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FEATURES How Did I Wind Up Here? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 From a soundstage to a classroom stage
Mixing From a Distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 When you’re here and your client is there
Personal Health Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
14
DEPARTMENTS 20
President’s Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Celebrating the advancement of our craft
From the Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 To the Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Technically Speaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Food for Thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 The value of temp dubs
A Sound Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
12
A multi-stage mixing approach
Been There Done That . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 CAS members check in
The Lighter Side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
30 CAS QUARTERLY
SUMMER 2009
3
THE PRESIDENT’S LETTER
This year is quite a historical year for many members of the Cinema Audio Society. We are all aware that the formalized history of the CAS began in 1964. In 1969, while things were contentious in many parts of the world, there were two significant events about to take place. In a small town in upstate New York, a three-day music festival was held and it influenced a large number of people to consider the possibilities of live performance and professional audio production. It is difficult to really know just how many of those people traveled the road from Woodstock to work in cinematic sound. Now 40 years later, the technology that recently has been evolving for so many of us involved in cinematic sound has been called upon to remaster that event in our own ‘backyard’ for more people to discover and enjoy those same experiences from an earlier time. We have referred to the Cinema Audio Society’s “Dedication to the Advancement of Sound” many times; one of the lessons to be learned from that motto is the drive of professionalism to advance our craft. This drive usually manifests itself by constantly pushing ourselves to be the best we can be at what we do in our jobs on a daily basis. We could be recording original production or we could be in post, re-recording and mixing many, many elements together with an enthusiasm which is sought after by the producers for whom we work. It could be finding a unique solution to a situation which we can improve by a workflow modification or by developing an innovative product to be utilized by our peers. July of 1969 found many of us finally being able to witness the dreams of many professionals who were dedicated to the advancement of their endeavors coming to fruition. The success of Apollo 11 and the walking on the moon could not have been accomplished without people who had a firm grasp on that dedication. A lot of teamwork was required to accomplish their tasks. We also must be able to function where teamwork is critical to our work. The Cinema Audio Society cannot lose sight of some of the important lessons from these two historical events. The professionalism with which so many of those people approached their jobs was an integral part of their drive. The innovation and dedication to the advancement of their crafts is what we celebrate about their success. Your Board of Directors congratulates all of the recently announced Emmy nominees and wishes you continued success and recognition. The CAS Board is comprised of dedicated volunteer members of the CAS who are constantly striving to be innovative in their approach to managing the Society for the Advancement of all of the members. My personal thanks goes out to each and every one of them as well as the previous members without whose counsel we would be at a loss. We look forward to every member’s active support and continued participation in the Cinema Audio Society. Regards,
CINEMA AUDIO SOCIETY MISSION STATEMENT
To educate and inform the general public and the motion picture and television industry that effective sound is achieved by a creative, artistic and technical blending of diverse sound elements. To provide the motion picture and television industry with a progressive society of master craftsmen specialized in the art of creative cinematic sound recording. To advance the specialized field of cinematic sound recording by exchange of ideas, methods, and information. To advance the art of auditory appreciation, and to philanthropically support those causes dedicated to the sense of hearing. To institute and maintain high standards of conduct and craftsmanship among our members. To aid the motion picture and television industry in the selection and training of qualified personnel in the unique field of cinematic sound recording. To achieve for our members deserved recognition as major contributors to the field of motion picture and television entertainment.
Edward L. Moskowitz, CAS President of the Cinema Audio Society 4
SUMMER 2009
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CAS QUARTERLY
SUMMER 2009
5
FROM THE EDITORS...
I’m sure you’ve heard it, “My friend has a Pro Tools system—he can do the audio.” Technology can be great—especially when it becomes affordable—but one thing that money can’t immediately buy is selftalent. That’s why clients pay us (and some of us quite handsomely), because we know how to capture sound exceptionally well and blend those sounds into their ideal soundtrack. The Deva, Pro Tools, DFC or Euphonix isn’t why the client’s audio sounds the way they want—surely these items help—but it’s us. You will see this point emphasized in this issue as co-editor Matt Foglia, CAS reports on the findings from the “Distance Mixing” survey he sent to members over the winter break. On a similar topic, in this issue’s “A Sound Discussion” column, we’re provided insight into one distance/ multi-stage mixing approach from Skip Lievsay, CAS. G. John Garrett, CAS Remember, we greatly through his “Technically Speaking” col- appreciate, and want umn, discusses transmission lines in shotgun mics while Edward Moskowitz, CAS your feedback and provides us with some information on suggestions—so send protecting our ears. Gary Bourgeois, CAS them in! covers this issue’s “Food for Thought” column with a discussion on the value of temp dubs and co-editor Peter Damski, CAS discusses his segue from production mixer to full-time teacher. Finally, so you can see what trouble your fellow members are getting into, we have your “Been There Done That” and “The Lighter Side” submissions. The CAS Quarterly is produced as a service to our members on a voluntary basis. A special “thank you” goes out to those taking the time to contribute articles. Remember, we greatly appreciate, and want, your feedback and suggestions—so send them in! Email us at casquarterly@cinemaaudiosociety.org. We also truly value the support of our sponsors and encourage your commitment to them.
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LETTER TO THE EDITORS... The Insurance Game I was dismayed to read “Got Insurance?” in the latest issue. I am retired but can’t imagine that employment/property law has deteriorated that much over five years. This article seems to advise CAS and other sound professionals to wave payroll rights and benefits for equipment rental. I had a very successful career for more than 30 years without a DBA or “Loan Out” company and almost always avoided the now illegal, and sorry expedient of “Independent Contractor.” My Producer/Employer paid me withheld wages and covered me with Workmen’s Comp.—FICA and—Unemployment. I rented my sound and communications equipment (walkietalkies) to the production. They paid me from rental/expendables and loss/damage invoices submitted weekly. That income went on my Schedule “C” IRS form—the same schedule for DBA rental income. I created a rental form called an “Equipment Lease and Delivery Receipt”and provided a specimen (with the equipment listed) to the production with my deal memo. The Teamster (or other producer employee) signed the “Equipment Lease and Delivery Receipt”upon delivery/pickup of the equipment.
Among other things, the lease specified the legal language to bind the Producer for the “actual stated amount” of the lease inventory. Important. Although I routinely collected proof of insurance from the Producer, the lease specifically declined assignment of insurance proceeds as full payment for loss (also, rental continued until the full amount was paid)! So the Production Company was obligated to me for the stated inventory value upon total loss. Thus bound, the insurance company was similarly committed (less any generic policy deductibles) to the production company—by law. Walkie-talkies are a high-loss item (they often “grow legs”). Such claims were subject to close scrutiny. One time an insurance adjustor came to my house. I told him I would help him as a courtesy since I had no agreement with him (and then acted in the Producer’s interest to collect the full amount). I showed the adjuster my many past rentals (and some loss mitigation forms for walkies too). Insurance paid the entire, un-depreciated, claim (my invoice) to the Production. The Production was happy to pay me—in full—since there was little or no cost to them. Once, when my kart was fire-hosed down by Special FX, I collected more than $5,500 for water damaged equipment— some custom—and some that I had made myself. I never bought separate insurance since my equipment was either tightly locked up at home or covered on a show (and I didn’t do “Walk-aways” always convincing the producer that time spent locking up the sound cart was worth protecting the most “steal-able” gear on the set). I never had a loss that wasn’t covered 100%. Sincerely, Bruce Bisenz, CAS
CORRECTION Lee Orloff, CAS was also a presenter at the 45th CAS Awards in February.
