The sound mixer for “Nomadland” production Michael Wolf Snyder died of suicide at age 35, as confirmed by his father in a social media post shared by his aunt. Snyder previously served as a production sound mixer and boom operator in director Chloé Zhao’s second-year film of 2017, “The Rider”. Snyder began his career as a boom operator in the 2011 thriller “Occupant”.
Her father, David Snyder, said he discovered Snyder’s body in his Queens apartment on March 1. “Michael committed suicide in the last week, and was not discovered until I went to see how he was on Monday after he left the contact for several days,” wrote David Snyder in the Facebook post (by deadline). “He has had severe depression for many years. For most people, this is a disease that increases and decreases over the years. I’m sure it was difficult for Michael to have spent most of last year alone in his small apartment in Queens, being responsible for dealing with the coronavirus. “
“Nomadland” director Chloé Zhao, in a statement posted on Variety, said: “In ‘The Rider’ and ‘Nomadland’, I always looked at Wolf after each shot. I didn’t use headphones on the set, so I trusted Wolf a lot to be my ears. He waved at me with a happy smile, or tears in his eyes, or sometimes he quietly signaled ‘one more’. During ‘The Rider’, Wolf suggested an idea that we later brought to ‘Nomadland’ – recording room tones for longer than necessary as a chance to experience silence. After touring each location, we sat together, in silence, attuned, listening and honoring the world around us and each other. I will always miss him. He would always be with me on the set, after each take, and in the silence of every tone in the room. See you on the road, my friend. “
The film’s star, Frances McDormand, said: “Wolf recorded our heartbeat. Every breath we take. To me, he is ‘Nomadland’. “
David Snyder added in the original post: “We all believe he was doing well and, for most of last year, I think he was. He seemed especially cheerful and refreshed in the past few months, as he was able to return to work on several different film projects. He certainly was thrilled with all the praise for ‘Nomadland’ and told us a lot of happy stories about his work on the film and the amazing people he spent time with. “
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by calling 1-800-273-8255. Support is free and confidential.
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