Cas spring2008

FEATURES 44th Annual CAS Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Meet the winners and then some

Technical Achievement Awards 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Zaxcom and Digidesign take home honors

14 DEPARTMENTS President’s Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Welcomes 2008 CAS Board of Directors

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From the Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Letter to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Food for Thought. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Inspiration

Technically Speaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Wall-warts and batteries and wires…

European Roundup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

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In memory of Anthony Minghella

Been There Done That . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 CAS members check in

The Lighter Side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Cover photos: A scene from CAS Award winner No Country for Old Men. (inset) The award-winning mixing team.

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THE PRESIDENT’S LETTER

Rites of Spring I would like to welcome our 2008 CAS Board of Directors all of whom are listed on the publisher’s masthead. To the Directors who will not be returning for this next term our sincere gratitude for your leadership of the CAS. To the new incoming and returning Board members, welcome! We look forward to your active leadership roles. The contributions from all of us around the table, is how we share in the continued successes of leading the Cinema Audio Society.

Without the unwavering support from the membership and sponsors your Board of Directors and Officers could not run the CAS. Including but in no way limited to the planning and execution of the Annual CAS Awards Program. We had a wonderful evening at the 44th Annual Awards that was enjoyed by the attendees and was well managed which showed all night long. Thank you again to all that helped and participated. Many of our guests stayed around the Biltmore for an extended “schmooze” session and more of the traditional “networking.” After it was finished and the tallies were in, the 44th Annual Awards appears to be one of our most successful presentations on many fronts. Thanks to all. The short vacations that some of us took immediately following the Awards were a welcome change of pace. I personally am very honored and proud to say that I am the President of the Cinema Audio Society.

Anyone who has a desire to assist in the Awards process during the coming year, please get in contact with any one of the officers and let us know. There will be many opportunities to participate. We are always updating the way things get accomplished. We welcome assistance with our seminar programs so that we can continue to educate and inform people in and around our industry to the specialized art of cinematic sound recording.

What an interesting year we are in. The year started with most of our membership extremely concerned about the labor strife that has been experienced. It is the sincere hope of the Board of Directors of the CAS that you have not been overly challenged by what has transpired. As all of us get back to our chosen jobs, doing what it is that we enjoy, we wish you all of the success that you so well deserve.

There are many rites of spring. It is a time for planning the fall and networking about our futures.

A large part of our futures depends on education. The Board of Directors encourages all of our members to support the education programs that are available to students wanting to learn about our industry. To those members that work with their families as coaches and mentors we wish you the best of luck and add our thanks.

Thank you all for your active support and continued participation.

Regards,

Edward L. Moskowitz, CAS President, Cinema Audio Society

NEW CAS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Front row (L to R): Richard Lightstone, Sherry Klein, Joe Foglia, Edward L. Moskowitz, David Bondelevitch, Paul Vik Marshall, Melissa Hofmann.

Back row (L to R): Peter Damski, Michael Minkler, James Corbett, Bob Bronow, R.D. Floyd, Agamemnon Andrianos, John Coffey, James Coburn IV, Lee Orloff.

(Missing: David Fluhr, Douglas Hemphill, Paul Massey, Ed Greene, Ken S. Polk)

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FROM THE EDITORS...

It’s spring. Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping and, finally, time code is rolling again. We held the 44th Annual Cinema Audio Society Awards ceremony in February and, with this issue, we get to introduce (and reintroduce) some of the winners of this year’s honor to you. It is our job as co-editors of the Quarterly to conduct these interviews. We get to hear some war stories, are told of how things on the set went awry and learn about the last-minute alterations to the mix that nearly made the whole program not hit the delivery time—all exciting, informative, and even, educational conversations. But the true pleasure, as coeditors, is speaking with our fellow CAS members and, not only talking shop, but getting to know them on a personal level. This is one of the great “unseen” benefits of being a member of the Cinema Audio Society. You are a member of a group of folks who are, to put it bluntly, pretty darnn talented. While we all are, obviously, sound professionals, our specialties cover all aspects of soundfor-picture. Should we have questions or need insight into an area outside of our primary focus, we know that we have a brother or sister via the CAS that’s just a phone call or email away (insert gratuitous CAS Directory plug here).

We know that a question from a fellow member, even one we’ve never met, is important and not the typical “my friend has a friend who has a son who likes audio and wants to know if you can give them a job” emails and phone calls that, understandably, come with success. The Cinema Audio Society is an extended family, and with this issue, we honor the members of the family who have achieved our highest honor.

Also in this issue, our regular columnists take the time to provide some insight. G. John Garrett, CAS discusses rechargeable batteries in his “Technically Speaking” column and, from the other side of the Atlantic, Carrie Giunta, CAS remembers an inspiring colleague in her “European Roundup.” Matt Foglia’s “A Sound Discussion” column is on hiatus for this issue, while his “Food for Thought” column discusses a source of recent mix inspiration. Peter Damski, CAS makes a proposition to members in his article titled “Opportunity Knocks.” And, finally, you can check in on the happenings of the rest of your CAS family in the “Been There, Done That” and “The Lighter Side” submissions.

This publication is produced as a service to our members and all of the contributors provide the content on a voluntary basis. This is your magazine and while we try to provide entertaining and informative articles, we would like to hear from you about thoughts for future articles. Please feel free to contact us via email at casquarterly@cinemaaudiosociety.org. We welcome your input, feedback and continued support.

OFFICERS

President: Edward L. Moskowitz Vice President: David Bondelevitch Treasurer: R.D. Floyd Secretary: Peter Damski BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Agamemnon Andrianos James Coburn IV John Coffey David Fluhr Ed Greene

Doug Hemphill Melissa Hofmann Sherry Klein Paul Massey Michael Minkler Lee Orloff

ALTERNATES

Bob Bronow Paul Marshall Joe Foglia Ken Polk OFFICE MANAGER

Robin Damski EDITORS:

Peter Damski Matt Foglia PUBLISHER:

IngleDodd Publishing 11661 San Vicente Blvd., Ste. 709 Los Angeles, CA 90049 QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS:

Cinema Audio Society 827 Hollywood Way #632 Burbank, CA 91505 Phone: 818.752.8624 Fax: 818.752.8624 Email casquarterly@cinemaaudiosociety.org Website www.cinemaaudiosociety.org ADVERTISING:

Peter Damski, CAS

Matt Foglia, CAS

Dan Dodd 310.207.4410 x 236 Email: Advertising@IngleDodd.com

©2008 by the Cinema Audio Society.

All rights reserved. CAS®, Cinema Audio Society®, and Dedicated to the advancement of Sound® are all trademarks of the Cinema Audio Society and may not be used without permission.

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LETTER TO THE EDITORS...

CINEMA AUDIO SOCIETY MISSION STATEMENT

Praise and Frustration About CAS Awards This year, like most years in recent memory, the membership of the CAS has wisely nominated a variety of films with diverse sound styles for its feature film award. All the films had excellent tracks in my opinion, and No Country for Old Men was a worthy winner with its subtle, sparse, but deeply elegant and precise design/edit/mix.

Unfortunately, this year, like almost every year, the CAS Awards have existed, the membership didn’t see fit to include any animated films among the nominees.

Admittedly, I have an ax to grind here since many of the films I work on these days are animated. That said, I’ve begun to wonder whether the CAS membership has a problem with animated films in general. As somebody who has worked on lots of animated films and lots of liveaction films, I’ll testify anywhere that creating a track for an animated film is often at least as difficult, and sometimes, considerably more difficult, technically and creatively, than creating a track for a live-action film. The biggest difference, obviously, is that there is no “production sound” in an animated film. There is, of course, the initial stage of dialog recording in an animated film, but that process is usually nowhere near as difficult as what live-action production mixers and boom ops face. I’ve been a boom op and a production mixer on feature films, and I know what a herculean struggle it almost always is to get great recordings, even usable recordings, of dialog on a live-action film set. On the other hand, in an animated film, the entire sonic world of the film has to be invented, and that’s often a hell of a challenge, every bit as frustrating as facing a set filled with loud generators, off-screen traffic noise, and mumbling Brando wannabes who expect you to work miracles so they won’t have to do ADR. So, do I expect or want an animated film to be nominated for a CAS Award every year? No. What I would love to see is occasional recognition given by the CAS to the amazing creative sound work that undeniably exists in many contemporary animated features.

Thanks for listening.

Randy Thom

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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.

NEW MEMBERS Active Craig Berkey Gabriel Coll Thomas Curley Robert Charles Dreebin Paul Graff Bernard J. Lehn, Jr.

Eric Lewis Skip Lievsay John Murphy Patrick Rousseau George F. Tarrant

Associate

Student

Daniel Sinclair McCoy Gabriel Sanders

Peter Van Scherpe

Inspiration

by Matt Foglia, CAS

M

Most of us became involved in this industry out of desire. As you meet the winners in this issue, you’ll notice that a number of them, like so many in our membership, come from a musical background. A love of music provided many of us with a path to a fun, envious job. Yet, like practically every other occupation out there, even your dream job can often feel like, well, a job. Every so often a little jolt becomes necessary to rekindle the fire. Sometimes you find it by working with other engineers, sometimes through a very enthusiastic assistant or intern. I recently received a huge infusion of inspiration from a book.