CAS SUMMER 2009 NEW MEMBERS
8
Active
Associate
Student
Seth Cooper, CAS Nathanael Harrison, CAS Brian Power, CAS Andy Rovins, CAS Brian Timothy Slack, CAS
Christopher Nicholas Buch David A. Panfili
Dimitri Lazaris Brian Charles Sacco
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B
Riding Shotgun
by G. J ohn Gar r et t , CAS
Back in the ’60s or ’70s, I remember seeing an article in Popular Mechanics or one of the other magazines of that type on how to build your own super-directional spy microphone. It involved mainly cutting several pieces of small (brass?) tubing to various lengths and bundling them together in front of a mic of some sort. I had no idea how this weird-looking contraption worked but I thought it was interesting. I never built the thing but luckily, others have taken the design and built something like it. The modern shotgun microphone is not very different from that early article in some ways. Sometimes these mics are referred to as wave microphones or interference pattern microphones, because they derive their directional characteristic from interacting or interfering with the sound wave that lands on it. Here’s how:
The modern shotgun usually has a series of slots cut in the side of the microphone case and a way of acoustically channeling the sound wave from the slots back to the mic elements. These channels act like transmission lines. Anybody who has built ported speaker enclosures knows that port diameter and length determine how the sound wave is coupled from the enclosure. This is the same thing, only backward. Most shotgun designs start with a cardioid or hypercardioid mic and then add the acoustical transmission lines. The end of the microphone is acoustically transparent as well, and gives the most direct path for the wave to travel. This makes sense so far, right? You point the microphone at the sound you most want to pick up, and the sound wave basically goes into the open end of the microphone body to
Fig. 5. Directional characteristics of an end-fired line microphone for various values of the ratio of line length to wavelength λ.
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the diaphragm(s). As you turn the microphone away from the desired sound, some of the sound enters the slots (or tubes) and makes its way to the diaphragm via that path. Since the tubes are all different lengths or the slots are all different distances from the diaphragm, they force the sound wave to take a longer route to the diaphragm. Each slot or tube introduces a different delay compared to the direct signal, and depending on the length of that transmission line, certain frequencies cancel at the diaphragm. By the time you’ve turned the mic 90 degrees from the desired sound source, most of the energy is entering through the transmission lines and summing to nearly zero at the diaphragm. These transmission lines are all very frequency dependent, and high frequencies are canceled more than low frequencies, so there is some coloration of the sound. And since the resonant frequency of each transmission line changes a little with barometric pressure and humidity, the same mic may not perform exactly the same under different conditions. I don’t know if the difference is audible, but I’m sure designers optimize the transmission line lengths to smooth the frequency response overall, which should minimize performance variability due to atmospheric effects. It’s not so much that a longer shotgun is more directional, more that the longer the mic and the more slots or tubes there are, the more directional it is at lower frequencies. So above, say 2 kHz, your MKH 60 and MKH 70 probably have equivalent directional response. The 70 is more directional at 500 Hz though. The transmission lines are cut to specific center frequencies, and physical length is directly proportional to wavelength. If you wanted a shotgun mic to be as directional as a good cardioid is at 100 Hz, the acoustical transmission line in the mic would have to be 22 feet long! But the same shotgun will reject 3 kHz at 90 degrees much better than the cardioid. Another thing to realize is that what you have in your shotgun mic is a bunch of comb filters tied together, and the performance varies over frequency. That’s why when you look at polar patterns for shotgun mics you see two or even several patterns at different frequencies. It makes sense that a 24-inch mic is going to have more transmission lines that are ¼-wavelength multiples of 5 kHz than of 500 Hz. It’s just going to be more directional the higher the frequency. Because of this, shotgun mics can have poor performance in reverberant spaces because reflected sound waves hitting the microphone are delayed, and then delayed again in the acoustic transmission lines of the microphone, causing coloration and degrading off-axis rejection. So when you’re indoors near hard walls or windows, you might want to try a cardioid or hypercardioid instead. Next time, cardioids and hypercardioids! • (Editor’s note: Some of the material for this article was taken from Directional Microphones by Harry F. Olson, in the AES Microphones, An Anthology, Vol. 1 Number 27 pp 190-194.)
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CAS QUARTERLY
SUMMER 2009
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Celebrating over 80 years of
The Value of Temp Dubs by Gar y Bour ge o is , CAS
F
For the last couple of years, there has been a definite decline in the number of films that utilize temp dubs mixed by those who will eventually be on the final. The reasons for this are numerous: cost, time, availability, etc. Whatever the reason given, it should be weighed against the advantages lost. Quite often the initial temp is made just before the first preview. If a preview were not in the plans, it would still be prudent to do a rough temp for the screenings for all those involved with the project. Only a small part of the purpose for the temp is for screening purposes. Mostly though, the reason for temping is the process itself. Firstly, as an exercise for the director to be able to assess the quality of the original production and to determine what needs to be looped (ADR) for reasons of clarity and sonics. This, done with the dialogue mixer, is more of an accurate assessment than those done in the cutting room with nearfield monitors that don’t realistically reproduce the problems of the track. Many times ADR is done for reasons that are creative, with changes in reading or dialogue, etc. Better to utilize those sessions for those reasons and keep the necessary ADR down to a minimum. During the temp session, both the mixers and principals (director, editor, sound supervisor) are able to determine a structure for the soundtrack itself. Deciding on overall dynamics, establishing where the big moments for music or effects play and being able to see how they are working together are key considerations. During this time, finding out how sound effects choices are working is also a great benefit. Yes, a spotting session in the editing room is reasonable, but ultimately, not the same as in the dubbing theater in the context of all the other elements together. What is working together at that time is quite revealing and to have the time between 12
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the temp and the start of pre-dubbing to make adjustments is invaluable. The ability for the mixers to have the temp stems available during the pre-dubs is important in that, (for instance) the dialogue mixer is able to know exactly how to record the dialogue against the music and effects stems. Likewise, the effects mixer uses the music and dialogue stems to balance their pre-dubs. When these are not available, the work is done in a defensive manner, which takes longer for the pre-dubbing process and inevitably also takes longer on the final (figuring out what is necessary to be played and how it is to be played). In other words, the whole process of pre-dubbing all the way through the final is made more efficient when a structure has been established by the mixers—with the guidance of all those involved in the temp. It has been argued that because of budget considerations, using a few days to temp is a waste of possible days for the pre-dubs and/or final. I believe that the savings on the ADR stage, pre-dub time and final are quite obvious as compared to the hours spent later figuring out where the soundtrack is headed. Many times I have encountered a director and picture editor who are quite happy not to have to attend the pre-dubs because they know that the mixers already have the input necessary to do the job they require. On the other hand, when a temp has not been done, the surprise of these same two as to what is then presented is usually not warm and fuzzy. Overall, the advantage of doing a temp is multifold and a positive to all involved— from the producer on down to the mixers. I hope next time the subject comes up that someone can influence those involved to consider the advantages. Hope to see you at the next temp! •
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I d i D w Ho
? e r e H p U d n i W
by Pet er Damski , CAS
I
It was October 2007, and the writers’ strike was looming
received an email from my friend Steven Venezia, CAS at
on the horizon. The number of sitcoms being produced
Dolby Labs. Steven had a friend who was a faculty mem-
had already dropped significantly, from 50+ a season to
ber at Moorpark College in Moorpark, California. The
around 20. The balance was being redirected to reality
college was in search of a new audio production instructor
programming, making work for we sitcom mixers harder
for the winter semester, which was only about two months
to find and the sitcom market became much more com-
away from starting. My only show at that time, Back to You
petitive. This lack of work was making it very difficult to
(FOX), was being shot on a Monday/Tuesday schedule
earn enough qualifying hours to maintain my health insur-
and the class at Moorpark was being held on Wednesday
ance, and the writers’ strike was the proverbial “nail in the
evenings. A perfect fit. I had always wondered if my bache-
coffin.” I have to admit that I was spoiled by the hours
lor’s degree in broadcasting would come in handy, and this
and controlled environment that came with sitcom work.
