Bronze
Audio & Radio
Sound Mixing
| Entrant: | Howatson+Company, Sydney |
| Brand: | Mastercard |
| Title: | "TOUCH" |
| Where was this broadcast?: | Cinemas |
| Corporate Name of Client: | Mastercard |
| Client Company: | Mastercard, Sydney |
| Media Company: | Carat, Sydney |
| Paid Media Company: | McCann, Sydney |
| PR Company: | Eleven, Sydney |
| Agency: | Howatson+Company, Sydney |
| Executive Creative Director: | Gavin Chimes |
| Creative Directors: | Jared Wicker/Scott Zuliani |
| Agency Head of Design: | Ellena Mills |
| Agency Designer: | Chloe Schumacher |
| Agency Head of Production: | Holly Alexander |
| Agency Producer: | Charlotte Breene |
| Agency Managing Director: | Renee Hyde |
| Agency Strategic Planner: | Clinton Duncan |
| Agency Business Director: | Kirsty Taylor |
| Social Media Company: | We Are Social, Sydney |
| Inclusion Partner Company: | Bus Stop Films, Sydney |
| Production Company: | Heckler, Sydney |
| Director: | Tony Krawtiz |
| Executive Producer: | Bonnie Law |
| Production Company Creative Director: | Johnny Green |
| Production Company Head of Sound: | Dave Robertson |
| Directors Attachment: | Benjamin Phillips |
| Sound Design Company: | Big Bang Sound Design, Sydney |
| Sound Design Company Supervising Sound Editor: | Wayne Pashley |
| Dialogue Editors: | Derryn Pasquill |
| Assistant Dialogue Editor: | Max Pashley |
| Sound Design Company Sound Post Co-ordinator: | Libby Villa |
| Sound Editors: | Jared Dwyer/Nick Keate/Chris Doherty |
| Foley Artists: | Eliza Jayne South/Jack Okeby |
| ADR Recordist: | Dan Hackett |
| Music Production Company: | Stare Crazy, Berlin |
| Music Composers: | Amy Andersen/Reggie Beer/Judith Brandenburg/Jonathan Dreyfus |
| Music Production Companies Sound Editors: | Meggy Freidhof/Stefan Janik/Daniel Müller |
| Casting Agents: | Stevie Ray/Michelle Ny/Lily Mitchell |
Description:
To launch Touch Card – a bank card designed for the blind and low vision community – Mastercard flipped the script, creating an inclusive cinema experience that was truly priceless.
‘TOUCH’ is a feature-length motion picture without pictures. An original story about a neuroscientist trapped inside his father’s mind, brought to life entirely through Dolby sound, without images or audio descriptions.
Made so all audiences can enjoy the magic of cinema together, no matter their level of vision.
We began the process by engaging our inclusion partner company, who placed 34 members of the blind and low vision community in roles across every department of the film’s production – giving some their first break in the industry, and helping the larger team consider their perspective at every stage.
This meant that the production was a true collaboration between sighted and non-sighted audio engineers and foley artists – who worked together to innovate new ways of using sound in film.
Spatial panning, subharmonics and original foley created sonic environments so immersive, they didn’t need audio descriptions. Sonic versions of visual techniques, like crash zooms, gave the edit energy.
Even characters’ footsteps had clear ‘weight’ to provide a sense of size. To ensure impact and authenticity, every scene was then tested and refined by several blind and low vision focus groups.
TOUCH’ showed at iconic Australian theatres, where both sighted and non-sighted people were invited to experience the film together. After one premiere, the project garnered +AUD $10million in earned media coverage and reached 74+ million people.
But this is just the start. The film has been submitted to multiple upcoming international film festivals, challenging what films can be and who they’re made for.
More importantly, the production learnings from TOUCH have been turned into a lesson module and taught in leading film schools, giving future filmmakers a blueprint to make more inclusive productions.