The Producers and Engineers Wing of the Recording Academy held a speaking engagement in early April with former Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick. Mr. Emerick and co-author Howard Massey put out a book in 2006 called Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles (Gotham Books). A couple of months after it was released, I was lent the book by a former colleague.

The initial yearning, dedication and desire that we all have at the start of our careers, comes alive in this book.

After reading the book in two sittings (note: I am not an avid reader, preferring technical manuals to fiction), I purchased two copies, keeping one for myself and passing one around to my engineer colleagues.

Those of you who have had the pleasure of reading this book know what I’m writing of; it is one of the most inspiring books, in my opinion, that a recording engineer can read. The prologue alone will awaken any sleeping engineering desires when you read of how, at the age of 19, on his first session as the Beatles engineer, Mr. Emerick had to come up with the sounds

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that became “Tomorrow Never Knows.” As a result, Mr. Emerick developed recording techniques that changed the face of sound recording.

The initial yearning, dedication and desire that we all have at the start of our careers, comes alive in this book. While signing my book at the event, I asked Mr. Emerick if EMI Studios (what Abbey Road was called before it changed names in 1970) gave him a raise after the success of Revolver. “Quite the contrary,” Mr. Emerick revealed, “they wanted to make sure that you were there for the love, that you had the dedication, so the pay wasn’t that great.” So, as the summer approaches, instead of picking up that ever-tempting romance novel, grab a copy of Messrs. Emerick’s and Massey’s book and see if it brings on the desire. •

Wall-Warts and Batteries and Wires, Oh My!

or whatever you’d like to call it!

M

Maybe it’s the Scottish blood in my family, maybe it’s fear of the panic that would set in at midnight if I couldn’t get a battery I needed, or maybe it’s a desire not to have a plaque with my name on it at the local landfill, but I’ve always loved rechargeable batteries. Having grown up with amateur radio, electronic music and sound recording, you can see where this is headed. My first nerdgasm came when I discovered Gates dry electrolyte lead-acid batteries. I’ve built several 12VDC X-cell battery packs and still use them around the radio shack and on the cart. My next cart project will probably involve rebuilding my battery box to accommodate an Optima battery (http://www.optimabatteries.com). Now that rechargeable technology is maturing, it’s worth taking a look at what’s out there today.

About six months ago, I bought four iPower (http://www.ipowerus.com) 9V rechargeable lithium ion batteries and a charger, to try them out in radio mics, Comteks and the like. I’ve since bought six more and will probably get another charger and more batteries this year.

These batteries produce 500mAh of current, have sophisticated protection and charging circuitry, and compare favorably to alkaline 9V batteries in performance. They’re about $14 apiece and claim to have more than 85% capacity after 100 charge/discharge cycles. They recharge in 45 minutes, too. Some of the early batches, and mixers on RAMPS have reported random batteries going dead. I had one go on me and my dealer just swapped it for a new one.

Reports from the manufacturer have been that there are conditions that can fool the internal protection circuit into acting and it needs to be reset. They redesigned this circuit and are rolling out new models. Most mixers report great results with them and I concur. The Lectro UM400 transmitters have caused some issues but Larry Fisher at Lectro and Richard at iPower are looking into it. I treat mine like alkalines, and charge them before they get completely discharged.

Just this week I got a couple of eFilm rechargeable lithium 123 batteries and a charger from Thomas Distributing (http://www.thomasdistributing.com) for a grand total of $28 before shipping.

The charger only handles one battery at a time and the initial charge time for my batteries was 1.5–2 hours per battery. If you have a camera or radios (Zaxcom, Audio Ltd) that use 123s, these may come in handy. The specs don’t show a

by G. John Garrett, CAS mAh rating, but they deliver 2A of instantaneous current, and charge to 4VDC. This voltage makes them not so great for the Sure-Fire flashlights, however, as the higher voltage means lower lamp life.

There are no rechargeable lithium AA batteries that I know of. NiMH batteries with capacities approaching 2900mAh seem to be flying off the shelves but most take up to eight hours to charge, and I’m impatient. I’ve been using the 2000mAh Ray-O-Vac I-C3 15-minute rechargeables with great results, though they discontinued manufacturing them a couple of years ago due to poor sales. It’s understandable since everybody seems to be making rechargeable NiMH batteries and the packages all look the same. It looks like Radio Shack is still committed to I-C3 technology though, selling 2000mAh batteries that recharge in 8–15 minutes.

Which brings me to the next thing: Chargers. Power supplies. Wall-warts. Every new gizmo comes with its own peculiar charge/power adapter, and I just don’t have that many outlets on my cart, or in my house for that matter.

My solution took probably an hour of shopping and an hour of construction. The materials include a number of two-prong AC plugs, an equal number of inline sockets, some zipcord, a power strip and a few two- or three-prong cube taps. I originally made the ~8” jumpers to go from a strip on the back of my cart to a spot on a lower shelf of my Magliner where all my power adapters could coexist without losing outlets on the strip. Since no power adapter draws more than a few hundred mA, there’s no fire danger and you can run over a dozen small devices off one power strip. Have a look at the photo. What do you think? •

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DVD

THE 44TH ANNUAL CAS AWARDS:

A Resounding Success

by Peter Damski, CAS

CAS

Award Winners for

2007

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT FOR MOTION PICTURES

No Country for Old Men Peter Kurland, CAS Production Mixer Skip Lievsay Re-recording Mixer Craig Berkey Re-recording Mixer Greg Orloff, CAS Re-recording Mixer

What do you get when you put 350 welldressed sound professionals in one room?

The answer is, an outstanding evening. The 44th CAS Awards ceremony was held on February 16, 2008, at the Millennium Biltmore’s Crystal Ballroom in downtown Los Angeles. Awards for Outstanding Sound Mixing were presented in five categories. Technical Achievement Awards were presented in two categories, and in addition, two deserving honorees received the Career Achievement and Filmmaker Awards.

Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were enjoyed by guests beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Tiffany Room which is adjacent to the Crystal Ballroom. This first hour and a quarter gave everyone a chance to meet and mingle in a comfortable atmosphere. The Nelson Cole Trio returned this year to provide a lovely bed of music for the evening. The lines at the bar were moving briskly and smiles abounded. At 6:45 p.m. the doors to the Crystal Ballroom were opened, and the guests were invited to find their seats. The meal was served once all were seated and consisted of a wonderful sampling of filet, chicken and prawns, with a salad starter and dessert sampler to finish it off. The professional waitstaff at the Biltmore handled the distribution and cleanup efficiently, and the festivities were underway a little after 8 p.m.

Sam Rubin, a local entertainment reporter, was the master of ceremonies this year and proved to be one of the best ever.

Rubin kept the crowd entertained with his positive demeanor and quick wit and kept the show moving along at a comfortable pace. Introducing the Awards, CAS President Edward L. Above: Emcee Sam Rubin at the podium.

Opposite page: 44th Annual CAS Awards at the Millennium Biltmore’s Crystal Ballroom in Los Angeles.

Photos by WireImage (except The Magic Flute)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT FOR TV MOVIES AND MINI-SERIES

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee George Tarrant Production Mixer Rick Ash Re-recording Mixer Edward C. Carr III, CAS Re-recording Mixer OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT FOR TV SERIES

CSI “Living Doll” Mick Fowler, CAS Production Mixer Yuri Reese, CAS Re-recording Mixer Bill Smith Re-recording Mixer OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT FOR TV NON-FICTION, VARIETY OR MUSIC – SERIES OR SPECIALS

Great Performances at the Met: The Magic Flute Bill King Production Mixer Ken Hahn, CAS Re-recording Mixer Jay David Saks Re-recording Mixer John Bowen Re-recording Mixer OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT FOR DVD ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING

Species: The Awakening Gabriel Coll Production Mixer Alec St. John Re-recording Mixer Derek Marcil, CAS Re-recording Mixer

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Moskowitz shared his experience of how far the organization has come since its inception 44 years ago. It made me feel proud to be a member and participant.

Composer Alan Sylvestri (Forrest Gump, The Polar Express, Van Helsing) presented Dennis Sands, CAS with the Career Achievement Award. Sylvestri and Sands have been working together since the TV series ChiPs in 1982 and the love continues today. The presentation was moving and appropriate. Sands accepted the Award by thanking those who have helped to make his success possible. Graciousness and humility were the key elements here.

Director Bill Condon was given the CAS Filmmaker Award by Michael Minkler, CAS. Condon and Minkler teamed up on Dreamgirls for which Minkler won the Oscar and CAS Award for Best Sound in 2007. It was obvious from Minkler’s presentation that Condon truly represented the intent of the Filmmaker Award. Condon’s sensibilities and respect for the sound process are evident in all of his work. Condon joked that he “had to settle the writers’ strike because (I’m) going to participate in the upcoming CAS Awards.” I am personally grateful for the outcome regardless of the motivation.

Rubin wrapped up the evenings presentation at 10:10 p.m.

The event came off without a hitch. The CAS Board took to heart all of the comments and criticisms from previous Award events and did their best to make the evening as enjoyable as any event of this nature. This was the first time that I have seen a large group remain after the Awards ceremony to visit with friends and family. It’s a good sign when attendees do not want the festivities to end.

