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Sound for a 48-Hour Film Project

A week ago, I joined up with a local team of videographers to take part in the famous 48-hour film project. Barring the fact that I only slept for about 6 hours over the entire weekend, it was still one of the most awesome experiences I’ve had to date, and definitely not for the faint-hearted. In this article I’ll flesh out my experience for you, the highs and lows, and what to keep in mind should you ever want to be the SoundGirl and take part in your local 48-hour film project.

Preparation

See what gear you have available: Because we only get our script on Friday night, it’s hard to know what to expect. You don’t know how many actors there will be, what your location is, or even what kind of sound you will be recording. But there are a few things you can prepare for. The first step was to see what gear our team has on hand – because it is not a paid gig, you tend to work with what you’ve got – and then you formulate how you would go about making the most of that setup.

I had access to a Zoom H4 Recorder, a Rode Go lapel, a Saramonic lapel, and (I think) an ME66 rifle mic. I had to hire a boom pole and stand. My thinking was that we’d probably have two people lav’d up with one boom ready to go where needed. We fed two mics into the H4 and one into the camera itself to have an audio track to sync to in post (essential step!).

Make sure you know exactly how to operate the gear

Watch the tutorial in the week leading up if you must. There’s nothing worse than not knowing how to find the menu button on your field recorder hee-hee)

Have access to a sound library (I used Artlist)

Every piece of music or audio you use has to either be licensed or original, so make sure you don’t grab songs off YouTube or anything like that! On the first evening, start downloading possible SFX you might need to add in case you don’t have time to create them, as well as reference tracks for the music.

Make sure you have enough batteries for your recorder/mics

We ran out of batteries about 8 times and nearly had one of our lavs lose power during a take. Luckily, I had a bag of semi-used batteries we then cycled through throughout the weekend. On that note – also remember to switch all of your inputs ON (sounds simple, but so easy to miss!)

During the Recording:

Don’t Forget your Clapper Board

We started off using a clapper board to note takes and such, however, being in such a rush all the time and surviving on McNab energy shots alone, I must admit I took slack and stopped enforcing it. Huge mistake, as we then struggled to find the correct audio takes for the picture and spent precious time in post trying to align audio waveforms up with mouth movements. This easily added a good 3 hours onto our process which is a lot of time when you only have 48hours.

Make sure you have everything in the correct frame rate

For some reason (who knows what happened) I set the frame rate on one scene to 60fps. Gosh… I am so fortunate that I had elastic audio handy to match the dialogue up to the talent in post, otherwise, I would have been screwed. This also added a good hour or so to my edit time. Not good.

Post-Production

Clean up audio even if you’re not going to use it

I thought it would make more sense to wait for the team to send me the final cut before starting to clean up audio takes of dialogue and such, but this was a big mistake too. The final cut was given to me last minute and I had no time to do any processing on the dialogue (eeeek!). What I should have done was clean up all the audio we shot while the editor was working, regardless of whether it was being used or not, so that when we did make a selection for the final edit, I would have clean and crisp dialogue takes. If you can do this, I highly recommend it, because you may run out of time in the end.

Don’t take anything personally

Sound is almost always the last part of the filmmaking process, and no matter how much you try to convey that this process takes time, it might not always be possible for you to have the time you need to be proud of your work. You must be willing to stand firm in doing your job properly, but you must also just do the best you can with the time you’ve got (because we ALL know you have that genius inside you that can pull rabbits out of hats at the last minute to make a masterpiece). It’s okay to not feel “proud” of the final result of the sound because of mistakes, time constraints, and a misunderstanding of the process of sound by others in general. This is a learning curve for everyone so always look for ways that you can improve your workflow and get better at being awesome, but don’t for a second take anything personally

Make things up even if you don’t have the final cut

The team only gave me the final cut of the video 30 minutes before submission. Yes, you heard me right… 30 minutes… You can imagine my stress levels! But, luckily I had predicted this being a last-minute thing, so what I did, was while the team was shooting the last scenes and editing the picture, I started making up things that I thought might be used – extra foley sounds, SFX, music (with the help of my fellow soundie, Deon), so that when they gave me the final cut, it was more of a “plug-in” process rather than starting from scratch.