opportunity gave me my answer. Those of you who know
At this point in my career, I wasn’t willing to work the
me, know that I have always tried to educate my crew,
hours required for episodic or reality TV. I had to start
friends, guests, etc., most of them with a minimal interest
to consider another source of income. Coincidentally, I
in my attempts. Now, I had a captive audience which actually had to pay to receive my “gems” of wisdom.
The facilities at Moorpark were outdated and the emphasis had always been radio. Had I toured the facility prior to taking the job, I might have passed on the opportunity. I had decided that if I were to pursue this, I would give it my all. I had a conversation with Robert Anzalone and David Panfili at Location Sound Corporation about the possibility of them providing equipment for my lectures at Moorpark. They were only too happy to give me equipment for “show and tell” in my class. I had told my students that I was committed to showing them the “state of the art” and this cooperation made it all possible. Not only did I enjoy being a teacher, but as it turns out, I am pretty good at it. One day in January 2008, the CAS office phone rang and my wife Robin, who was the office manager at the time, was out of the office. I picked up the phone, and it was the career adviser for the Sound Design Department at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Gregory Renda. Greg was looking for an officer of the CAS to come down to Savannah and give a talk on careers in the “sound for picture” profession. I gave it some thought and responded in the positive to his offer. In February, I paid a visit to Savannah and gave my presentation to the sound design student body. I was very impressed with the facilities at SCAD. After my lecture and Q&A session with the students, I was invited to lunch with Greg and a few other faculty members. As it happens, one of the faculty is John Sisti. John had worked with me as sound supervisor on Mad About You in the mid-’90s. During the walk to lunch, I was approached by the Chair of the Sound Design Department, Robin Beauchamp, to see if I might be interested in becoming a faculty member at SCAD. They wanted someone who had strength on the production side and he felt that I would be a valuable asset to the success of the program. I had to give this some serious thought as it would mean leaving my sitcom work. I was truly flattered by the offer and I let it rumble around in my head for a while.
After some careful thought and discussions with my wife, I decided to officially apply for the position. Her first reaction to living in Savannah was, “I’m not moving to Savannah!!” She joined me when I flew down for my interview and immediately fell in love with this beautiful city. We have now been in Savannah for one year and have purchased a home with the intent of staying for a while. The beauty of working on sitcoms is that the shoot schedules are very short. Five days at most for any given episode. This allowed me to do a pilot last spring in Los Angeles. As it happens, the pilot was picked up for the fall. My status as a lucky charm is intact. I hope to be able to do at least one pilot a year to keep my “chops” up and this also gives me good credibility with my students and fellow faculty. There are a couple of things which came as a surprise in my new career. The first is that as an educator, you must be “on” and ready to perform for your students for every class. I can no longer hide in my booth and say “speed” all day long. I must prepare and interact regularly. The second thing is the need for hours of preparation and having to think 10 weeks in advance. I feel I have adjusted well to the new requirements and look forward to future challenges as they present themselves. I really do miss my work as a mixer and all of the friends I have made during my 30 years in Los Angeles. I am grateful for all of the social networking sites, which have allowed me to keep in touch with most of them. In addition, I am now able to be a regular participant in the monthly CAS Board meetings via Internet with Skype or iChat. One valuable lesson for those considering teaching at some time in their lives is to stay in school and get your master’s degree. This is a requirement in most higher education institutions and the lack of the terminal degree has put restrictions on some of what I can do as an educator. If you are ever in the area, please give me a jingle and I’ll show you around.• CAS QUARTERLY
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15
was as a result of scheduling issues with a client’s time; such as an over-worked producer who always showed up two hours after the mix was ready for playback. Others (mostly film releases) had the complete faith of their clients and were able to reach a certain point in the project before bringing the client into the room (see this issue’s “A Sound Discussion” column). Still for others, it was a result of diminished project budgets. “It was the result of our crew moving to a new facility and the producers not wanting to make the schlep, so we proposed ISDN for them. They LOVED it!” “Our executive producer has a busy schedule so this was the only way to get a signoff from him with the tight schedule we have.” “I relocated and clients kept contacting me.” “We proposed it to the client due to the writers’ strike and did it as a hedge against the losses, but the clients embraced the idea once we assured them the technology and approach would be the same.” “It was a result of the client’s wanting to save money by mixing at a studio out of the country.” (submitted from a nonstateside mixer) “Mixing this way was proposed by an editor friend that was cutting a show. He recommended me. It worked so well, that I pursued other clientele with the same workflow tactics.”
Mixing From a
Distance by M a t t F o g lia , C A S
As stated in this issue’s “From the Editors…” clients call on us because they know that we can get the job done and, more often than not, do so without them having to constantly watch over us. Believing this, when I set out to leave New York to teach near Nashville a year ago, I knew I’d be able to retain clients even though I wouldn’t physically be with them in the mixing suite. Technology has afforded me—and many of you—the opportunity to offer our talents to clients who can’t physically attend the mix session due to schedules or location. When a client believes in your abilities, they don’t need to be there every step of the way because they know that they’ll be taken care of. Because of this, I’ve been fortunate enough to be busy mixing nearly every week since I have moved. 16
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This being the case, I wanted to see how some of my CAS colleagues were addressing working without the client physically being in the mix room. To gain an insight, I sent a questionnaire via email over the winter break and received a number of replies with many different reasons and approaches. There were also different levels of client presence discussed. Following is a summary of these responses. In an effort to protect the innocent, no names are revealed. What prompted your mixing without the client being present (other than obvious reasons!)? Some of you were in a similar situation as myself; you were moving and wanted to continue working with your clients and your clients wanted to still work with you. For some of you it
Where are you doing your distance mixing—in a professional studio? A home studio? Other environment? Multiple? The responses were pretty even between home and professional studios. The folks working on non-major network or film projects (e.g., cable television programming) seem to be the individuals who perform the whole mix at their home studios. Those individuals working on, dare I say, “larger” budget projects may start a project in their home studio—having clients interact as the editing and mixing progresses—and then move to an approved dub stage for final balancing and listening. Or, they mix entirely at a professional studio but send temp mixes to the client using ISDN, Source-Connect or a file-based method. “We still mix in a traditional environment and it’s not meant to replace such environments completely but to act as an alternative and niche for clients that have economic challenges.” “Professional Home Studio. I combine the terminology because my home studio has as much equipment and as many options as many so-called professional studios” “I have a traditional facility and I have a ‘mirrored’ setup— minus the booth and machine room—at home.” Explain the process. In general, there are two overall approaches. A “Real Time” approach and a “Non-Real Time” approach.