Presenter Alan Sylvestri

Thanks go out to the entire CAS Board of Directors for their hard work, the presenters for their presentations, the Nelson Cole Trio for the tunes, Kelly Hernacki for her stage managing skills and help, Robin Damski for her organizational skills and friendly attitude and Richard Ploesch, CPA, for tabulating the votes. In addition, I would like to thank all of our Corporate and Award Sponsors for their contributions this year. In a strike year, it is important to acknowledge their efforts on our behalf.

Interviews with the winners of the Outstanding Awards for Sound Mixing follow.

BILL CONDON RECEIVES FILMMAKER AWARD

Bill Condon Condon with CAS President Edward L. Moskowitz, CAS

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OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT FOR MOTION PICTURES

No Country for Old Men

by Peter Damski, CAS The mixing team from No Country for Old Men was awarded the CAS Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Motion Picture at the 44th CAS Awards ceremony.

The team consists of production mixer Peter Kurland, CAS, and re-recording mixers Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey, and Greg Orloff, CAS. I had been told by several people that I From left: Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, CAS and Peter Kurland, CAS had to see this film, but more importantly, hear this film. I can’t recall the last time I had First up is production mixer Peter Kurland. “I had the good heard such a sparse and beautifully layered soundtrack for a fortune of working with Randy Johnson, the boom operator I film. One of the things that stood out was the lack of a musiwork with most frequently, and Cole Gittinger as utility,” cal score until the credits rolled. The old saying, “no place to Kurland states. “The film was both physically and mentally hide” came to mind immediately while listening to the film. I demanding on us,” most of the film was shot in the deserts of had the pleasure of interviewing these talented gentlemen, and New Mexico and Texas with their wind, sand, heat and dry air. here is recap of our conversation.

Having Johnson on the team “made the experience easier and much more pleasant. We automatically know what has to be done and who will take care of it.” This was the latest in a long run of films working with Joel and Ethan Coen beginning with Blood Simple in 1984. Kurland was first a boom operator and, in 2000, moved up to production mixer on O Brother, Where Art Thou? “It is always a pleasure working with the Coen Brothers.”

This was the final movie that Kurland did on the Zaxcom Deva II; he has since upgraded to the Deva 16. The rest of the package consisted of a Cameo mixer, Schoeps microphones for interiors, Sennheiser MKH-60s on the exteriors, and Lectrosonics RFs. “The equipment held up well, considering Dennis the environmental issues. There was one incident when shootSands, CAS ing in New Mexico where the RFs were causing issues and, fortunately, we were within 20 miles of the Lectrosonics factory.”

There was a great deal of “unidentified” RF in the area. “If I knew the source of the interference, I probably would have been imprisoned,” Kurland joked. “They were more than familiar with the area and told us exactly what to do to fix the problem.

Everything worked fine after that.”

There was a scene in which we had to do a real-time phone conversation with an actress who was shooting in Europe at the time, other than that, it was a normal production. The film has long stretches without dialogue and it was both challenging and fun to try and get good ambience during many scenes. We were doing ‘stealth’ recording throughout. “Just as comforting as the relationship I have with Johnson, is the relationship I have with [re-recording mixer] Skip Lievsay. Skip and I have worked Sylvestri and Sands together for 25 years now, and we know what to expect of each other. It is great to know who the post people are, and how we work as a team from the very beginning.” Lievsay and Berkey

DENNIS SANDS RECEIVES CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

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both had a copy of the script at the beginning of production and were able to begin spotting the show early enough to request any ambiences that Kurland could supply during production.

Skip Lievsay also began his relationship with the Coen Brothers on Blood Simple 25 years ago. “We are a family, like the Grucci family with fireworks; we make movie magic year after year. It is very gratifying. Everybody from top to bottom has the same sort of approach to movies. It’s not like work; it’s more like a family adventure.”

The Coen Brothers do most of their own cutting and it took about eight weeks after production until Lievsay received the first scenes to begin work. One feature of the post production sound workflow that stood out for me was that Lievsay did his work with the dialogue and music in Los Angeles and Berkey did his work with sound supervision and effects in his studio in Northern California. They did get together for one temp mix at Widget Post on La Cienega.

“There has been a mandate from ‘the Family’ to try and do things cheaper, better, and faster. The tracks that we make are very lean, precise sound tracks. It is one of the things I am most proud of with No Country and what makes it stand out from many other films we have done.” All of the personnel involved in the post sound process on this film worked in Pro Tools. “We mix as we go, so we’re preparing for the temps during our sessions, as we cut. Then, ultimately, the temp session becomes the final session.

“For the last several films, we have done the final step, adding music and foley, at Sony. It’s on the west side and we like working with Greg Orloff.” The last several films were mixed on the Burt Lancaster Stage. I asked Lievsay what the advantages were of both editing and mixing the film. “It’s a very effective way to getting things organized.

There are less layers of interpretation. The Coen’s like to work things out during the temp and we then carry this thru to the final. Because Craig and I are also mixing, we don’t have to bring a new mixer “up to speed. Because we have worked together on many films we have a common reference. In this case, No Country was similar to Fargo and even Blood Simple in design. That helps you interpret the filmmaker’s ideas and ultimate goals. From the time of the first temp, we knew there was going to be very little music; the dialogue and effects tracks had to be very precise.”

When we went into to final mix, we were very confident because we knew we had just the right sounds in place. It was a meticulous ‘surgical strike,’ one might say.”

This was the first time that Craig Berkey worked on a Coen Brothers film. “They knew exactly what they wanted from the very beginning and it was our job to flesh that vision out and help them along the way.” Berkey also edits and mixes simultaneously. “I can’t see laying in a bunch of sound effects and not having them sound correct in the mix. I layer them and EQ them with the final mix in mind. By the time I’m done, it’s a finished scene. The main challenge for me was coming up with some of the iconic sounds of the weapons in the film.

The ‘cow killer’ and the silenced shotgun were fun to put together.” Berkey would create a variety of sounds which he 18

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would send to the Coen’s; then they would choose what they thought most closely represented their vision. I asked about Berkey’s equipment preferences. “The vehicle sounds were recorded by Lievsay, Jeremy Peison, and Joel Dougherty north of Los Angeles in Palmdale. Jeremy uses the Sound Devices 744 with a variety of mics including Neumann. I use a Sound Devices 722 recorder and a Beyer-Dynamic MC833 stereo microphone. I work in Pro Tools but the most important thing to me is the speakers and I use a set of Meyer HD-1’s.”

Berkey finished with, “A lot of times we know we are finished when there is nothing left to add. With this film, we knew we were finished when there was nothing left to take away.”

Greg Orloff was the last member of the team to join in on the festivities. Orloff mixed the foley tracks during the final at Sony. Lievsay referred to Orloff as the “inside man,” providing liaison with the studio. “We were really fortunate to work on a film of this nature which gave us such great creativity in a soundscape and to work with such great filmmakers as the Coens.” This is the fourth film on which Orloff has worked with Lievsay and the Coen Brothers. He has worked with Lievsay on other projects for the last 13 years. “The minimal use of music allowed us to create a soundtrack where you could experience nuance and detail. That was the greatest joy and the biggest challenge all at the same time.”

The Burt Lancaster Stage at Sony has a Harrison MPC console on which the final Pro Tools session was mixed.

Orloff quips that the most important decision he made during the daily mix was where to go for lunch. Orloff adds. “I mixed the 24 tracks of foley, which were not premixed. Since I am familiar with the stage, I offered any suggestions as to how the sound from the stage would translate to the theaters.” I asked Orloff about the challenges of this film; “I think that one of the greatest challenges was what you don’t hear … the peaks and valleys and the spaces in between. It was a challenge to pull back a sound to see how quiet we can be in order to pull the audience in. The Eagle Motel and the Del Rio Motel scenes represent this most significantly. The stocking footsteps had to be just loud enough for the audience to hear but no one in the film should hear.”

Kurland is taking a short break after a “hectic” awards season. Lievsay and Berkey are in the midst of creating the tracks for the Coen Brothers next film Burn After Reading, which is due for release during September of 2008. Orloff has just completed work on Recount for director Jay Roach.

The entire team will be back together again on the next Coen Brothers project due to begin in the fall. Each member of this team independently stated how much fun it was to work on this film. It is evident in the final product that this type of collaboration leads to great things. In addition, the entire team wants to thank the members of the CAS for their support. “It is a great honor to receive acknowledgement from one’s peers” was the common thread throughout all of these interviews.

DENECKE, INC...

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OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT FOR TV MOVIES AND MINI-SERIES

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

by Matt Foglia, CAS Re-recording mixers Rick Ash and Edward Carr III, CAS, and production mixer George Tarrant are CAS Award winners for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Movies and Mini-Series for their work on Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, HBO’s fictionalized adaptation of Dee Brown’s 1971 epic nonfiction book. On a recent Saturday, my earlymorning phone call wrangled production sound mixer George Tarrant out of his cozy, Alberta bed after a night of celebrating his CAS win with his location crew: boom operator Mike Markiw and sound utility Calvin “Cal” Wilson. George, who has been a “go-to” production mixer for these kinds of shoots since working on his first major Western, 1987’s remake of Gunsmoke, won his first Emmy last year for another Western-based show, Into the West. Tarrant mentions that while getting to the set may be difficult, “all of us have to load our gear onto horse-drawn wagons with rubber tires because these areas tend to be environmentally sensitive,” it is this preservation of nature’s beauty that makes his native Alberta a perfect backdrop for Westerns.

