Traditional rules are always good to learn from as a guideline when creating art. However, you can serve the story and your vision by breaking the rules as long as it's to serve the story.
One of my favorite film mixes is ‘Roma’ by Alfonso Cuaron. This film's realism was created by thoughtful attention to the details in every department. It is the most immersive narrative drama film I have ever experienced.
My partner Catherine took me to a private screening a few years ago where there was a QA with Alfonso Cuaron. I had much praise and many questions for him but he was swarmed by groupies!
They recorded the most detailed walla I've experienced by recording each individual character's offscreen dialogue as well as every single background performer on set to capture the authenticity of the environment and culture. This is one of the many tools that helped create a very unique expansive palette for each scene. The crew went back to the specific locations to record ambience sounds and effects for authenticity that all helped in creating the dynamic tone of the film. Every sound was mapped out so you knew where it was coming from, and not all in the centre channel like we've been told to do. They panned dialogue and every sound to follow the camera to give a more immersive experience.
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