“POP” Sound design - the dog

Attaching emotional weight to an inanimate object is something that comes naturally to most of us. We have our teddy bears, idols, blankies, homes, old cars that we love. Often, such an attachment is very personal, and can be difficult for others to buy into. Film has explored this many times, notably Tom Hanks’ performance in Castaway, with Wilson the volleyball.

In Tim Hamilton’s POP, the idea is explored through main character Gene’s interaction with a balloon twisted into the shape of a sausage dog, with googly eyes glued on. Gene needs the dog-balloon (named “Pop”) to find the ‘source of the internet’, a huge tower that emits some kind of balloon-attracting electrostatic charge. Hence, Pop is Gene’s pointer, pulling him ever onward. Through thick and thin - ice, snow, bush, bandits, mountains, crags, dystopian wastelands - Gene’s balloon becomes his constant, sometimes only, friend. The balloon is of crucial importance to guide him to his goal.

When we started work on the sound post, the initial idea was to load all the responsibility to convey these complex ideas onto the actor’s performance. The audience would have to accept the character’s attachment, they trust that Gene has formed this emotional bond, without necessarily feeling it themselves. When our sound team became more invested in the story, we suggested recording some actual balloons and creating some kind of vocal material out of them, to enhance Pop’s character. We recorded a wealth of squeaks, rattles, deflates, stretches, flaps and pops. Our sound effects editor Nakhia painstakingly edited them into a very characterful vocal track for it. In her words “I wanted people to feel that emotion, as if the balloon-dog was real, alive.”

Now with a voice, Pop could react to Gene’s comments; laugh at adversaries; sing along with Gene; and join in conversations and monologues in his own way. What we as the audience were tasked with taking on faith - Gene’s emotional and practical dependence on POP - we could now share in and be part of; we don’t just look ‘at’ the character, we are invited into his heart. The balloon-dog’s voice makes it a fully fledged character in its own right and we grow to love him as well. We become highly invested in his survival, and the extreme perils he goes through on his quest with Gene. We now feel the poignant vulnerability when Gene tells him “I promise I won’t let you pop”.

Tim loves the process of being surprised by what different sound designers bring to the project. “I always thought of the balloon-dog as just a prop, but when I heard Pop’s voice he became a crucial part of Gene’s character, and his momentum in the story.” These squeaky vocals also solidified the vocals of the real dog that appears later, all of which were created in post. “Pop’s vocals are cute and funny, but you know it is designed, not real; so when you hear the vocals of the real dog, you instantly believe them.”