When discussing miking for these period pieces, Bury My Heart in particular, given the dense costuming and constant background movement, I was extremely curious as to the balance during the shoot. “Well,” recalled Tarrant, “I did the whole show on a two-track. It’d be the boom on one side and stack all the wires on the other side and mix like a fool.” Asked why he didn’t take the “easier” way out, given the availability of increased track counts? “I’m kind of an Old School guy. I was one of the last guys to move from mono Nagra to stereo DAT (while experimenting with stereo Nagra and stereo TC Nagra along the way).

I’m kind of a dinosaur that way,” Tarrant jokes. However, “about a year or so ago, I bought a Deva 5 and I love it.” Continuing, “but I still like to mix two-track lav/boom because I feel it gives you guys more flexibility in post (having the boom separate).

The only time I tend to go beyond two-track is when I’m scrambling on a big scene, with little rehearsal, with four or five lavs out and wardrobe issues. Because I don’t want to end up doing a cross fade on a clothing rustle.” Speaking about some of the coverage issues, especially when dealing with the need to pick up backgrounds with various animals and wagons, George tells, “on this kind of show, you have to run all of the booms on a radio because you may have cattle or other animals decide to run your direction. And if you’re tethered to a cable, you’re in deep trouble!” Tarrant remembers, “I had a strain-reliefed cable get ripped right out of the mixer once in ’89 with the XLR still in the mixer! After that, I said that it has to be radios in those situations.” A plus to going wireless, once you get the transmitter set up properly to handle all the various dynamics a scene may have (screams, gun shots, regular dialogue), is the flexibility it gives the boom operator. “With some of this stuff, you’re (the boom 20

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Rick Ash and Edward Carr, CAS

operator is) just swooping and diving and dodging and your plan at the start of the shot changes instantly. So you have to be able to get to where you have to be, so you can’t be tethered.” But that’s what makes the gig fun, those situations where creativity and experience allow you and your team to capture something extremely clear in the midst of a chaotic scene.

And the results show. Rick Ash, who acted as supervising sound mixer for the program and handled the dialogue and music mix, recalls, “George did an excellent job. I was really impressed with his use of lavs, which are generally not my favorite.” Ash continues, “there were many shots and situations where a boom would have too much noise in it. There would be people on horse and buggy, on wagons or in the middle of a battle, and I would have this really good, chesty dialogue track without the extraneous creaks of the wagons or bridal harnesses. I don’t know where he put them, but his use of lavs was incredible.” Rick, who likes to listen to the dailies to get a sense of what may need to be replaced, even while shooting is still going on, was “in awe at how good the tracks were.” George had a conversation with the post department about replacement dialogue. He was told that for the whole two-plus-hour program, only 28 lines had to be dubbed and half of those were creative changes! Quite impressive given the difficulties of the location as well as some others scenarios Tarrant recalls. “There was this one scene where I went up to (director) Yves (Simoneau) and said, ‘I’m really stuck here. These shots need to be broken up into wide and tight.’ He looked at me and said, ‘George, you need to figure it out.’ I said, ‘I did figure it out, we need to break these shots up, that’s why I’m having this conversation with you.’ And Yves said in a rather complimentary way, ‘George, this is how I need to shoot this. So you have to come up with a plan to make it work.’ So I was left there wondering ‘what are we going to do?’ But, since necessity is the mother of invention, we came up with something, rolled the dice and hoped it didn’t come up snake eyes.”

Re-recording mixer Rick Ash had some hurdles of his own to get over. Emmy and multiple CAS Award winner Ash, started as a music engineer for The Band (and worked on Martin

Boom operator Mike Markiw and production sound mixer George Tarrant

Scorsese’s The Last Waltz), and has also engineered records for Van Morrison among others. Sighting a difficult lifestyle and encouragement from his friend Wylie Stateman (who started Sound Deluxe) to give sound-for-picture a try, Ash made the music-to-sound-for-picture switch in the mid-’80s. Rick used this musical background to the benefit of Wounded Knee. Ash recalls, “HBO had some concerns with a couple of the climactic music cues. We were on a very tight deadline, so there wasn’t any time to rescore. So composer George Clinton, music editor Mike Flicker and myself extracted different sections of multiple cues, cues that were not related, and blended them together to recompose new cues that would enhance the storyline more appropriately. The regular music score primarily contained an orchestra along with numerous Native American trib-

al instruments and stretched between 32 and 48 tracks wide.

However, these new cues ended up being between 48 and 64 tracks wide and contained music that wasn’t originally composed together. These sections in particular were very challenging to mix.”

Speaking of large track counts, Rick’s partner in mixing on Wounded Knee was effects mixer Edward Carr III. Carr started as a music engineer, recording bands as early as high school and segued to sound-for-picture through a studio-owner friend. Of the effects mixing on Wounded Knee, Carr recalls, “at one point we had 18 effects pre-dubs. Some would be mixed within Pro Tools, some would be mixed on the DFC (Neve’s Digital Film Console) and some would be a combo of the two.” Academy Award–winning supervising sound editor Steve Flick cut the effects and, Ed laughingly recalls, “He’d provide 70 tracks of horses! Effects tracks alone, we had close to 300. Steve’s attention to detail was unbelievable.” The track count, at times, would even overpower the DSP capabilities of the DFC’s automation.

Ed recounts, “We were getting some automation hiccups because we were using all of the console’s dynamics and EQs on every track along with these huge group faders. On occasion, I even turned off the automation on my side of the console to free up some DSP for Rick to use.”

From George Tarrant’s rolling of the dice to the 19th-hour music reconstruction done by Rick Ash to Edward Carr, and the hundreds of tracks he had to unravel to make alterations to the effects pre-dubs, experience, skill, knowledge and good communication brought this team, their colleagues and HBO this deserved accolade. Congratulations to George, Rick and Ed for capturing this year’s Cinema Audio Society Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Movies and Mini-Series.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT FOR TV SERIES

CSI

Living Doll

by Matt Foglia, CAS This year, production mixer Michael “Mick” Fowler, CAS, and re-recording mixers Yuri Reese, CAS, and Bill Smith, reached an exciting level with a show they’ve been partnered on since its second season. They won the CAS Award, Emmy Award and, for Yuri and Bill, the Hollywood Post Alliance Award (since it focuses on post) for the CBS series CSI. After six Emmy nominations in a row and six CAS Award nominations (Yuri & Bill have five CAS nominations for the show), “We went three for three this year!” reports Yuri.

So, on a chilly (at least on the East Coast), April Sunday night, I interrupted production mixer Mick Fowler, who was kind enough to take a break from editing his niece’s wedding video to discuss himself and his work on CSI. Mick arrived in Miami from England in 1985 and started a jingle/music composition company. A few years later, he took his knowledge of

Bill Smith and Yuri Reese, CAS

recording and segued into commercial and documentary location work, eventually landing in the world of episodic television and movies-of-the-week. Recalling how he became the production sound mixer for CSI, Mick recalls, “I saw a trailer on TV C A S Q U A R T E R LY

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for this upcoming series called CSI that starred William Petersen, who has always been a favorite of mine, so I made a cold call, got an interview and got the gig! I’ve been on all of them except for the pilot.”

This longevity has resulted in Mick and his crew achieving a pristine level of efficiency. Mick states, “The assessments and the judgments happen very quickly. From the time the actors come on set (after wardrobe) to the time we’re ready to shoot is generally three to four minutes.” Quite impressed about the turnaround, Mick notes, “My guys have been doing this for so long with this cast and crew, that we know their individual quirks, like which leg the actor prefers their belt on or the color microphone the director would prefer to have match wardrobe and things like that.”

Speaking of microphones, Mick prefers using Neumanns as his shotguns. For lavs, he generally has two choices. “My main concern is and has always been the dialogue; intelligible, understandable dialogue,” he states. “Our lavalier of choice for indoors and most outdoors is the Sanken. However, when we have scenes with a lot of background noise, say a shoot in a casino, I need a mic with a higher dialogue-to-background ratio.

For those types of scenes, I use the Tram, since they’re not as sensitive to backgrounds,” Mick reveals. To record the show, which is shot on film, he uses the Deva V on set, providing a mono dialogue mix along with splits to post. Mick mentioned the excellent level of help he and the team received from the folks at Coffey Sound when developing the digital workflow;

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further adding to the show’s efficient process.

For the mix, dialogue and music mixer Yuri Reese, is delivered dialogue tracks that have been reconformed from an EDL. These tracks will include six tracks of production dialogue, some additionally split-out production effects (pfx), eight tracks of ADR (which can be sweeteners or replacement lines) and eight tracks of group walla (backgrounds). Yuri is also delivered between 18 and 24 tracks of music including percussion and string splits, “so that I can finesse the music to make it more dynamic one way or another, should a scene need it.”

Effects mixer Bill Smith is usually given 64 tracks of effects, 32 tracks of backgrounds and 16 tracks of foley. My comment: That is some crazy density for a two-day mix. Yuri responds, “With Pro Tools, you’re able to split things out so that they are extremely independent. You get the visual cue, which is great, but it can get a little crazy. In fact,” he continues, “on occasion we’ve had to chain on a fourth Pro Tools system because of all the tracks. You end up having feature film width on a two day mix!” The turn around is made possible due to improvements with the technology. Says Yuri, “It’s much different than five years ago. Using Pro Tools allows Bill and I to go offline independently to adjust our mixes. For instance, if Bill has a door slam that’s a little too hot, he can quickly adjust the level without having to roll the whole mix back. Once we make adjustments, I’ll put us all online, play down the section and we’ll discuss the changes we just made and how they translate against each other. It’s a big time saver in that respect.”

