat lfe sounds. Binaural microphones also record changing ‘Spectral characteristics or frequency re- ‘sponses in detal, and as such they are able to emulate the directions and imperceptible ‘qualities of particu sounds. Thus, tiny shifts in frequency reeponses, phase ang ‘sound levels, are made available to the human ear by binaural microphones. The aurator then employs this sonic information in order to localize sounds. Binaural sound is mare comprehensive and therefore more affective than other kinds of sound record- Ing, given that the technology records the sort of specific, human sonic affects often ‘omitted from soundtracks. ‘As their recordings are detailed and there- fore exactly located in relation to sonic frequencies, binaural microphones con- struct an aural position in a soundscape by tracking the distance of sounds from the aural position they create, The micro ‘phones are worn on the performer's head ‘and thus identify the sounds’ location (infront, behind, lett or right of the aural position). For example, tracks recorded as a left ear signal on Nicholas Hope's hhead are heard at the playback end by the listener’ left ear The ampified sound track of Bubby's daily life thus becomes the defining feature of his subjectivity. De- prived of visual and social stimulus, other than the aforementioned maternal abuse, Bubby’s auralty or the soundtrack of his life, is afforded mote prominence. In Bad Boy Bubby, the soundtrack of industrial noises, dripping water and seuttling cockroaches, choreograpls the aurator’s journey insice the flat far more {80 Metro Magazine No. 140 ctfectively than the drab scenography of the family home’. The affects of bin- ‘ural sonic containment and excessive over-ampliication are, at times, veritably nauseating for the viewer. When Bubby fastens glad wrap around his skull the viewer's aural hemisphere is drawn into the mutfied, uncomfortable soundtrack of refracted breathing. The corporeal effect this sound creates is palpable. Indeed, it fear is a sound, itis the billowing, crackling, subterranean noises associated with being enfolded in glad wrap. Or itis the noise of the world outside the door, a world where you can only wear a mask Binaural microphones are especially Cesigned to produce surround sound Cf exceptional specificity and intensity. Bubby's adventures with glad wrap, his food (which necessitates noisy eating) ‘and inadvertent eavesdropping, take the listener into an intense kind of sonic ‘magnification. The listener is enmeshed in sonic intensities usvally overlooked in a film text In Bad Boy Bubby, sounds that would not normally be incorporated into a ‘soundtrack are loud, uncomfortably close ‘and unnervingly persistent, Buby hears his parents debating his ‘name —Bubby's father, Pop, protests to ‘his mother that she has chosen ‘a stupid name for a stupid kid’. The listener hears ‘the sound of Bubby crunching his food ‘over his parents’ frustrated dialogue. Pop and Flo's bickering is subsumed by the ‘sound in Bubby's mouth. The overlay of pedestrian noises on dialogue, made possible by the use ofthe binaural i- ‘erophones, provides a re-ordering of the ‘corwentional sound hierarchy in cinema. ‘Where voice and dialogue are tradition- ally the mast privileged sites of aural significance in the cinema sounatrack, ‘de Heer’s fim provides an alternative ‘sonic model In Bad Boy Bubby, Chion's blerarchy of human, dialogic sounds is. ‘dismantled.’ Thus the masticating noises produced by Bubby's mouth engage the spectator over dialogue, and Bubby’s ac- tions become completely determined by his textural, tonal love of sounds. Deprived of visual and social stimulus, Bubby’s auraity, or the soundtrack of his le, is afforded a particular prominence in de Heer’s fl. Distant, industrial sounds, ‘a constant eerie hum and the repeated scratch of Bubby’s spoon against the ‘sugar in his bowl, provide a disturbing substitute for his lack of dialogue. (Chion argues that cinema is characterist- cally ‘vococentrc,* a feature ilustrated by the fact that ‘in every audio mix the pres ‘ence of a human voice instantly sets up a hierarchy of