Lastly, HAVE FUN

There may be times when you feel a lot of pressure, or like things just aren’t working out. Perhaps you get so tired that you start making small mistakes that have a big impact – but remember that at the end of the day, you are doing this for fun. If you can keep that in mind, then everything else seems easier to manage. At the end of it, you will look back and realize that you have made lasting and strong friendships with a team of amazing people and that you did what you thought at times would be impossible. It pushes you to your limit and gets you way out of your comfort zone. It’s SO worth every single sleepless moment.

The screening of our short film will be on the 21st of October 2022, so I can’t give you the link here now, but I can show you the little behind-the-scenes video I took that encapsulates how awesome the weekend was!

Essentials & Creativity of Location Sound

Sound designers for films and podcasts have access to many amazing tools to match and enhance the audio recorded in the field. There are multitudes of audio repair options, as well as EQs, reverbs, preamp simulators, saturation plugins, stereo field wideners, as well a ton of sound libraries. Yet, the technology available to us can still only do so much. We can make our projects sing by recording more quality options on location. This is a guide on how to capture audio in the field and why it matters for post-production. Although I use film terminology throughout this article, these recommendations can apply to any medium.

Gear Recommendations

First, a note on best practices for specifically recording dialogue; I’ve worked on films and documentaries where the only audio I had was from a lavalier mic. Lav mics often sound chesty and unnatural, so it takes a long time in post to get the dialogue sounding crisp and clear. Clothing rustle and other movement sound from lavs take a long time to repair as well. Ideally, dialogue is captured on set with a shotgun mic with lavs as backup options. Shotgun mics are also handy to have in case the wireless catches interference. Booms usually can not be used during wide shots, but you can point the shotgun elsewhere and record ambience. (Even though that would be a mono recording. Still good to have options!)

Go beyond capturing dialogue when planning out gear. Spec out a kit that can get stereo recordings, especially outside. When editing and mixing the final product, extra environmental recordings can be a bed under dialogue and used to create smooth transitions into and out of scenes. Stereo backgrounds set a more immersive and natural sounding environment and are a satisfying, yet basic sound design method. Stereo audio can easily be captured with the mid/side technique, but if that option is not available to you, grab a stereo field recorder and record the environment before or after the interview or shoot.

If you have the inputs available on your mixer/recorder, arrive on location with an extra mic or two that you can plant to capture other audio. Is there a babbling brook nearby? It might be cool and interesting to record that on its own channel during the gig, so the sound designer can layer it in. Same if there is a sidewalk with foot traffic in the background – hiding a mic behind a trash can or in a bush (out of the shot, for film), and boom! You have environmental audio that is synced with the rest of the audio in the scene. For something like this, where you aren’t capturing anything specific, you could probably use an omnidirectional mic. But I say, fine to use whatever you get your hands on. It is far better to have audio recorded than to have a missed opportunity because you couldn’t get the perfect microphone.

To sum it up, here’s your list of gear: 1-2 wireless receivers/transmitters and lavalier mics, 1 shotgun mic and boom pole, 1 handheld field recorder, and/or a mid/side setup (a bidirectional mic, a hyper-cardioid or omnidirectional mic, and a blimp and pistol grip), and of course your trusty mixer/recorder such as a Zoom F8 or Sound Devices Mix-Pre 10. And hopefully other random microphones!

Best Practices

These are blue sky recommendations, so your projects may not allow you the time for all of these. If you can go back to a location and get purely environmental recordings, I highly recommend it. Some of these ideas are things you should advocate for in a production meeting before you step foot on location.

On the note of boom operation – ask the producers when they plan to do a site visit. Site visits are essential to figuring out wireless solutions, power, and possible sources of unwanted noise. In more run-and-gun situations, they are helpful to gain familiarity with the terrain before the shoot. Camera operators get the assistance of a spotter – location sound mixers/boom operators do not. Understanding the terrain beforehand will enable you to keep your boom steady and out of the shot, and reduce the risk of you tripping and getting hurt.