Non-Real Time Review: Here is a generic approach. • A client posts an OMF/AAF file that contains the session audio and a QuickTime (or other reference video) to a server. CAS QUARTERLY
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• The mixer downloads the files, mixes as normal, does a self-review and makes a mix file (along with stems if required). • The mix is either uploaded in an uncompressed data format (BWF, AIF) or is data compressed into an MP3 (or variation) for quick upload. • Client syncs the audio to their video in the edit suite and does their own review, making notes based on time code or file time. • Notes are emailed, IM’d, or called in to the mixer who implements the changes. • Once changes are done, files are uploaded to a server. • Client downloads the files, spots them to the picture and outputs to tape. This is, perhaps, the most simplistic version and can be done from a home or professional studio. Some variations include having to upload files for subsequent reviews and approvals and, if a larger project is done in a home studio, bringing a temp mix to a dub stage for final rebalancing. Additionally, some of you mentioned that you make a DVD containing a Lt/Rt and send that to the producer or executive producer for approval. Here’s one submission’s approach for getting the executive producer’s approval: “We make a DVD with the Lt/Rt when we do our playback for the producer and supervising sound editor (with time code burn in). That is then delivered to the executive producer and the picture editor. We get notes the next day, address the mix changes from the notes and run them by our producer and supervising sound editor for sign off. Most of the time it’s fairly clear what is required but if there are any questions, we call our executive producer and get his verbal input on what he is looking for. We will get him into the studio to sign off on a scene if it involves a sound design that has a lot of action.” Real Time Review: This approach has the client listening (and watching) in real time as the mix is being worked on or simply during playback. The most important aspect of a successful real time review is to make sure that the transmission is smooth. A transmission hiccup on a difficult day can make a producer not want to continue mixing in this manner. Interactive real time communication (for feedback) can be achieved using the telephone or, more commonly, iChat. With a video chat, it’s as if the client is in the room with you (as long as you point the camera at the back of your head!). Here are two main technologies used for transmission. • ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network). This technology from the early 1990s allows the real time transmission of audio signals using lossy encoding. Multiple ISDN lines can be combined in order to decrease data compression and allow additional signals, such as time code, to be transmitted. It is significantly costlier than high-speed Internet, as special lines and hardware are required, but very solid and common. 18
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• Internet-based: With the exponential rise in upload and download speeds coupled with lower and lower pricing, the Internet has been a key element in allowing distance mixing to take place. 1. Real Time Streaming. While streaming is a more expensive option, it offers the ability for clients to review the mix in real time: as if doing a watch down in the actual mixing suite. If a constant stream is set up, a client can “peak in” on a mix whenever they want by logging onto their computer. Depending on the set-up, picture and sound can be streamed—instead of just the sound. Clients consider this to be pretty hip. 2. Source-Connect (by Source Elements). This is a plug-in that allows the information from one session to be sent to a receiving computer over a broadband connection. Essentially, the mix can be monitored on another computer that has a client version of the software. This, currently, contains an audio only stream. Although, when two Pro Tools sessions are communicating using the software, a very impressive feature is the ability for one Pro Tools session to control the other Pro Tools session remotely without sync delay. This is helpful if the controlled Pro Tools session contains the video. With the above real time approaches, as with the non-real time approaches, once all changes are approved, files can be uploaded to a server, sent on a data DVD or hard drive or delivered to the client in some other manner.
“We still mix in a traditional environment and it’s not meant to replace such environments completely but to act as an alternative and niche for clients that have economic challenges.” Important Additional Considerations Listening Environment: As we all know, the environment that we mix in can mask or reveal any of a number of nuances. In the case of film mixing, standardization is the key for accurate translation. With television, however, such guidelines are not in place and mixes have a greater tendency to sound com-
pletely different from studio to studio (and even more so from studio to the home receiver). If a client is reviewing a mix outside of the studio, it is vital that they are in an environment that they are familiar with and using speakers or headphones that they really feel comfortable with. Otherwise, sound colorations can be greatly exaggerated. They are not to use their iPod ear buds! Relationship: The only reason any of this is possible is because of relationships. Trust and experience is the key. The means isn’t as important as the end product—which is why the mixer is being called upon in the first place. A young mixer pitching this approach to a firsttime client will have an extremely difficult time making the sell. An established mixer starting the next season of a series they’ve mixed for two years will have an easier time as the client knows that the mixer understands their vision of the program, is familiar with the program, understands how the client articulates notes and has established communication with the series’ other departments. Conclusion Mixing without the client being present isn’t going to replace a supervised mix any time soon. Clients (and most mixers) enjoy the collaborative process that takes place during the mix—this is slowed significantly when using non-real time playback and can be a little awkward even when using real time playback. For television programming, most clients enjoy hearing their mix in the best sounding environment possible—at least once—before it hits the air (it would be odd for a client not to attend a film’s printmaster or at least a final playback). Speakers in an edit room or good-quality headphones don’t nearly provide the full clarity that an acoustically tuned mixing suite does. However, being that “service” is the key to our business, it is important to be as creative and flexible as possible when trying to accommodate a client— especially those who appear stretched too thin across multiple projects. In the end, it’s this kind of flexibility that will help us retain—and increase—our client base.• CAS QUARTERLY
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Personal
Health ISSUES
by Edw ar d L. Mo s k o w it z , CAS
E
Each one of us is very aware that for any production to
us is health. We should all assume responsibility for
take place there are many deals that have to be made
ourselves and for our peers by being cognizant of the
and while those deals are created the abundance of
issues related to health. Personal health is, of course,
issues that arise can be overwhelming in the details.
something that is hard to imagine any of us ignoring.
Considerations range from who, what, where and
There is the need to consider your work habits and how
very importantly, how the job will be completed. The
they can affect the maintenance of your personal health.
“how” plays a strong part in the consideration for the
When we are hired on a job it is a natural assumption
overall deal and there are many issues to be addressed.
on the part of the person hiring us that we will be
One of the many issues that is very important to all of
healthy and be able to complete the tasks at hand.
