Sound Editor Lauren Talks Creation of Daredevil’s “World on Fire” Interview with Lauren Stephens

Sound Editor Lauren Talks Creation of Daredevil’s “World on Fire” Interview with Lauren Stephens

By April Newell originally written for webn.tv. 

“Creating Daredevil’s ‘World on Fire’ was more than just your typical sound editing job, if that is ever the case,” said the supervising sound editor for Marvel’s Daredevil, Lauren Stephens. “His primary sense of the world is through his hearing, so we had to make sound the sensory priority for the audience.”

Stephens has worked on both seasons of Marvel’s Daredevil, and said that her biggest challenge of season two was editing Elektra’s combat scenes. Her weapons of choice, a pair of deadly katanas, proved difficult to master.

“Her knives are sharp and piercing. Getting that sound clean and clear was very different from Daredevil’s punches,” said Stephens. “Mixing Elektra’s combat sounds with the [Nobu] ninjas was precise work. The producers wanted them to be silent, but their heartbeats and air displacement were how Daredevil could hear them. Very tricky.”

Stephens wasn’t a fan of Marvel Comics before being hired on the series. She said that her indifference helped her create original sounds effects for the characters.

“I’ve been asked if I drew any inspiration from the Daredevil movie, and the answer is absolutely not. We wanted to be completely separate and new. Of course we paid homage to the comics, but our Daredevil is one of a kind,” said Stephens.

Setting the scene of Midtown Manhattan almost exclusively through sound was no easy task. For every siren, street noise, or conversation, Stephens had to record and isolate the sound before mixing them into the final track.

“You don’t realize how much noise is going on around you ‘til you have to identify each and every sound. Then you have to put yourself in the position of someone who can only hear, and they all become much more significant,” said Stephens.

After two seasons of Daredevil, Stephens is excited for season three, and has no idea what to expect.

“There are plenty of paths the characters could take, so I’m excited to see where this series heads next. I have some ideas, but you’ll just have to wait and see what we come up with,” said Stephens. “I’m definitely up for the challenge.”