Try to carve out time to get extra audio of the environment or the room. In the post-production phase, it is helpful to have options to create smooth transitions into and out of scenes, with the added benefit of having audio to build an immersive scene through sound design. For indoor scenes, a minute of audio per room is usually fine. Advocate for a “meditation minute” where no one moves or talks on set. Since there is more variability in the environment outdoors, three minutes is usually best. It may be more ideal to go back and get that audio or stick around after the gig.

If you can swing it, try to grab other recordings of cars passing, planes, etc. If you need to stop recording, or a cut is made in post during one of those occurring in the background, it is unnatural and jarring to hear that element suddenly drop out. And background sounds can not always be removed.

Then there are the things you should try to avoid recording while capturing dialogue. Heavy traffic, airplanes, HVAC, fans, unwanted conversation, etc. Discuss sources of unwanted noise with your director/producer during the site visit so they are aware and can hopefully make plans. And if a plane flies overhead or a car passes by, or there are any issues at all, tell production to hold for it. As audio people, we are generally encouraged to keep our heads down, so it can be hard to adjust towards speaking up more. But in these situations, you will get so much more respect by courteously speaking up and advocating for getting good sound. (Though holding for planes only works for scripted shoots. In interviews and documentaries, there is no stopping once you’re rolling.)

Everything discussed here may or may not be possible for every project due to time and budget. I can not emphasize collaborating early to figure out what is possible. The end goal is to serve the project and immerse the audience. Vocalize your suggestions through the lens of bringing the story to life. Every department is there for a common goal – to make the story.

Department Heads,  Please Don’t Forget Your Sound Mixer

 

This year, I had the privilege of being back on a set during a time where set work still isn’t prevalent. Was I scared? Yes. A pandemic is still going on. But, this is the first film in a long time where I wasn’t a part of the sound department. Post or set! This was also the first feature I had ever worked on. A daunting task to be a part of the assistant director’s department as well! I learned some things about being back on a set. That included how much I could help the sound department when problems arose.

One of the main things I learned? The Sound Department is still overlooked (both post and set). Yes, a film is a visual medium but bad visuals don’t take you out of the moment as much as bad sound does.

I recently had a meeting with some department heads from the film and gave my own insight (what little I have) about the sound department and what they can change for their next feature. Our sound mixer wasn’t invited to the location scouts. Something I did not know until halfway through filming. He was just as new to each location as I was! Which meant he wasn’t always prepared for what sounds and problems the locations would bring. A noisy/echo-y locker room which most definitely will be looped later. Many consistent sounds at locations that couldn’t be turned off at all or weren’t thought of on the location scouts. When at the post-filming meeting, the department heads were genuinely surprised that a sound person should be brought on scouts or even thought of. I know I’ve had my share of location managers tell me “Don’t worry! The location is super silent!” only to get there and there’s a loud water boiler that can’t be turned off, chickens and roosters galore in the backyard, etc. I’ve even had weird high-pitched noises from set recordings that no one knew what it was and I was asked in post to fix it. Always better to fix it on set than in post. BUT, I do understand that some locations you just have to deal with. Could be due to budgets or any other number of reasons. I get it. It’s better to know what those problems are before even filming so you can save everyone the headaches or what could happen.

Why the emphasis to try and work with your sound person and get a clean recording instead of just fixing it in Post?

Well, you also want to preserve the actor’s performance as much as possible. Sometimes bringing them in for an ADR session won’t always give you back the performance they had on set. Since I worked as an assistant director on this feature, it was also my duty to help our sound mixer with whatever problems had arisen. That should always be the case with sound mixers. Different departments should be working together since a sound mixer or their team can’t fix or do everything by themselves. Another department sound mixers should work with are costume designers. Our sound mixer and costume designer didn’t have the time to chat with each other so they had to wire up actors without any prior knowledge of any problems that could have been fixed. I always had a production assistant ready to go on a run for things such as batteries or moleskin for the sound mixer. Though, we did work night shoots which also need to factor into production. Not a lot of places are open in those wee hours of the night. That means things need to be bought earlier or you’d have to wait till the next day and that can’t help anyone.