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When we are working there are many things to be considered. The use of personal tools is a very wide category to be addressed. We are all very conscious of how our “tools” work. The equipment that we employ is complicated and very specialized in how it functions. The learning curve for how to operate all the various pieces of equipment is a long road and requires us to constantly keep up with all of the emerging technologies. We must continuously refresh all of our knowledge to present ourselves as professionals who know how to utilize the equipment. Hopefully, all of us employ safe and proper techniques for all of the equipment in use. We are aware of proper grounding practices, safe use of electricity, safety around dangerous locations and all of the many things we are constantly reminded about as we are working. The most precious and hardest to repair equipment, should that become necessary at some point in time, is our health. We have been using this part of our tool arsenal longer than any of the other tools we have at our disposal. I am referring to our health as a tool since it should be treated no less importantly as any off the shelf gear we may employ and needs to be maintained just as vigorously. Because we have had this tool throughout our lifetimes, it seems that many of us take it for granted that we know everything about how it should be maintained for optimum performance and do not perform as much routine maintenance as we should. di id l controll that h iis necesQuite often we do not have the individual sary for the continued peak performance of our health tool. While we are at work there are many forces that take control of our time and dictate to us how and when we are able take care of ourselves. Often it seems that we are a cog in a large assembly and all moving in one direction. We are a part of the teamwork that is required to produce the projects on which we work. Try not to let the excitement of the project cloud your judgment in regards to maintaining your health. One of the critical elements that is so often overlooked is the element of rest. There is a substantial amount of research regarding what is known as “sleep deprivation.” Some of this research is very industry specific to what we do during production and post-production in our attempts to meet deadlines. We know of the safety issues
that are compromised when one of us is sleep deprived. It is the working equivalent of drunk driving and we know how dangerous that is to ourselves and to the people around us. Sleep deprivation and the fatigue that we combat tend to cloud our judgments and we might choose to listen louder than is necessary. When someone is fighting fatigue, the body wants to protect itself and many people experience a muting sensation. This is the body just trying to protect itself from injury. This effect happens many times after prolonged exposure to loud noises and then it sounds as if you have put attenuator hearing protectors in your ears. So this becomes a vicious cycle: you get tired, and your ears start to protect themselves and you then turn up the volume and it becomes harder to listen critically and so on and so on. This fatigue cycle is not an unusual sequence or an unknown phenomenon to so many of us in the sound business. But how and what can we do about this? It is a matter of personal responsibility to care for our personal tools. Hopefully, many of us remember our health and science classes from elementary school in which we were taught about the ear and how it works. What an amazing piece of equipment the ear really is. It can distinguish many different types of sounds at many different levels and it is a fabulous direction finder. We were told how to try and protect this precious personal resource. One of those lessons was to avoid unnecessarily loud noises or to cover your ears when you ld not avoid id bbeing i iin a place l where there are loud noises. Now, could as we are working sound professionals, we find ourselves in situations day in and day out when we might have to compromise some of these seemingly simple ideas. We know of many instances that can affect our hearing acuity and we must do what we can to avoid, to the best of our ability, any of those things that do affect our hearing. We are now told that many of the health issues which so many of us in our country and in our industry face daily also can affect our hearing. One ailment that many millions of people encounter is that of tinnitus [pronounced tin-night-us]. This is a ringing in the ears which cannot be heard by anyone but the sufferer themselves. It can be a continuous tone or intermittent and it can vary in its apparent loudness. Sometimes it can seem to be a buzzing or sometimes it CAS QUARTERLY
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can be that of a rushing sound or a hissing sound. It can be very annoying and also hard to localize. It can be a symptom brought on by health issues such as high blood pressure, ear and nasal infections, or by prolonged exposure to continuous high sound levels. Some people have even reported hearing the sounds beating in sync with their heartbeats. It can be particularly annoying when you are in a situation where there is little background noise such as at night when you are trying to fall asleep. Tinnitus is often associated with hearing loss although it is not known to be a cause of hearing loss and hearing loss does not cause tinnitus. Many medications and other substances have been known to aggravate the symptoms of tinnitus. Substances include caffeine, nicotine and alcohol. Drugs and medications noted for their effect on tinnitus are aspirin, certain antibiotics, and some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. In most instances when these drugs are stopped and they have been the cause of the tinnitus, the symptoms disappear. Two of the “biggies” that can be associated with the symptoms of tinnitus are situations that we are constantly faced with: stress and fatigue. We must all take a proactive roll in trying to control these issues that are so important to our health. Probably the most important tool that we have is our health and only we can protect our health. Knowledge is very important to the maintenance of
our tools and we are fortunate to have at our disposal an electronic database in the Internet which is invaluable. All you need to do is go to your favorite search engine and enter the word tinnitus and you will find a wealth of research on the subject. The Cinema Audio Society has been an active supporter of the House Ear Institute located here in Los Angeles and they have been involved with some of this research for more than 60 years and can be an excellent resource. While you are in the search engine of your choice you will also want to search the term “sleep deprivation” to become informed as to how that affects your health and working abilities. The extreme work hours that we so often encounter makes it very difficult for many of us to keep up with our diet and exercise regimens that are so critical to our overall health. We are constantly reminded how damaging health issues such obesity can be and how it can lead to so many other problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease to name a few. We choose to continue to work in this industry because we enjoy the unique challenges that it presents and the opportunity to exercise our creativity through the utilization of our technical skills. We must also exercise our creativity in finding ways to successfully maintain good health which will allow us to excel in both our personal and professional lives. •
Mixed Mixing:
A Review of One Multi-Stage Mixing Approach
I
It has been my experience, and a trend we see continuing to gain popularity, that mixes blur into a long, messy multi-stage process. Emphasis on multi-stage. Speaking for the sound supervisor/mixer group, many films are simultaneously being prepped for temp mixes/previews and for the eventual final dub. Many editor/mixers like myself use the Pro Tools Icon platform for this purpose; the benefit being that the temp sessions can be conformed through all of the temps and then converted into the final dub. To demonstrate this “multi-stage” process, let me use (2007 CAS Award winner and Academy Award Sound Mixing nominee) No Country for Old Men as an example. During the editing period of this film, the filmmakers were in New York, sound designer/mixer Craig Berkey, CAS was at home in San Rafael and I worked at home in Venice. The temp mixes went like this: The dialogue editor and I prepped dialogue and ADR and then I mixed a 3.0 (LCR) stem in Venice. (This version didn’t yet have music.) Meanwhile, Craig prepped and mixed a 5.1 FX stem in San Raphael. I shipped my dialogue stem to Craig, who added his 5.1 FX stem to create a 5.1 printmaster. A 2.0 crash-down mix was sent to New York for approval. The film’s directors, Joel and Ethan Coen, dropped the two-track mix into their Final Cut Pro video editing system and screened it. They sent us their notes, we updated our mixes and then repeated the process. We had decided to have the filmmakers screen on their editing workstation, as they would be used to listening in this format and space. This way the
b y S k ip Lie v s a y , C A S notes would be limited to program without coloration from the screening facility. A more manly approach would have been to ISDN this screening. Craig and I did three temp mixes like this. Then we started on the final dub. Once our temp sessions were conformed to the new picture version, they become the foundation for the final dub. Corrections, additions and deletions were made. The big things that were added were Foley and the final music. We made a separate session for the Foley (Greg Orloff, CAS handled it during the final) and one for Carter Burwell’s original music (plus two source cues). The final dub was done at Sony Pictures Studios on the Burt Lancaster Stage. We brought up the Pro Tools outputs to the Harrison MPC console. Greg and I are happy on the Harrison. Craig tended to work within his Pro Tools sessions. We spent the first week replaying and adjusting the temp sessions, dubbing the Foley and adding the final music cues. For the second week of the final dub, Joel and Ethan arrived and we started the playback and doing touchups. The final printmaster was done on Saturday. During the third week, we did the twotrack pass and additional versions. We used this basic plan for Burn After Reading and most recently on The Serious Man. For that project however, due to the level of music, we did our second temp mix on a NYC stage. We did a final prep at Warner Bros. and the final mix, again, at Sony. “Don’t try this at home kids,” as they say. It won’t work for everybody however, Joel and Ethan are happy with it and that’s what matters to me. • CAS QUARTERLY
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Philip Perkins CAS was re-recording mixer on the indie feature And Then Came Lola, PBS docs A Village Called Versailles, Read Me Differently, Waila: Making the People Happy, Straightlaced and Dancing With Gaia; Mrs. Menedez for E! and Fostering Love and Transgender MD for Discovery Health. Among new production sound projects are PBS docs Discontinuity, Songfest and Alasdair Fraser and other projects for ESPN, Dunkin’ Donuts, VISA, Mutual of Omaha and Hitachi. He performed live again this June at the annual Garden of Memory concert in Oakland, and his new CD At the Other End of the Day has just been released on the Fun Music label. Meanwhile, his daughter Roxanne graduated from high school and is headed to the UCLA Theatre Dept. in the fall.
