Paid in Full

It follows the daily life of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hosse's family, who have built a seemingly idyllic life in a house next door to the camp.

While viewers watch the monotony of family life, the horror occurring behind the back fence plays out entirely on the soundtrack.

That unsettling soundscape was built by sound designer Johnny Byrne, who spent nearly a year compiling an archive of testimony, historical research, and field recordings to construct what became, in effect, a second unseen film running beneath the visible one.

Johnny earned the 2024 Academy Award for Best Sound for his work on the film, which has since been held up as a landmark in the use of sound as narrative in its own right.

So he came back from school with a 90-minute Maxell tape and said, you need to listen to some records on this tape.

The first record I heard was Eric B and Rakim's Paid in Full and then Queen Latifah's Ladies First.

So

I listened to these records and I was fascinated immediately.