A simple way to start noticing the sound at a location is to stand in the middle of a room or area, close your eyes and listen to all that is around you. The refrigerator, the a/c blowing inside or the unit outside, walk around and hear how loud your footsteps will be on set, etc. Also, check to see what the power situation will be for different departments. A set I was on required us to run cables through windows which meant those windows had to stay open. Not ideal for sound at all. This also means you have to make sure all movement must be halted from other departments that are near set and that can be a tricky task when you’re limited by budget and time. Another thing is to allow the sound mixer to get that room tone in each place that is filmed. It doesn’t take long but it can be so helpful in the long run.

I can go on about things to be thought of when you, as a sound mixer, have to work with on a set. But, I truly hope that other departments can accommodate or help as much as they can because it’ll help. Let the other departments know that you’re not trying to be ‘fussy’ or the like. You’re trying to get the best sound possible for them. Support one another! I have no idea when this almost ‘anti sound mentality came into play on set but, we all need to work and support one another, or else the final product of a film won’t be as good as it could possibly be. We’re all working together to bring multiple peoples’ ideas to life and we genuinely want that final product to be the best it can be. So other departments, please work with and not against your sound team. It may just save you some money and headache later.

For a very detailed article about this topic.

Check out: “An Open Letter From Your Sound Department”

 

An Interview with Shawn Holden, CAS

Originally published in the CAS Quarterly Magazine, Fall 2017. Written by Devendra Cleary, CAS.

Shawn Holden, CAS

Shawn Holden, CAS

I was really excited to take on this assignment and speak to Shawn Holden. To do a bio on a heavy-hitting production sound mixer like her is an immense privilege. She is someone I’ve known for a long time and have a great deal of respect for.

We first met when she hired me to boom a short film called In the Morning, in 2005. And for how long I’ve known Shawn and the fact that we interface often, attend the same industry functions, serve on the Board of Directors of Local 695 together, I was embarrassed by how little I really knew about her and her amazing history in this business. I sat down with her at Tart in West Hollywood for a couple of hours. If it wasn’t for the fact that her next appointment for that day was to go buy a SECOND (!) Aaton Cantar X3 (no big deal), I could have chatted her up for several hours more.

Tell me about your roots and early history—before you entered “the biz.”
For the most part, I grew up in Oklahoma. My dad, with his job, we moved around until about the summer before fourth grade. And we landed in a small town of 25,000 people. Then I went to the University of Oklahoma. There were lots and lots of friends, we always had a band, we all played musical instruments. There was a lake nearby. You know, lots of time on the water. And I used to take a lot of pictures. And that’s what I went to school for. I was going to be a set still photographer.

You had that specificity of occupation in your head already?

I did and I knew I wanted to work [as a still photographer] in the movies or TV. I didn’t know what or how but I was really into photography. When I was older, I had a darkroom in my house. And that’s what I wanted to do.

There were a couple of movies that came through our hometown and I’d go and hang out and just watch. On one movie, I drove up to the gate and told them I was with the caterer. It was way out in the country and they were doing this big stunt. So I just hung around and ended up chatting up the really cute stunt guys. They told me how to do different things, [like] using the parking brake to do 180s and all the car stuff. I was already riding horses, riding motorcycles, riding unicycles, water skiing, snow skiing, you know, all the things that I was already doing, they needed. So they said, “Yeah, you gotta come to LA!” But in reality, I knew that was never going to happen. I went to the University of Oklahoma with a motion picture major to be a set still photographer.

About halfway through the curriculum, there was an opportunity to either go radio-TV-film or stay in motion picture. The University of Oklahoma—motion picture major? Yeah, not really well-known for its film school. But it’s become a good journalism school. What I did end up doing—I took a lot of classes in photography, the journalism department, as well as the art school. I went ahead and changed to radio-TV-film because I knew the opportunities were smarter. So I was doing an internship in Oklahoma City at a TV station. And there was a TV show called PM Magazine. It was like one of the first news magazine shows. You get a reel (from San Francisco, which I think was the base) and you had to fill the rest of the time with your local standup people or local stories that you produce. So by the time I left there, I was writing, shooting, producing, editing, and doing sound. It was [just] one of the many things I was doing there.

