Don Davis won the
Academy Award in
sound effects editing for
The Matrix in 1999. He has also composed the audio for
The Matrix Reloaded the soon to be released
The Matrix Revolutions, either of which could win him another
Oscar.
Davis is
renowned for the amount of detail he puts into the creation process. For Reloaded, he wanted something better than
synthesized sound. So, he put two
jujitsu artists from a local
dojo inside a 6x8 foot recording booth and told them to beat the crap out of each other. For four days, the two fighters went at it, slamming into cement, steel, and wood. He wanted a more organic sound, and that is what he achieved.
Davis' collaboration with the
Wachowski brothers began with
Bound, the 1995
cult-classic. Since then, he has been part of the Wachowski brothers' inner team. The recent Matrix movies gave him the
artistic freedom and the required economic backing to create great sound. His recent work on the Matrix Revolutions is also inspired from many philosophical sources, just like the movies. On one song,
Neodämmerung (New Dawn in German),
Sanskrit quotes from the
Upanishads are interwoven with techno-beats to create a masterful mix.
Selective filmography:
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
The Animatrix (2003)
Behind Enemy Lines (2001)
Jurassic Park III (2001)
Valentine (2001)
Antitrust (2001)
House on Haunted Hill (1999)
The Matrix (1999)
Universal Soldier: The Return (1999)
The Lesser Evil (1997)
Bound (1995)
Sources:
http://www.imdb.com
http://dondavis.filmmusic.com/
Wired Magazine Issue 11.11