Bill, Yuri, sound supervisor Mace Matiosian and music editor Troy Hardy start the mix day with co-producer Philip Conserva in the back of the room. “Phil is there listening, but handling other production-related things, so we’re pretty much left to mix,” states Yuri, “but if he doesn’t hear something, he’ll chime in to make sure we address it.” According to Yuri, “at 11 o’clock on day two we’re usually done with our first pass. So we’ll do a playback for the four of us and Phil, and then tackle our notes.

That way when the other producers come in later, their notes can be finished in about an hour, which puts us right on schedule.”

Yuri and Bill were initially brought in to mix CSI after working primarily in the feature film world. Yuri remembers, “It was a little rocky at the beginning since we were used to having, say, three weeks to mix a feature and with te, we had two days for a dense, one-hour show. But with some good communication as to how Bill and I like our tracks delivered and with Mick knowing how I like my dialogue recorded, we’ve become a well-oiled machine. Plus, having been on this show for years, Mick’s tracks are so pristine, that I can move through scenes quite easily.

Whereas on a feature, you have multiple locations where the production mixer may not have sufficient time to get great tracks or avoid background noise. So you spend a lot more time cleaning the dialogue tracks on a feature.” Still, the difference in mix time is pretty drastic, so there’s a little more “give-andtake” as far as the priorities of the mix are concerned. “With TV, dialogue is king given the potential imperfections of the listening environment—a reflective room, kids screaming in the back-

ground, a loud street, whatever.” Yuri continues, “However, given the availability of nicer TV sets and home sound systems, the producers wanted us to give Crime Scene Investigation a filmstyle mix for those viewers who are able to enjoy it in a more controlled environment. So, we try to make it as dynamic as possible while still keeping the dialogue prominent.” Asked about monitoring during the client playbacks, Yuri reveals, “We mix and monitor in 5.1. When the producers come in to screen, they want the ‘wow’ factor—to hear everything big and huge in a theatrical setting since they may not have a surround setup at home.” As is the case with most mixers who have lots of 5.1 experience, you get a pretty good idea as to how your 5.1 will translate into stereo. “We keep a TV set that we feed the Lt/Rt to off to the side, just in case we’re curious if, say, a music cue down mix will be too loud. It gives us a quasi-representation of how the mix will translate on TV,” says Yuri. “We also pre-limit the 5.1 and Lt/Rt to network spec so that, in a perfect world, the mix doesn’t get unnecessarily squashed when broadcast.

Although,” admits Yuri, “you really only have so much control.”

Control is something this team does have. Their experience has resulted in an exceptionally efficient workflow, which allows them to pay greater attention to the creative aspect of the mix.

And with the high ratings that CSI garners, Bill, Mick and Yuri should have many more seasons to demonstrate their talents. Of that scenario, Mick Fowler states, “I’m here for the long haul. If this is the last show I ever do, so be it. I just love working on this show.”

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OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT FOR TV NON-FICTION, VARIETY OR MUSIC – SERIES OR SPECIALS

Great Performances at the Met: The Magic Flute

by Matt Foglia, CAS Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute is one A scene from The Magic Flute. of the most performed operatic works in the world. Just as the opera’s aria “Queen of the into Pro Tools. Once the picture is locked (or kind of locked), Night” is known for its difficulty, mixing opera is no straightJay and John Bowen conform the Pro Tools session to the picforward feat. Hence the PBS series Great Performances at the Met: ture cut. “Jay is one of the first people I ever worked with in this The Magic Flute winning this year’s CAS Award for Outstanding industry,” recalls Bowen. “I remember there were these four Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Non-Fiction, music bars that Jay was looking to remove from a piece, but it Variety or Music – Series or Specials. The award was bestowed was quite difficult. So he said, ‘Well, don’t worry about it,’ but upon multiple CAS Award winner Ken Hahn, CAS, along with I kept at it and finally got it. We’ve worked together ever since.”

Jay Saks, Bill King and John Bowen. Saks, who is the music Bowen, who has climbed the ranks at Sync Sound since starting producer for the Metropolitan Opera, handles all the music in the machine room in 1989, is also an accomplished sound mixing for the various outlets of the opera including satellite editor, having received two Emmy nominations for sound editand terrestrial radio broadcasts, live theatrical broadcasts, teleing. Of the mix process for The Magic Flute, John reveals, “At the vision broadcasts and DVD re-releases. “Jay is really the ears of beginning of the project, Jay sits in the back of the room with the Met,” says re-recording mixer Ken Hahn. “What those the score and decides what needs to be adjusted. Whether it’s a people not in the hall during the performance hear is Jay’s missed note that we need to pull from a rehearsal or excessive interpretation of the performance.” stage noise from the set moving that we need to address or a Hahn has been working in the sound-for-picture business portion of the music stem he wants to remix.” Hahn elaborates, since finishing college in 1977 (ironically, the same year as the “With opera, there’s the element of acting that can effect the first Great Performances telecast). He is a staple of the New York voice performance. Jay and John address those issues during the City sound-for-picture industry and is one of the most highly first couple of days. In the end, we have anywhere from a week sought-after mixers on the East Coast for television and musicto 10 days to do the whole mix—including readjustments to based programming. As co-owner of New York City’s Sync the music, re-conforming to picture changes, mixing in the Sound, Ken has garnered numerous audio award nominations packaging and then getting it back on to tape.” John points out, including three CAS Award wins, three Primetime Emmy wins, “The whole thing is about the music, the artistry. That is what two Daytime Emmy wins and a Cine Golden Eagle Award win.

Jay and Bill, and ultimately Ken and I, try to convey.”

His work covers practically every form of programming. Says Over the last two seasons, there’s been a heightened interest Hahn, “That’s one of the cool things about living in New in watching operatic performances. The Met series has gone York—you don’t get pigeonholed as much. One week I’m doing from producing about five shows last year to eight this year and, a doc, then I’m doing a kids show, then a late-night show, then says Hahn, “I think we’re slated to do 10 next year.” The an opera, then I’ll help out on a feature film, then it’ll be a cast Cinema Audio Society congratulates Ken, Jay, Bill and John on album. I never seem to get bored with it because the diversity this year’s win. always keeps it fresh.”

Change, as they say, is good, but it’s also nice to have a methodology established. This team definitely has their system down. Accompanying Jay Saks on location is audio supervisor Bill King. Jay performs the live mix, which often goes out over the air, while recording isolated tracks, stems and the full mix 24

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OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT FOR DVD ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING

Species: The Awakening

by Peter Damski, CAS Outstanding Sound Mixing for DVD Programming is the newest of the mixing awards presented by the Cinema Audio Society. Every year there are more films that fall in to this category. One of the interesting features of this category is that there is a great deal of variety in the types of programs. Feature films, animated films, and any other type of show that is released only on DVD are included. This year, the sound mixing team from Species: The Awakening was awarded for their outstanding work on this film. The team includes production mixer Gabriel Coll, and re-recording mixers Alec St. John and Derek Marcil, CAS. This is the fourth installment of the Species films and production took place in Mexico City.

One of the challenges facing the Awards Committee during the nomination process is tracking down all of the team members which are not included on the entry forms and Species: The Awakening was among those. The people at Widget Post, where the film had been mixed, had named a couple of production mixers, both in Mexico, and it was up to the Committee to figure out the accurate information. With assistance from Carlos Solis, CAS, who called Coll in Mexico, we determined that Coll was the man. Coll was thrilled to find out that he had been nominated and made plans to attend the Awards ceremony. I think it was worth the trip!!

Mexico City can be a very frustrating location for exteriors.

Coll notes, “There were locations in the historical downtown district in Mexico City, where more than 20 million people reside. It is one of the noisiest and most unpredictable places to

From left: Matt Reale, Ittay Arad, Rob Getty, David Gaines, Alec St. John, director Nick Lyon, Derek Marcil, Rob Komatsu and Philip Tallman.

Photo: Alexandra Wyman/WireImage

Gabriel Coll, Derek Marcil, CAS and Alec St. John

shoot a film.” The film was shot with two cameras which added more challenges. “80% of the film was shot at night, which was physically demanding but helped with the noisy environment,” Coll adds. Production costs in Latin America are very low and mixers have to make their gear last a long time. “I would have liked to have the SM from Lectrosonics with Countryman B6 Lav’s; that would have been a big help with the actors wardrobe.

Coll’s package includes a Sound Devices Recorder 744T and a Yamaha Mixer MX-12/4 and Sound Devices 302, Wireless Envoy (Audio Limited), Lectrosonics UCR-210D, Sennheiser EW 500 G2 with Sanken COS-11p capsules and Sennheiser shotguns MKH-60P, and MKH-70P. “Everything worked as planned with the occasional cell phone interference where we had to go and hunt for the offenders.