David Barr-Yaffe CAS, Tim Salmon and Jessy Bender are back for Season 4 of Brothers & Sisters for ABC/Disney. Congratulations to Tim who, by the time you read this, will be a new father (again).
Gavin Fernandes CAS has been finishing two features leading up to family holidays: Detour, a Quebec release and Alabama Moon with John Goodman. Finishing touches on Dinolab 2 continue ... sigh. Boeing IMAX movie waiting on first flight of 787. Mark Ulano CAS writes: We have been busy. We were in Germany and France from September through February on Q. Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (sic). Upon returning to the United States, Tom Hartig, Adam Blantz and myself have been working on Iron Man 2 here in Los Angeles. We’ll continue until the end of July. After that, I am on my way to Orlando for the IATSE Convention. From Paul Vik Marshall CAS: We had a lot of laughs on the new Spike TV’s Super Dave’s Spike Tacular. Thanks to my great crew: Vince Schelly, Paul Romo, Mitch Cohn, Dave Stockton, Christine Huynh and Kevin Becker. A special thanks goes out to Bob Einstein (Super Dave) who made it all happen. 24
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During the past few months, things have really been busy up here in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I completed mobile recording for Canada’s Super Speller, the Halifax Comedy Festival and the East Coast Music Awards live national broadcast, all for CBC TV. As for feature film work, I am in the process of wrapping the mix on Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day, and completed some ADR for Ellen Page in Drew Barrymore’s Whip It and I have supervised the dailies for both Noah’s Arc for VH1 films and Ice Castles 2 for Sony Classics Pictures. Television work included Season 16 of This Hour Has 22 Minutes on CBC, Aquateam on Discovery Kids, and a Trailer Park Boys special, Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys for Showcase and DirecTV. If any CAS members are in this neck of the woods, look me up, my alternate office is floating less than a mile from the studio and is fully rigged and ready for sail. –Brian Power, CAS
Season four of Heroes is well under way and Kenn Fuller CAS, Tom Payne and Seth Eubanks are ever grateful to be part of it all. We hope that all of this contractual foolishness is over and that all of our brothers and sisters are enjoying a robust entertainment industry recovery. Peace.
Richard Lightstone CAS is on the last episode of Lincoln Heights. I’d just
It is summer at Universal and there is a lot still happening on our mix stages. Chris Jenkins CAS and Frank Montano recently finished the documentary More Than a Game, and in the next week, they begin the first temp for the highly anticipated Wolfman, due out this fall. Andy Koyama and Chris Carpenter just finished mixing a documentary about ’60s L.A. rock group The Doors. After an amazing TV season, our crews are continuing to work into the summer. Roberta Doheny and Bob Edmonson have taken over the last few episodes for the 11th season of Criminal Intent. They have picked up the gauntlet left by re-recording mixer Bill Nicholson, who after 20-plus years of service at Universal has retired. Bill was responsible for mixing more than 500 episodes for Dick Wolf Films throughout his incredible career and received many accomplishments. Gerry Lentz CAS and Rich Weingart CAS have finished mixing Eureka for the SyFy Channel and in the coming weeks they will begin their fourth season of Heroes. Mike Olman CAS and Ken Kobett CAS have begun mixing 13 episodes of the new SyFy series Warehouse 13. They will also start work on the much anticipated Battlestar Gallactica movie which will be a culmination of the Battlestar story arc. John W. Cook II CAS and Peter Nusbaum CAS are currently mixing the TNT summer series The Bill Engvall Show. They are already anticipating a fall season where they will have a busy schedule.
like to thank the great boom operators who worked on this show; Don Coufal, Jonathan Fuh and Ken Beauchene, alongside the terrific utility/second boom swinger Damon Harris with an assist from Jessy Bender.
Gary Bourgeois CAS is relocating to the Fox Studios and will be on the Ford Stage. Pleased to have spent eight years at Sony and will miss his colleagues there. Looking forward to the new digs!
Brett Grant-Grierson CAS along with the usual crew, Kevin McClellan and Gary Boatner, are starting a sixth season on CBS’s Medium. Looking forward to working with a great cast and crew for another full season. Richard Goodman CAS adds: Recently completed the feature The Roommate for Sony Pictures Screen Gems. My boom operators were James Mase and Cary Weitz. My utility sound folks were Tyson Kohut and Alexandra Gallo.
Eric Batut CAS is mixing Fringe, Warner Bros. produced by J.J. Abrams. Boom operator is Danny Duperreault and sound assistant is Tricia Boer.
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Scott Harber CAS finally saw through the Bruno experience and all the love and craziness that went into that and stepped into another improv type show for Showtime called La La Land. More recording of English accents and much hilarity ensues. My great buddy, Jeremy Brill, swung a boom around for what seemed like forever at times and managed to keep the rolling of his eyes down to less than 50 times per day. Great work as always. Now heading toward a pilot with Larry Charles at the helm. Should be the perfect blend of fun and frustration. Here’s to what I hope will prove to be a fruitful summer for all.
John Pritchett CAS and crew, boom David Roberts and Shawn Harper, everything else, recently finished Judd Apatow’s Funny People with Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen plus every great comedian in the
business. Often shooting seven cameras with 2,000’ mags overlapping, he recorded several comedy concerts, each a movie in itself, that often ran more than three hours without pause. Not sure how many actual DVDs we used, we did come within only a few thousand feet of 2 million in film. Dave Roberts’ arms felt every inch of them. We had the great good fortune to also be part of the recording scenes with James Taylor and band as well as scenes with Adam Sandler (a great player and singer as well, in duet with the mindboggling John Bryant, all with the help, or rather lead, of Scott Peets and crew from Design FX remote recording. The movie, although about comedy and its proponents, promises to be thoughtful and full of insight about some pretty serious matters of the tragedy that always lurks in the shadow of all comedy. Following that, John and crew just finished Tom
Vaughan’s biopic Crowley (working title) with Harrison Ford, Brenden Fraser, and the totally fabulous Keri Russell. A true story of one man’s search for a cure for his dying children, Crowley addresses the distressing contest between commerce and the public health, an all-too-current topic on Capitol Hill. Cast and crew and Portland made this one of our most memorable movie experiences, in a field where those moments come less and less often. This will be the newly formed CBS Films first venture, and we hope not their last. On the recommendation of my friend and boom operator Rich Bullock, I was invited by Glenn Micallef CAS to Portland to mix a few episodes of Leverage for TNT. Thanks to Glenn and Rich for allowing me to flex the fingers after a bit of a feature production “hiatus.” –Robert Sharman
Susan Moore-Chong CAS, Steve Payne and Frank Zaragoza are all returning to Bones for Season 5 at 20th Century Fox.