perception’In Bad Boy Bub- ‘by. the listener experiences the extent to hich the deprived Buby has privilaged aural in his subjectivity. Additionally, as listeners to the binaural sound, Bubby's aurators are afforded tte opportunity 10 Undertake sonic adventures with him. While dialogue is a characteristic of most contemporary feature films, de Heer's Bac Boy Bubby affords dialogue a unique sig- nificance. There is minimal dialogue in the flim, and much of i is either about Buby ‘oF spoken by others in his presence. Starved for human contact, Bubby retains ‘every word he hears. When Pop returns from an extended absence, Bubby's life, and his linguistic abiity changes forever. Pop speaks to and about Bubby. with a vocal texture and tone Bubby has never encountered before. Left alone in the flat again, Bubby’s vocal ‘experiments try to recreate Pop's aggres- sive, dictatorial tones. ‘Christ, kid, you're ‘a weirdo .. Christ, kid, you're a weirdo.” bby (re}constructs his father’s thick Irish brogue and adopts his erticisms as 2 mantra. Following a series of strange ‘events —events that expand Bubby’s vo- ccabulary, vocal range and timbre— Buby ventures ‘outside’ forthe first time in his thiny- five years, Hore, Bubby experiences a range of sounds, including music: experiences which provide significant focal points for ‘both Bubby and the spectator. Bubby is consistently érawn to music and people iho love music. When he discovers a smal ‘group of Salvation Army singers standing in aline, he approaches each singer in tur, Staring with fascination at their faces, he attempts to look into their open, sonorous ‘mouths. After moving from the deepest ‘male voice to the highest female voice, ‘Bubby joins the end of the line and begins improvising the tune ofthe hymn in his ‘own high, atonal voice. A superb moment In the fm, the scene attests not only toBuby’s lack of socialization, and thus his ‘nonexistent sense of individuation, but aiso ‘tystrates his ibidinal relationship to sound ‘This is signified through his wilingness to physicaly and sonorously ‘ose himsel’ in the moment, by ‘plugging’ his disorganized Identity and voice ito the singers’ organ- ized and harmonized line. | Bubby's subjectivity is constructed au- rally his subjectivity is also subsequently re-staged through sound, when he takes: to the stage as a peculiar, neo-punk blues-band front man.'® Performing with the band, Bubby draws on his traumatic experiences and his extensive sonic vocabulary of words, voices, sounds and noises. He reinvests sound, from the spoken word to the hiss ofa cat, with his, ‘own, often very itera, interpretation. ‘CONCLUSION From the opening scenes of the film, to his experiences in the ‘outside’ world, Bubby's most significant encounters are characterized by sound, speech and ai- ‘egetic and non-diegetic music. De Heer’s, se of sound, rhythm and music provides: creative connections and possibilities, not coll for Bubby, but also for the spectator. ‘The intense and evocative soundscape in Bad Boy Bubby echoes the earlier avant-garde film scores of Philip Brophy. Brophy’s work has been described as ‘the ‘organization of more complex spatio- ‘temporal rlationships .. [that] broadly experiment .. with methods which have the potential to extend and enrich the vocabulary of film sound production & perception." As such, we argue that, ‘while Cary Flinn has suggested ‘scholars hhave been slow to acknowledge the con- tributions sound makes to film narrative, desire and overall signification’, Bad Boy Bubby provides an instructive example for research in this context.” Theorizing the ‘significance of sound in Bad Boy Buby requires the same kind of intellectual rigor ‘that Kassabian has argued is directed towards ‘reading’ in iterary studies, and ‘spectatorship’ in film studies.* Positing the notion of the aurator in order to engage with the significant and af- fective ways in which music, sound and ‘speech are employed in Bad Boy Bubby, this article moves towards a more com- prehensive aural analysis of film sound- ‘scape.'