“Another big challenge, due to budgetary reasons, is that sometimes we do not have a cable person and it makes it hard when we have complicated scenes. We have to rely on extra hands on the stage that are not very experienced.” During one location shoot, a large quantity of water was spilled on the sound cart. “I remained calm and luckily the recorder and the wireless mics were fine thanks to the Portabrace case. I sent my assistant to get my old Mackie so we could continue with the shoot.” This speaks highly for Coll’s skills. It took all of them to overcome these obstacles.

Alec St. John and Derek Marcil work for Widget Post and this is the eighth film they have mixed together.

Their first film as a team was the horror film Prisoner about 21/2 years ago. I had the pleasure of doing the interview with these entertaining gentlemen in the studio where they mixed the film. It is a large stage equipped with a Digidesign Icon. I asked about the challenges of mixing Species: The Awakening. Marcil began with “The production audio was in much better shape than expected and Alec was one of the sound supervisors so I knew the effects were going to be in great shape.” St. John mixed the dialogue and music, Marcil mixed the effects.

St. John adds, “It was a lot to get in, in a short amount of time. There were five days to mix, one playback day, C A S Q U A R T E R LY

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and one print day.” The other sound supervisor, Rob Getty, prepped all of the dialogue and foley for the mix stage. St. John stated, “It was nice to hand off the effects to Marcil, to give another talented mixer a shot at it with a fresh perspective. The director was very concerned with the alien vocalization and came in several times to check the progress prior to mixing on the stage. He liked what he heard and the final mix became more about the music for him. Some of the music transitions were tough, flying them in to the mix and moving them around. The director really wanted to do some creative stuff with the music. There was just a lot of material to put together.” Marcil adds, “A lot of the music had designy-type elements in it and we would look at each other, wondering what track that effect was on.” When asked what the difference was in their approach to mixing for direct-to DVD versus theatrical release, Marcil answered, “I tend to compress a little more. I try to keep the effects levels closer to the dialogue because I know most people will be listening in their living room without the dynamic range of the theater. I don’t change too much.” St. John adds, “The AC-3 process does compress a little more and I try to take care of as much of the compression as I can here to ‘take it out of their [mastering] hands.’ We did most of the mixing on the mains, I think they are the least forgiving. While doing playback, we did set up some near field monitors in a 5.1 configuration.” The final product was a 5.1 print master and LT/RT. They have the room set up to record the D, M, and E stems at the same time as the main mix. “Using Pro Tools as a recorder makes it so easy to do it all in one box.” Marcil added, “Please be sure to thank my wife because I forgot to do it when I received my award.” Both St. John and Marcil went out of their way to welcome me to their home away from home and I thank them for it.

Coll is currently working on the Mexican film 2033 and will be joining Carlos Solis and Daniel Hidalgo in post production on the film. Marcil just completed the film Our Lady of Victory about the first National Collegiate women’s basketball champions. St. John is working on the film The Ministers which has been “coming and going for a while.”

Congratulations to you all!! • 26

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CAS Technical Achievement Awards b y J a m e s C o b u r n I V, C A S

T

he 2008 CAS Technical Achievement Awards were presented in an enjoyable and very well-attended ceremony on February 16, 2008. Like the other awards, these are decided by the voting membership of the CAS. This year, both winning companies are prior honorees.

John Coffey was pleased to present the award for Technical Achievement in Production Technologies to Glen Sanders of Zaxcom for the popular Deva 5.8 Recorder, while Scott Wood of Digidesign collected the Post Production Technologies statuette from David J. Bondelevitch for the much appreciated ICON Console.

Since the Technical Achievement Awards were inaugurated four years ago, we have been increasingly gratified by the enthusiastic response from the manufacturers, including attending the Awards presentation dinner.

The nominees for the Technical Achievement Award in Production Technologies were: AATON-Cantar – X2 Recorder FOSTEX PD 606 Recorder SCHOEPS SMIT 5 Shotgun Microphone SONOSAX SX-STD Mixer ZAXCOM Deva 5.8 Recorder Glen Sanders of Zaxcom

The nominees for the Technical Achievement Award in Post Production Technologies were: CEDAR DNS 2000 Noise Suppression DIGIDESIGN ICON Console EUPHONIX S5 FUSION Mixing System IZOTOPE RX Restoration NUENDO 4 Post System

Rich Nevens and the Icon Design team.

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IN MEMORY OF

Anthony Minghella

A

by Carrie Giunta, CAS

Although European Roundup aims to underscore the good word from Europe, sad and shocking news came in this quarter that the international film community was robbed of one of our finest directors, screenwriters, colleagues, and leaders on March 18. I dedicate this installment in appreciation and in memory of Anthony Minghella.

To get a supervising sound editor’s perspective, I spoke to Eddy Joseph of Soundelux London who remembers the British director as a rare collaborator, involving the whole family on each film “and ultimately, we all knew it was his.” What is most impressive is that Joseph and his small band of sound editors have become like a real family, having worked together for many years. When the time came to do The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, a film which Joseph describes as “a labor of love,” that family dynamic was required and everybody came together. The result is a warm-hearted, family film with something for everyone, “It ticks boxes.”

No family is easy. The extended family of European cinema is a conglomerate of strong, individual, national cinemas. France produces films for France; Spain makes films for Spanish-speaking audiences. Minghella’s films fulfilled a demand for stories which crossed cultural boundaries. I once heard him speaking on television about the international film world being a community without boundaries that unites people from around the world to band together, “not because of color or creed or class or passports.” If the British film industry is to contract and become autonomous, then filmmakers must concentrate on stories for the diverse society which is contemporary Britain.

Minghella’s support for educational development and vocational filmmaking courses for young people was inspiring. He collaborated with Skillset to launch a

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“screen academy” which aimed to raise the standards at universities for film and media programs. Skillset is a UK government body created to fund film industry training.

Nothing like it exists in the United States. I asked Joseph if he thinks it works. He admires the concept, yet holds a strong belief in education through the school-of-hardknocks and feels the next step for Britain is to subsidize its film industry to establish in-house trainee programs in a professional environment. The training is in the real world, not in the universities.

Minghella was the dreamer in the family, working sideby-side with the rest of us pragmatic realists. His zeal for storytelling and power of wishful thinking made this crazy business a better place to work in. He encouraged young filmmakers like no one else in the industry. He was one of our own and is going to be sorely missed. •

Opportunity Knocks

Become a Mentor

by Peter Damski, CAS The Cinema Audio Society strives to ensure that future generations of sound professionals will continue to maintain the standards and practices which have made us one of the most respected organizations in the field of sound mixing. It is an integral part of our mission statement. You can help to make this a certainty!!

We are looking for members who would be interested in open communication with student members of the CAS. This can range anywhere from answering e-mails, allowing visits on the set or the mix stage, to full-on internships and mentoring. This is an incredible opportunity to “give back” a little something to the profession as a whole. In my capacity as an audio production instructor at Moorpark College, I regularly invite my students to visit my sets. It is amazing to see the value of these visits. It ignites the interest level and understanding in the students and gives them the chance to experience a “Real” set rather than the limited exposure they might get in a classroom or on campus productions.

If you are interested in participating at any level, please e-mail Robin Damski in the CAS office at casoffice@cinemaaudiosociety.org and let her know what level of contact you are willing to offer student members. In the future, you will be able to designate your interest in participation on the Membership Directory form and the information will be included in future editions of the CAS Membership Directory.

Thank you in advance for your support of this important program!!

Beau Baker CAS writes: I’ve been busy during the strike, mixing on various reality TV and Web stuff, including Life of Ryan and Honeyshed, and I just completed the indie feature Lure. I’m back on Grey’s Anatomy to finish out the 16-episode season. Hope everybody is back working!

Steven Morrow CAS is currently wrapping up the Screen Gems feature film The Stepfather with boom man Craig Dollinger and utility Aaron Grice, in Los Angeles, Calif.

After shooting four seasons of Stargate Atlantis, I am moving over to a brandnew series called Sanctuary starting in April for Sci-Fi. My partners and I have formed a music publishing/record company called The Earth Kings and will be releasing my own album along with four additional artists this spring. Our website is under construction, and we hope to have it up and running by June.

Keep mixing, Kevin Sands CAS

Rob Young CAS adds: I am starting the comedy/horror film Jennifer’s Body, produced and written by the group who did Juno. Rick Bold is boom op with Karen Schell as the 3rd.

Having survived the party that was Hotel for Dogs (DreamWorks)—kids, dogs and a very first-time director, who’d a thunk it?—Steve Nelson CAS and Knox White have moved on to Universal’s The Fast and the Furious: 4 (Yes, 4, the return of Dom!). We’re joined this time by the very capable David Holmes, and we should be at it until late June, or the possible end of the world as we know it. We’re all in Los Aneles with a week or so in Mexico.

We’re glad the writers’ strike is over and hope that saner heads prevail this next time.

Chris Munro CAS with Steve Finn and Jim McBride are working on the new James Bond film, which started filming at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, before moving on to 30

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Panama, Peru, Chile, Italy and Austria.

Quantum of Solace, produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, will be Chris’s fifth Bond movie having worked on Casino Royale, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day. Chris and Steve have previously worked with director Marc Forster on the The Kite Runner which was shot in Kashgar in Western China, Beijing and San Francisco.

Devendra Cleary is currently mixing the feature film Paper Heart for Paper Heart Productions, LLC and Overture.