Fred Ginsburg CAS was a featured seminar speaker at the
CAS AWARDS Timetable 46TH CAS AWARDS TIMETABLE ENTRY SUBMISSION FORM on CAS website Thu., Oct. 15, 2009
Audio-Technica booth during NAB 2009. He presented six lectures on the “Selection & Use of Lavaliers” during the week. In August, Fred will be the featured lecturer for the Student Filmmakers Magazine Workshop in New York. On a sad note, Fred reports that in May, he had to close his store, the Equipment Emporium, due to the failing economy. Except for some inventory liquidation, he is out of the sales/rental business. His website is undergoing a complete transformation into an educational & informational resource, featuring articles, tutorials, tips, tricks, reviews, forum, and lots of useful links. Any dealers, manufacturers, facilities, or mixers who would like to link and/or contribute content are invited to contact Fred.
Tom Curley CAS just finished shooting The Work, a documentary shot inside the walls of Folsom Prison. 24 mics, DM2000 mixer, and three 788T recorders. Tom will be mixing the second annual Maloof Money Cup, which is the highest paying skateboard competition of all time. Tom’s brother, Brian Curley, mixed the first event last year and is out of town doing National Lampoon’s Simple Minds through July.
ENTRY SUBMISSION FORM mailed Mon., Nov. 2, 2009
Brent Lestage CAS has just wrapped mixing The Mulberry Tree in Providence, RI.
ENTRY SUBMISSIONS due by 5 p.m. Fri., Dec. 18, 2009
Robert Anderson CAS is happy to report that he is spending all of his Lost hiatus at home on the mainland with his
NOMINATIONS BALLOT mailed Wed., Dec. 30, 2009 NOMINATIONS BALLOTING closes 5 p.m. Fri., Jan. 15, 2010 FINAL FIVE NOMINEES announced Thu., Jan. 21, 2010 FINAL BALLOT mailed Fri., Jan. 29, 2010
show this month. In June, we cut James Eric’s video Desireé, as well as continued work on The Visual Channel, a longtime Web-based video project that will launch soon, so things have been very busy.
Phillip W. Palmer CAS reporting from the choir room on Fox’s Glee. Patrick Martens has been our boom operator this season and Devendra Cleary has multitasked as utility/second boom and Pro Tools Playback. Thanks to all the additional operators and USTs that have day played all 13 episodes. Up next for us, NCIS: Los Angeles beginning the end of July.
Michael Hoffman CAS is back and enrolled at West Beverly High for Season 2 of 90210 with Tom Pinney swinging boom and Phil Schwartz as second boom/ utility.
Alan Decker CAS and Mark Linden CAS just finished their second year of mixing The Simpsons on Stage 11 at Sony Pictures. They are currently mixing Royal Pains and Season 4 of Psych on Stage 11, and are looking forward to their third year of The Simpsons in the fall. This will be the 21st season for The Simpsons. We, boom operators Jeff Norton and Brendan Beebe and I, started Season 5 of Ghost Whisperer on June 30. It’s great to be back on the set, seeing our old friends and making some new ones. Our star, Jennifer Love Hewitt, a woman of many talents, is directing the season opener. We are looking forward to another successful year. Best wishes to all our friends at CAS. –Mark Hopkins McNabb CAS
At Smartpost Sounds new Icon stage in Burbank, Sherry Klein CAS and Brian Harmon CAS are mixing Season 2 of Sons of Anarchy for FX network. Sherry and Brian have just completed the pilot Lights Out for FX on Larsons Studios Stage 3 in Hollywood. Also on Larson Studios Stage 3, Sherry Klein and David Raines are mixing Season 3 of Burn Notice for USA network.
Benny Mouthon CAS has just finished tweaking TV cutdowns of his mixes for the Academy Award-nominated documentary The Betrayal (Nerakhoon), right after sending off director Betty Park’s Mamachas Del Ring on the festival circuit, a great story about indigenous women Bolivian wrestlers, on which he shared duties with sound editor Brian Bracken. He’s presently gearing up for a couple of National Geographic’s Rescue Ink shows,
sons, Liam and Flynn. After three seasons in Hawaii away from them and working through the other two hiatuses, he saved his money and chose to be a dad, 24-7. He is having a great time. Although working is easier. Lost commences mid-August.
Tom Marks CAS is finishing the mix for Hunter Prey and is starting on Fear Clinic. Gary Wilkins CAS is starting on Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark for Miramax at Central City Studios, Melbourne, Australia, with Mark Wasiutak on boom and Chris O’Shea as UST for 10 weeks.
Thomas Brandau CAS writes: With television on hiatus, I
FINAL VOTING closes 5 p.m. Fri., Feb. 19, 2010 46TH CAS AWARDS Sat., Feb. 27, 2010 26
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finally found the time to get the production recording mobile trailer in operation. We’re now a fully operational production/ post production FCP6/Soundtrack and 24-track machinebased recording trailer. In April, (with Mike Fredriksz and Brett Usher) did the production sound on An Hour of Madness and Joy, a feature directed by Vince Williamson and the first real client for the mobile studios. Starting sound post on that CAS QUARTERLY
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32 hours of recording and mixing for ESPN’s The World Series of Poker (his sixth season) along with mixer Billy Gardner, and a few MTV pilots, just in case he’s got a few minutes. Currently on Stone in Ann Arbor, MI, starring Robert De Niro and Edward Norton with Randy Pease on boom and Chris Jones second boom. Wrapping end of July. –Jay Meagher CAS After mixing the upcoming The Collector, due out July 31, Mark Rozett CAS and Kelly Vandever CAS traded hammer and spikes for helmet and goggles at Monkeyland Audio to finish X Games 3D—coming from ESPN and Disney on August 21.
Steve Nelson CAS is just finishing up second unit on Iron Man 2. Not my usual kind of gig, but it has been a lot fun recording the sounds of havoc and destruction. We’ve broken a lot a glass, spectacularly wrecked a bunch of Formula One cars, heard from many panicked background artists fleeing the messes, and heard many unblimped Arriflexes (well, it’s never quite perfect, is it?) A very cooperative camera department and welcoming production folk have this a very pleasant and productive experience. Many thanks to Mark Ulano CAS for inviting me to play. I managed to use a down week on Iron Man to jet off to Tokyo for wild, if brief, two evenings of shooting on the new Christopher Nolan film Inception. I was joined by Brian Robinson who will boom the North American portion of the production and Rin Takada, a very capable Japanese sound man, who has also lived and worked in Los Angeles. I was gone barely a week, including an extra day off to take in as much of that megalopolis as I could. That was a lot of heavy lifting for only the two days of shooting, and right up until we left I really thought they would come to their senses and shoot this nighttime rooftop helicopter scene in Los Angeles or somewhere other than Tokyo, but in fact we have truly been there and done that! Big thanks to Ed Novick for 28
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entrusting this one to me; Ed is off to the UK to begin the show in earnest. (Or in England as the case may be.) Thanks also to all who have thrown work my way during this interesting and possibly desperate time. What’s next, I wonder? Here’s a quick roundup of my activities across the pond... Recently, I have been mixing Looking for Eric, directed by Ken Loach and starring Eric Cantona and Steve Evets. On this picture I worked with Pinewood colleague James Doyle mixing effects. Location sound was by Ray Beckett and sound editorial by Kevin Brazier and his team. The film was selected for competition at Cannes this year. I was then back with Richard Pryke CAS for director Alejandro Amenábar’s fourth-century astronomy epic Agora. This was a big-scale movie with huge sets and an equally huge cast, so sound designer Glenn Freemantle and his team decided to give it a huge soundtrack. We’re still putting finishing touches to this one before it’s released in the fall. Location sound was by Peter Glossop, assistant re-recording mixer was Adam Scrivener. Richard and I now move on to Harry Brown, director Daniel Barber’s first feature. This one stars Michael Caine as a man turned vigilante after his best friend is killed by the gangs who have taken over his local area. Once again, sound design is by Glenn Freemantle and his team at Sound 24. Location sound by Simon Hayes and assistant re-recording mixer is Andrew Caller. Should keep us out of trouble for a while! Best regards, Ian Tapp CAS Early this spring, Carl Rudisill CAS got to spend a little time in the Big Easy working as second unit sound mixer on HBO’s pilot episode of Treme. After wrapping that production, Carl quickly prepped for his next adventure, Provinces of Night, starring Val Kilmer, Kris Kristofferson, and Hilary Duff. Joining him on the sound team was Jack Hill as boom operator and J.T. Jones as sound utility. All had a great time and enjoyed working with such a talented cast and
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crew. With One Tree Hill kicking off it’s seventh season, Carl’s studio, North Star Post and Sound, is looking forward to seeing the familiar cast faces once again for ADR and voice-overs, still engineered by the talented Alex Markowski. Have a great summer everyone!
