# The Horror in What You Don’t See—How Sound and Rhythm Build Suspense in 'Undertone'

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-no-film-school-podcast-463926/the-horror-in-what-you-don-t-see-how-sound-and-rhythm-build-suspense-in-undertone
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-no-film-school-podcast-463926/the-horror-in-what-you-don-t-see-how-sound-and-rhythm-build-suspense-in-undertone.md
Podcast: [The No Film School Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-no-film-school-podcast-463926)
Published: 2026-03-14T01:21:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/NFS7215464792.mp3?updated=1773451685
Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/NFS7215464792.mp3?updated=1773451685
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-no-film-school-podcast-463926/episodes/the-horror-in-what-you-don-t-see-how-sound-and-rhythm-build-suspense-in-undertone
Duration seconds: 2367

## Resource

In this episode, No Film School host GG Hawkins speaks with editor Sonny Atkins about shaping fear through sound, rhythm, and restraint in the horror feature Undertone. Atkins breaks down how the film’s audio-first concept influenced everything from the script to the cut, why long pauses and musical timing can heighten dread, and how a deeply personal story about grief and caregiving evolved through the editorial process. He also shares practical insights into working scrappy on a low-budget feature, using Premiere Pro’s Productions workflow, speech-to-text, temp sound design, and test screenings to refine both story and suspense. In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Sonny Atkins discuss... How Undertone began as an audio-driven concept and why that immediately stood out in the script Why sound design became central to the edit, not just an atmospheric layer The challenge of building horror around what the audience hears instead of what they see How Ian Tuason’s personal experience with caregiving and grief shaped the emotional core of the film Discovering story solutions in post, including the addition of a saved voicemail from the protagonist’s mother Creating distinct sonic and visual worlds between the downstairs living space and the mother’s upstairs room What it took to make a low-budget Canadian horror feature feel polished and cinematic Why Atkins cut his first assembly extremely short, then built the film back up from its essential skeleton How rhythm, blank space, and even drum rudiments became part of the team’s language for suspense Using Premiere Pro’s Productions workflow to keep a feature edit organized and responsive How speech-to-text helped manage ADR, offscreen dialogue, and hundreds of audio files Why editors should mock up sound i…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-no-film-school-podcast-463926/episodes/the-horror-in-what-you-don-t-see-how-sound-and-rhythm-build-suspense-in-undertone/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-no-film-school-podcast-463926/the-horror-in-what-you-don-t-see-how-sound-and-rhythm-build-suspense-in-undertone.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.