The crew stared the shoot off in Toronto & Ontario, Canada, then jetted off to Paris, France, for a week before returning to Los Angeles to depart on a road trip across America. It’s been an adventure! After a strike hiatus, Ugly Betty will be resuming with its second half of the second season where Devendra will return to work as sound utility with James Thornton, mixer, and Ace Williams, boom operator.

Michael Keller CAS is currently mixing Sex and the City: The Movie.

Thomas Curley CAS is doing a feature length documentary inside Folsom State Prison’s Inside Circle program.

The four-camera HD shoot involves group therapy sessions with more than 25 participants rolling for 8–12 hours per day on boom recorder, and traveling to London and Cape Town, South Africa, through September. Director is Jairus McLeary.

Crook, Colm Meaney, and Gemma Arterton. She also edited the sound for FIVE different versions of the trailer for the same film.

Greetings from the sunny southeast: Jeffree Bloomer CAS and his crew of Tony Cargioli, John Sanders and Albert Hedgepeth, stayed busy until the WGA strike, providing the production sound for Gospel Hill (Danny Glover and Julia Stiles), and April Fool’s Day (360 Pict.s). Then we saw and felt the effects of the strike in Nov., Dec. and Jan. Jeffree and his crew are currently starting on David O. Russell’s Nailed in Columbia, S.C. Mike Rayle on One Tree Hill and Jon Gaynor CAS on Army Wives, saw their shows take an indefinite hiatus.

Fortunately, Jeffree Bloomer found a show and took his crew to Jacksonville, Fla. for Like Dandelion Dust. Jonathan Gaynor CAS has started production on a Costner feature in Charleston, S.C., A New Daughter, and Mike Rayle got the good news of a sixth season of One Tree Hill, back up and running March 1. We all feel very fortunate here to be working and keeping our invaluable crews off the streets, so to speak. We certainly wish the same for all our brothers and sisters in sound!

homestretch of mixing the Rene Levesque miniseries. He was nominated for a Genie Award for Shake Hands With the Devil alongside location mixer Eric Fitz, and foley and ADR recordists Jo Caron and Ben Leduc, but didn’t bring home the goods ... maybe next time.

Scott Harber CAS finished a long series of Ford commercials in Northern California and has started the magical mystery trail of tears that is the untitled follow-up to Borat.

Sacha Baron Cohen, Larry Charles and the merry band are trailing through the midwest, Middle East and other middle low-brow isolated territories. I’ve been fortunate enough to get some help this goround with Jeremy Brill & Jon Klein waving long black sticks in the air.

Here’s to the end of the WGA strike and to a rocking spring and summer.

Carrie Giunta CAS worked as a

Patrick Hanson CAS and crew

sound designer on a dark comedy called Three and Out, starring Mackenzie

haven’t been anywhere or done anything. Hope that changes soon!

Gavin Fernandes CAS is into the

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Philip Perkins CAS mixed Johnny Symons’ new doc Ask Not (PBS), Don Bernier’s film Shelf Life about Ray “Dr. Bones” Bandar of the California Academy of Sciences and recorded several video and music projects on location. Highlights of that work included the Kronos Quartet with a choir (Sun Rings) and Luciano Chessa’s work for grand piano and 30 electric toothbrushes, Louganis, (among others) for a forthcoming DVD. With the toothbrushes at work on the strings the piano ROARED.... And there were projects for Apple, Comcast, Trend, HP, Adobe, and ADM as well.

We are still doing the Spielberg/Hanks miniseries production of The Pacific for HBO/Playtone here in Melbourne, Australia.

We have been shooting with two crews since November 2007 and it looks like our unit will be continuing on until June 2008. Chris O’Shea UST, Mark Wasiutak boom, Gary Wilkins CAS

Lee Dichter CAS and Ron Bochar

the great production equalizer.

CAS completed work in December mixing Charlie Wilson’s War.

Richard Branca, CAS, from Sony

In an ongoing effort to keep the home fires burning, after a slow and surprisingly agonizing recovery from psychic wounds sustained by spending too much time away on the most recent Pirates saga, Lee Orloff CAS is currently in the midst of his “G” period. No, it’s not exactly “G” as in “Grounded,” but more along the lines of “Ground Transportation Preferred.” So having completed his in-town mission with the special-ops guinea pig team, GForce for Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Walt Disney, he was again placed on local assignment with the crack international fighting team of G.I. Joe under Stephen Sommers’ direction for Paramount. Jeff Humphreys and Mike Anderson have again re-upped for another tour of duty as boom operator and utility tech, respectively.

Thank the Lord for the free-falling dollar,

Pictures Studios, reports… Beau Borders just completed The Ruins for DreamWorks in the Cary Grant Theatre.

Jeff Haboush CAS, and Greg Russell CAS, finished dubbing Prom Night in the Kim Novak Theatre. Gary Bourgeois CAS, and Bill Benton, recently completed Lakeview Terrace in the William Holden Theatre. Tateum Kohut, CAS is predubbing Pink Panther 2 in the Anthony Quinn Theatre. Deb Adair CAS, and Bill Benton, just completed an Anna Faris project in the Anthony Quinn Theatre.

Mark McNabb CAS and his boom operators Jeff Norton and Bud Raymond are finishing out the season on Ghost Whisperer at Universal. The show goes down for the month of May than starts up again in June for 24 more episodes (OH BOY)

“CUT! Actor in the shot!”

K-Tek

®

Te l . 76 0 . 727. 0 5 9 3 • w w w. k t e k b o o m s . c o m • i n f o @ m k l e m m e . c o m

ZEPPELIN® WINDSCREENS • KLASSIC POLES • ARTICULATED POLES • AVALON POLES • SHOCK MOUNTS • MIC SUPPORT PRODUCTS

Dan Dugan, CAS reports: I am recording ice falls at upper Yosemite Falls. The Park Service asked me to record examples of ice falls and rock falls. They’ve had trouble distinguishing between them in their soundscape monitoring program.

Volunteer work, of course.

Once again, this year, Fred Ginsburg CAS has been invited by Audio Technica to display his sound cart in their booth at NAB, and to be available to answer questions about production sound recording, both on the convention floor as well as in special seminars. Fred has worked with Audio Technica in the past at several NAB events; and visitors to the booth enjoy learning from one who has “been there and done that!” And speaking of short shotguns (did we miss a segue there?), Fred recently arranged a “Filmmakers Day at the Range” at the Panorama Sportsman’s Club in Sylmar, Calif. The purpose of the event was to teach filmmakers and actors about SAFE and proper handling of firearms on the

set. “As sound mixers, we are more paranoid than anyone else about anything that can go bang on a set, considering that we are working with the most sensitive mics in the world. Especially on some lower budget or rushed productions, Props people cannot be everywhere at all times, so it is the duty of every crew member to act in the role of a safety officer in between takes. Weapons must be continually checked to make sure that they are unloaded (even blanks are dangerous) with actions open, and kept in that inoperable state by means of locks, flags, ties, or other visible means.

“What we are doing up at the range is to instruct filmmakers, actors, and students about SAFE handling of firearms as well as cinematic realism. We cover a wide assortment of guns, from colonial & pirate flintlocks, Civil War era black powder percussion, Cowboy Western, thru modern. Participants learn a little about their history; have an opportunity to fire them; but mostly learn how to handle them safely.”

James P. Clark CAS continues to mix on ER at Warner Bros.

Joe Michalski, Steve Sollars and Jay Patterson CAS are happily back at work on CBS’s Without a Trace on the Warner Bros. lot.

Mark Rozett CAS hasn’t been able to get in all the skiing he’d like to do, as that pesky “work” thing has been getting in the way. Mark and Kelly Vandever CAS have been busy at Monkeyland’s new stages mixing The Grand, Pretty Bird and The Understudy as well as the sequels: Lost Boys 2 and Starship Troopers: Marauders.

Jon Ailetcher CAS with Fred Johnston on boom and Mike Sanchez handling utility are on the American Girl/Girl of the Year project for our first stint back after the strike. We’ll finish this up and Fred and I will meet up with Dave Hadder on boom and start Season 4 of Weeds. Let’s hope the rest of the year stays as busy.

Rolling Stones’ (Martin Scorsese directed) documentary Shine a Light. I am presently in the newly popular, filming incentive state, Massachusetts, working on a New Line production of Ghosts of Girlfriends Past directed by Mark Waters.

–Danny Michael CAS

In the UK, re-recording mixer Dave Humphries CAS has been Foley recording and fitting Wild at Heart (Series 3) for ITV; also Robin Hood (Series 2) Foley recording for the BBC TV. He has also been Foley recording and fitting on a horror film, The Disappeared, directed by Johnny Kevorkian. The Foley artist was his wife Sue (a former film editor), and the sessions included recording lots of exterior Foley in the cold November weather. Dave has also been working all around the country with his location ADR facility, Loopsync, for Shameless (Series 5), Echo Beach, Kingdom & Badly Dubbed Porn.

Steve Morantz CAS has stayed fairly busy during the strike with steady commercial work. I am back finishing up the last few episodes of the first season of Samantha Who? and doing a pilot for Nickelodeon. My boomers have been Aaron Wallace, Mitch Cohn, David Stark, Ron Wright, Scott Solan.

