Michael Wolf Snyder, the sound mixer for a number of film titles, including Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland and The rider, died by suicide, according to a Facebook message from his aunt. He was 35.
Snyder’s aunt, Cathy Snyder, shared a report from the father of the sound mixer, David Snyder, in which he finds details about the body of his son at his home in Queens, NY.
“Michael took his own life this past week, and it was only discovered when I went to examine him on Monday after being out of contact for a few days,” David Snyder originally wrote. “He suffered from severe depression for many years. For most people, it is a disease that disappears over the years. I’m sure it was difficult for Michael to spend most of the last year alone in his small Queens apartment and was responsible for dealing with the coronavirus. ”
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Snyder, who outlined his son’s death in “The Hope It Can Help Others,” added that his son looked “especially joyful and empowered” as he worked on a number of film projects again. Unfortunately, Michael passed away before the February 28 Golden Globe Awards, David Snyder added. At the 78th Annual Ceremony, Zhao’s Nomadland taken home the best director and best drama film awards.
He began his career in 2011 with Henry Miller’s Occupier, Michael Snyder has worked in a number of sound roles, ranging from tree operator to sound director to sound mixer. In 2014, he wrote, produced and mixed Jodie’s Way, a brief description of a curious high school student who has a run-in with the local girls.
In 2017, he joined the team of Chloé Zhao’s The rider as a tree operator and sound mixer. Brady Jandreau, Tim Jandreau and Lilly Jandreau star in the film, which is part of Zhao’s trilogy about expropriation and being left behind in the modern American West. Zhao’s drama follows a young cowboy who seeks a new identity in the heartland of America.
Two years later, Snyder reunited with Zhao for her Francis McDormand player, Nomadland. As a production sound mixer, Snyder helped fill the story of modern nomads with the atmospheric echo of America’s natural landscapes.
In a statement, Zhao said she relied on the sound mixer to ‘be my ears’.
He nods to me with a happy grin or with tears in his eyes, or sometimes he gestures to another discreetly. ‘During The Rider, Wolf came up with an idea that we later took on Nomadland – to record room tones longer than we needed as a chance to experience silence. After visiting each place, we sat together in silence, tuned in, listening and honoring the world around us and each other. I will always miss him. He was always on set with me, after every take and in the silence of every room tone. See you by the roadside, my friend, ”she said.
For his work on Nomadland, Received Snyder nominations, shared with Sergio Diaz and Zach Seivers, for best sound at both the Satellite Awards and the CinEuphoria Awards. In 2012, he won the best sound award for his work on Rockaway at the First Run Festival.
Snyder’s additional credits include HodoBuzz, good omens, best medicine, home remedy and All of her.
See Cathy Snyder’s full post below.