Richard Branca CAS from Sony Pictures Studios reports: Greg Russell CAS and Gary Summers just finaled director Michael Bay’s film Transformers 2 on the Cary Grant Theatre. Deb Adair CAS has finished the foreigns for Transformers 2 and TV Airline for Angels & Demons. Jeff Haboush CAS, Michael Keller CAS and Bill Benton are predubbing 2012 on the William Holden Theatre and the Anthony Quinn Theatre. Terry Porter and Dean Zupancic are currently working on Jerry Bruckheimer’s 3D-animated feature G-Force in the Novak Theatre. Skip Lievsay CAS and Greg Orloff CAS have just finished the Cohen Brothers’ A Serious Man on the Burt Lancaster Theatre. Tateum Kohut CAS and Steven Ticknor CAS are finaling Mike Judge’s new comedy Extract. On Dub Stage 11, Mark Linden CAS and Alan Decker CAS are dubbing Psych and Royal Pains. Rusty Smith CAS is mixing Drop Dead Diva. Nello Torri CAS is dubbing Hawthorne on Dub Stage 12. John Wakeham and Alan Decker are mixing Lincoln Heights on Dub Stage 17.
Film Studios in West London and am now in Budapest, Hungary, for a long, long shoot on an epic production of Ken Follet’s best-selling book The Pillars of the Earth for U.S./European TV—we’re shooting on HD with the latest Sony F35 cameras and Zaxcom Fusion and Deva, delivering rushes on large CF Cards for robustness and fast transfer. Student CAS member Chauncey Taylor is proud to announce that he has successfully completed his PSP studies in film and music production at the Ohio State University. While studying at Ohio State University this spring, he managed to attend FanBoys producers Kevin Mann & Matthew Perniciaro’s 24-hour film school workshops as well as working as a production sound mixer on a California Natural pet food spot, and Mix Pro BMX rider Ron Thomas’s
Do What It Takes production. He is anxiously awaiting the premiere of his fellow students at Ohio State’s Reel Buckeye Productions feature film The Works of Darren McGannon and the Ohio superstar Lebron James’ feature documentary, directed by Kristopher Belman, More Than a Game, premiering October 2 in New York, Los Angeles, and Cleveland, Ohio. Chauncey mixed production dialogue alongside veteran sound mixer Joel Trent on the More Than a Game project with the talented jedi masters of Skywalker sound completing the final mix. “I feel extremely blessed to have had the good fortune of working with such talent on all of these projects.”
Whit Norris CAS writes: This year has been busy. I left In Plain Sight after working with Joe Brennan and Rodney Gurule for a second season in New Mexico; they
took over the last part of the series. It was nice to be back home in Georgia for a change. Doug Cameron and Kevin Summers joined me in South Georgia for The Crazies this spring which then carried us to Iowa for the last three weeks. Currently, I am mixing Drop Dead Diva for Sony and the Lifetime network in Atlanta with Kevin Summers and David Terry. It’s great to work at home.
Steve Weiss CAS is mixing Season 3 of Saving Grace with Holly Hunter on TNT with Chris Tiffany on boom and Dennis Carlin doing utility. Just finished additional photograppy on The Wolfman for Universal. Now shooting London Boulevard all UK locations. Boom operator Gary Dodkin and assisting Lloyd Dudley due to finish midAugust. –David Stephenson CAS •
Joe Earle CAS and Michael Colomby CAS have been busy this year with ABC’s comedy Castle, A&E’s The Cleaner and David Maples’ In Plain Sight. Also coming is Fox’s Glee, and Comedy Central’s The Sarah Silverman Show. Jim Bigwood CAS has just finished doing location sound on the Goss’ Garage segments for the upcoming 29th season of the PBS series MotorWeek. Maryland Public Television produces MotorWeek for PBS and it can also be seen on SPEED. John Rodda CAS writes: Just finished shooting the last half of Gurinder Chadha’s It’ a Wonderful Afterlife at Ealing CAS QUARTERLY
SUMMER 2009
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ON LOCATION
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1. Jay Meagher, CAS and crew in a Michigan sunset at 10:30 p.m. 2. Scott Harber, CAS on Brüno in Berlin with Sacha, wearing roughly half of what Angus Young wears. 3. Sosumu Tokunow recording in Venice without auto traffic
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noise. 4. Jessy Bender, David Barr-Yaffe, CAS and Tim Salmon on the Brothers & Sisters set. 5. “Inception” Tokyo Sound Department: Rin Takada, Brian Robinson, Steve Nelson, CAS 4.
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CONGRATULATIONS! 1. David K. Grant, CAS is engaged to be married in August. 2. Philip Perkins, CAS and family at the graduation of his daughter Roxanne from high school. Roxanne is headed to UCLA.
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1. This pic shows Brendan Fraser’s request for at least two ... what ... sequels???? 7. No, wait ... it was beers for he and John Pritchard! 2. Kenn Fuller, CAS and his Vette. 3. Tom Brandau’s new rig with the 8. sound supervisor. 4. This was, for Andy Rovins, CAS—A Moment of Enlightenment. 5. Robert Sharman calls this photo “Yin Yang.” 6. Gary Bourgeois, CAS. 7. Kirk Francis, CAS with a soon-tobe-released 120 lb tarpon; Cabo Catoche, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Fishing is a lot more fun than working, and cheaper than kids. 8. In the Super Dave car are Paul Vik 6. Marshall, CAS, Mitch Cohn and Paul Romo. 30
SUMMER 2009
CAS QUARTERLY
HAVING FUN!
More is Less
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More channels. Less weight.
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Eight wireless channels in a busy little bundle ready to work with you in a bag or on a cart. External DC and common rechargeable batteries provide power and automatic backup. www.lectrosonics.com
Made in the USA by a Bunch of Fanatics.