I finished up this summer filming Revolutionary Road for director Sam Mendes, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. This was followed up by Fighting for director Dito Montiel, starring Channing Tatum and Terrence Howard. The release of two earlier projects will occur in late March, Kimberly Peirce’s Stop-Loss for Paramount and the

Jonathan Gaynor CAS has been busy in coastal South Carolina mixing Kevin Costner’s latest picture The New Daughter.

The always-entertaining Tim Cargioli and James Peterson are making the whole thing possible with their considerable booming skills. Things seem to be picking up after some very rough going with the state’s film incentives program.

From Warner Bros. Post-production: John Reitz and Gregg Rudloff are currently mixing Speed Racer with directors Andy and Larry Wachowski on Warner Bros. Rerecording Stage 10. Up next for John and Gregg is The Changeling, with director Clint Eastwood. Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill CAS are currently working on Tropic Thunder for director Ben Stiller.

Following Tropic Thunder, Ron and Doug will mix Yes Man for director Peyton Reed.

Steve Pederson and Brad Sherman CAS recently completed Henry Poole Is Here for director Mark Pellington on Warner Bros.

Re-recording Stage 5. Up next for Steve and Brad is He’s Just Not That Into You with director Ken Kwapis. Greg Watkins CAS and Tim LeBlanc are finishing up Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 for director Sanaa Hamri on Re-recording Stage 6.

Up next on Re-recording Stage 6 is The Love Guru for director Marco Schnabel with re-recording mixers Tim Chau and Greg Watkins. Gary Rogers CAS and Dan Hiland CAS are busy mixing Smallville, the feature Town Creek with

director Joel Schumacher and upcoming pilots Sons of Anarchy, The Mentalist and Fringe on Warner Bros. Re-recording Stage 1. On Warner Bros. Re-recording Stage 2, Todd Grace CAS and Ed Carr CAS are currently working on the feature Saving Grace for director Connie Stevens. Up next for Todd and Ed is the feature The Gift with director Greg Marcks and Under New Management for director Joe Otting. Mike Casper and Tennyson Sebastian completed Pushing Daisies and are currently mixing One Tree Hill on Warner Bros. Re-recording Stage 3. Adam Sawelson and Doug Davey are mixing ER and the pilot Filthy Rich Girls on Warner Bros. Re-recording Stage 4. Rick Norman and Peter Sullivan are currently mixing Moonlight and recently completed Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Warner Bros. Re-recording Stage 7. Charlie McDaniel is busy mixing Old Christine, Till Death, According to Jim, Rules of Engagement, Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory on Warner Bros.

Re-recording Stage 8.

Ken S. Polk CAS recently completed work on the music documentary about the legendary Cuban composer/bassist Cachao, at Wildfire Studios, for Andy Garcia. The film will premiere at the San Francisco Film Festival the end of April.

Ken and Sam Lehmer also just completed the mix on Jake’s Corner, for writer/director Jeff Santo, opening at the Sedona Film Festival this month.

Peter Damski CAS has returned to FOX on Back to You for eight more episodes. He continues work on the rock documentary Rock Prophecies and teaches audio production at Moorpark College.

Paul James Zahnley CAS just wrapped post on the two-hour special Jean Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures Return to the Amazon for KQED/PBS. The show is the beginning of Season 2 of the acclaimed series. Paul also recently mixed Unabomber: The Secret History for National Geographic/Winton DuPont Films and the documentary Tulia, Texas which premiered at SXSW in March.

Eric Batut CAS is mixing The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, directed by Terry Gilliam. Boom operator is Danny Duperreault and sound assistant is Candice Todesco.

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Steven Grothe CAS is currently in Puerto Rico working on the MGMRelativity Media feature film A Perfect Getaway with William Munroe on boom and Greg Gardner as my utility sound.

It’s spring fever over here at Universal and it’s in full swing! Andy Koyama and Chris Carpenter are gearing up to start pre-dubs on our first jaunt with Marvel Studios, The Incredible Hulk to be released in June.

Chris Jenkins CAS and Frank Montano are putting the finishing touches on Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon before they dive into Universal’s summer release Wanted for director Timur Bekmambetov. Over on Dub 6, mixers Jon Taylor CAS and Christian P. Minkler are rolling out the first temp for a film titled Little Big Man to be mixed in April/May followed by Repossession Mambo by director Miguel Sapochnik to be mixed in June for Universal. In Studio B, Michael Olman CAS and Kenneth Kobett CAS had a great time mixing the hit movie of the week Knight Rider for NBC Universal. Bill

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Nicholson and Tom Meloeny CAS are putting some fader mileage in mixing Lipstick Jungle for NBC Universal.

Well, it took a whole year but production mixer Bob Wald CAS finally got what he was wishing for! Bob has signed onto the new Brenda Hampton untitled TV series for ABC Family. Bob had mixed part of Season 10 and all of Season 11 on Brenda’s long-running 7th Heaven for WB, and says that it was one of the nicest experiences of his 37-year career. “Brenda Hampton is one of those very rare producers who actually understands the value of reasonable hours and a warm, family-oriented working atmosphere. Ever since 7th Heaven was canceled I have been hoping that she would create a new show. I’m thrilled that she did just that and invited me back.”

Most of the old 7th Heaven crew has come onboard. Production starts April 10 at Warner Ranch, and Bob is pleased to be working with two very talented boomers, Robert Maxfield and Jeff Zimmerman.

Bob says he is counting on the civil hours

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so that he can devote quality time to his real estate clients on weekends.

Mathew Price CAS here in New York, just going back to work after four months of solidarity with the striking writers. I hope everyone else is getting back to work too. I just started on the Fox/Searchlight film Notorious, a biopic about the rapper Biggie Smalls, aka Notorious B.I.G. My team includes Laurel Bridges on boom and Timothia Sellers as 2nd boom/utility.

Steve Weiss CAS is mixing Season 2 of Saving Grace with Ron Wright swinging boom and Dennis Carlin handling utility chores.

Carl Rudisill CAS, finished mixing the production The Secret Life of Bees starring Alicia Keys, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson and Dakota Fanning, which began filming in January with James Peterson (boom) and Jenny Elsinger (2nd boom).

In addition to production sound mixing, Carl’s company, North Star Post and

Sound, Inc., has been busy with the final mix for The 27 Club, which has been selected for the Tribeca Film Festival.

North Star Post and Sound is gearing up for the second season of Army Wives with use of the remote ADR room installed by Carl. Additionally, the company has provided ADR services and voice-over needs for One Tree Hill, Top Sniper and Law & Order North Star’s supervising sound editor and mixer is Alex Markowski. Best of luck to everyone this year!

Hi fellow members. Just finished the liveaction shoot for Avatar. A six-week shoot turned into 14 weeks of main unit all in 3-D. I had my regular team, Mark Williams on boom and Kyle Griffiths as my 3rd.

With a weekend off we switched to a Fox movie They Came From Upstairs, a return to regular drama shooting where the boom features often and sound matters. All the best for work in the future.

–Tony Johnson CAS Los Angeles, Calif.—Remote re-recording completed their 20th year working on the Academy Awards. As per tradition, the Silver Truck provided the orchestra mix for broadcast and stems for the house mix.

The classic analog sound of Neve, Studer and 96 Millennia Preamps do justice to the Bill Conti orchestra’s music. Music mixer Tom Vicari joins David W. Hewitt CAS in the truck for the fun.

CAS Quarterly advertisers know that no other trade publication can guarantee delivery of their ad message to every single CAS member.

If you are trying to reach sound professionals and their teams, CAS Quarterly offers the most effective ad vehicle available.

For more information, contact: Dan Dodd, Advertising Director

310.207.4410 ex. 236

New York, N.Y.—Remote re-recording continues work on their 30th year with the New York Metropolitan Opera. The season began with Romeo and Juliet, followed

by Hansel and Gretel, Macbeth, Manon Lescaut, Peter Grimes and Tristan Und Isolde. In 2007, the Met began HD broadcasts in surround to theaters in America and around the world. Last season was such a success they are airing eight operas this season. Longtime Metropolitan Opera music producer Jay David Saks continues to mix, David W. Hewitt CAS records all the performances on Nuendo/AMD and production mixer Tom Holmes adds all of the elements before it hits the satellite. Remote re-cording will continue the series with, La Boheme, La Fille du Regiment, as well as a gala this spring.•

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Craig Dollinger, boom man for

Steven Morrow,

CAS on the set of The Stepfather.

100% chance of rain.

Chris Munro, CAS on the set of the new James Bond feature Quantum of Solace.

Dave Losko, CAS, sound mixer,

Stranded

and boom op Jonathan Gifford (left), stranded on a Kawasaki shoot near Lake Tahoe. The line producer said: “We’ll be back when we need sound.” Two hours later? When the %$#^^^&^^ are they coming for us!?? Well, we saw a hot actress driving by and you get the rest!

Dan Dugan, CAS recording at upper Yosemite Falls. The gray fuzz in the lower right corner of the picture are the windscreens of my shoulder-mounted rig, thrown over a rock while I shelter from the snow under an overhang.

Gary Wilkins, CAS and crew outside “Camp Pendleton.”

Photo: Courtesy of David James.

OSCARS Tim Cargioli, boom man for

Jeffree Bloomer, CAS prepares both physically and mentally to boom a 360-degree shot on The New Daughter.

Karen Brinton, Tom Vicari, Paula Salvatori and David Hewitt, CAS in Remote Recording’s Silver Truck.

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