* As a flm text, Bad Boy Bubby invites the spectator, paradoxically, to ‘cover his or her eyes and listen. The grim realities of Bubby's life and his drab visual ‘surroundings are deliverately overshac= ‘owed by the unnervingly detailed and intense binaural soundscape. Dialogue and mimicry negotiate complex issues ‘around identity and power. De Heer’s Bad Boy Bubby ultimately offers a rich and productive sit for sonic inquiry. ‘Anna Hickey: Moody i a wnter, dancer and teacher Anna has pubished her wrtings (an Shock Rack, contemporary Austrakan performance art and youth performing arts. ‘Melissa locco writes and researches the area of parverse masculinites in contempo- tay film and currenty is @ lecturer in Wor- en's Studies atthe University of Tasmania, Melissa Jocoo@utas.edu.au) . Endnotes Toby Mier, The Voience of Sound: Romper Stomper, Screen Scores: Studies in Contem- porary Australian Fin, Sydney, AFTAS, 1997, 29, = wads incuded the Grand Special Jury Pie ‘and te ntrational Fm Cris award at the 1998 Venice Fim Festal and thee Ausraian Fim Institute awards in 198, inctusing Best ‘Actor (Nicholas Hope), Best Dioctor (Rol de Hoet) and Best Screenplay 2 Ales expensive though nt as effective (hence rarely employed) approach to binaural sound has been ambiophonic sound. Ambio~ phonic sound is produced trough the use of abate between a pai of csely spaced speakers. + Binaural microphones were fis ald in 1881 onthe stage ofthe Paris Opera, inthe ‘orm of dual telephone tines tansmiting the ‘operat the audlence. Since this theatrical begining, (which forthe time was particularly innovate, binaural ear rumpets were used inthe First World War by the Ar Force 0 lo- ‘ate enemy panes. nthe 1820s, experimen- ta binaural radi broadcasts incurpoates & pair of frequencies, with isteners tuning in on pair of crystal racophone ses. tthe 1959 Word Technologies Fl, binaural urimy head was featured asa major attraction, wth show-goers ning upto don the dummy’ binaural headphones and experience what was happening inthe room in which the dummy was placed. This mare contemporary evelopment of binaural technology is simi tothe process of crafting the microphones for Bubby'shead, ‘Sauntracks bul rom binaural ecord- {ings begin with an identification of the two ‘channels (left and night) a8 acc‘entaly ‘reversing the channels gives the equivalent ofthe listener having their back othe actors o: the dialogue, Binaural microphones asa technology emphasize the spectator’ sonic Identiications with a text and highlight the \waysin which soundscapes play 2 critical ole In constructing meaning in fim. Michel Grion, Te Voice in Cnema, translation ©. Goroman, Columbia University Press, New Yor, 1999, 95 ti. ‘bi ‘i. -Buboys performances in his neo-punk blues band are an explicit reference to Nick Gave's carer work with the Boys Next Door and The Btnéay Party na manner akin othe theatrical ang often violent nature of The Birthday Fart’ lve shows, Budbys on-stage performances forge sorc connections with ‘Astralan music, especialy with Mick Cave ‘Buby’ band has an aura ofthe local Austal- {an pub act, while the theatrics of ther show ‘move it beyond the mundane suburban rock. Samar, Avant-garde meets mainstream: ‘Te Fm Scores of Philip Bropy’ in A. Cyie, (ed) Screen Scores: Studies in Contemporary ‘Ausraan Seen Music, AFIS, Sydney, 1997, pp. 60-51 Cary Finn, Sound, Weman andthe Bomb: Dismembering the “greatuhatsit” in Kiss Me Deady’ Screening the Past, 10 June nt: ‘ue ltr. odu ausereeingthepast! {éasscsr600/cr 10D. 2000p. 2, cessed 22 January 2008 ‘nahi Kassabian, Hearing Fin: Tack- Jing tdentifeation in Holywood Fm Music, outldge, New York, 2001p. 65. ‘There is range of sonic drectons opened ‘up for investigation in Bad Boy Buy. which ‘e nave not been able to explore witin the boundaries ofthis arte We would keto ‘suggest the folowing as fue directions {or research: creative resonances between academic plosophies of Existentialism, ‘capitalism and the factory soundscape as constructed in Bad Boy ubby and te im portance ofthe relationship between tonality, vocal texture, accent, meaning and message organ paying Scientist's spect in the Metro Magazine No. 140 ¢ 81