In the world of post production, few collaborations are as crucial — or as nuanced — as the relationship between sound and score. Supervising sound editor and mixer Oliver Boon (www.oliverboon.com) has forged an ongoing creative partnership with film composer Dan R. Howard (@drhoward.composer), whose recent credits together include The Prodigy (director Omar Salas Zamora),
They Slay (director Lo Lundeen) and
Coping with Loneliness (director Nasim Kiani). Together, they’ve developed a workflow that blurs the lines between music and sound design, creating films that sound as rich as they look.
Photo (top): Oliver Boon in the studio
“It’s like multiple chefs working on the same dish,” says Boon. “We’re each handling different ingredients, but there’s always overlap between what counts as sound design and what counts as score. Dan and I are constantly exchanging ideas — what should lead, what should breathe, where silence belongs. The more we talk, the more cohesive the film sounds.”
Photo: Dan R. Howard and Oliver Boon at the screening of The Prodigy.
Boon, who regularly leads teams of dialogue editors, Foley artists and sound designers, sees the composer not as a separate department but as a storytelling partner. By sharing early drafts, atmospheres and sonic textures with Howard, the two ensure their work complements rather than competes.
“Working closely with Oliver definitely makes my job easier,” says Howard. “We’re always sending each other new mixes and stems. It’s a constant feedback loop that shapes the emotional rhythm of the film. Do working like this up front helps save time when the deadline is approaching.”
Their recent collaboration on The Prodigy represents this approach. The film’s unsettling score and Boon’s visceral sound design merge seamlessly, with dissonant motifs intertwining with ambient textures to evoke claustrophobia, dread and emotional release.
“In a suspenseful horror like The Prodigy, so many moments could be either sound design or score,” Boon notes. “We wove them together in a way that makes every scare land just right.”
“Great post production is invisible,” Boon concludes. “When sound and score are in harmony, the audience doesn’t notice the craft — they just feel it.”