The head news photographer knew me at the station. They hired me after my internship and I worked about a year-and-a-half and then got laid off with about 10 other people. I decided to move to Dallas because they had built these stages. And it was going to be the third coast and all this stuff was going on. So, of course, I called everybody I knew—which was not many people —when I moved to Dallas. And one of the people was Darrell Barton, a cameraman. And out of the blue one morning, he called me and said, “Get to the airport as fast as you can.” In Mexico City, there had been a big earthquake. “Don’t pack. Don’t do anything. Just get to the airport.” So me being a dumb kid, I did exactly that. He said, “We’re just going to fly down, get there, and then we’re going to come fly back with the tape.” The tape! This is how long ago. “We’ll throw the tape over the fence if we have to.” So we did. Got on a little Learjet and flew to Acapulco where our pilots knew some air traffic control guys that they could bribe to let us into the Mexican airspace. Got to Mexico City—and I was working with Dan Rather! I was a network news sound technician. And that was that.

Shawn working hard at the top of the Hotel Artemis which looks a lot like the top of the Rosslyn. Photo: Matt Kennedy

Was that the first time you considered yourself with that title officially?
That was the first time on that level. Darrell and I worked together for a couple of years after that. He’d won ‘National Press Photographer of the Year’ twice. He was very, very good. We were connected then. We were tied together with cable. And I was carrying a deck when we first started. Three-quarter inch. And I was a pack mule more than anything. But I was one of maybe five or six women in the country doing it. At that time, there were very, very few of us because it was very physically demanding. So, because he was who he was, I was very lucky and got to work on some of the best stuff. We traveled around the world. I’ll never forget some of the times with Darrell. He was the kind of guy—he was a Marine in Vietnam—and he always had this cigarette hanging off his lip. You’d be walking through a field and there’d be a giant puddle of mud and if you walked five feet, you could step around the mud. JUST FIVE FEET! No, no!

Was network news sound the main focus then or were you still pursuing other ventures?
Well, when I first moved to Dallas, the photography thing was still going. I was working for a music magazine that’s sort of like LA Weekly. And I did concert photography. It was great. It was Madonna’s first tour and, I mean, I’ll never forget this—that’s the tour where the Beastie Boys opened for her and they got booed off the stage.

Oh, that’s funny! Seems outrageous from my perspective, growing up being such a fan of theirs.
In Dallas, nobody knew who they were.

They were probably thinking: “Who are these clowns?”
Yeah, exactly! But [photography] was something that was still there. I was still sort of doing it. But then this [sound] thing took off and then I was in the union. I was in two unions: IBEW and NABET. And, I’m a union sound technician. So it’s hard to step away from that. I was a kid making bank. I was traveling all over and I think I’ve been in every state but Alaska at this point. I still have my old field mixer, this mixer I still use! I still
have one that I went to Africa with. It went all kinds of places with me. I did that for so long. I did that for over 12 years. I kind of reached the peak of what I could do in that world. I have an Emmy and all kinds of things from doing that. And I met Simone. I met my partner of 22 years.

Doing that news magazine work during that time, that’s when you met her?
Yeah. There was a pilot for a news magazine show that never aired that was shooting outside of Dallas. I was still living in Dallas at the time. And they needed an all-female crew and there was a DP in New York that I’d worked with a lot, Alicia Webber. She was fantastic. And so she came down and a mutual friend of Simone’s had known Alicia and recommended Simone to come and gaff this thing.

Oh wow! I love hearing these stories of the coincidental meeting of people who become such permanent fixtures in our lives.
So anyway, we all met in Dallas. Doing this show.

That is truly amazing.
Yeah, it was, yeah.

Congratulations on 22 years together!
Yeah, it seems to have worked out! I sold my house nine months later and moved out here [Los Angeles]. I always wanted to work in the movies. I’d wanted to transition into doing that. And there were just no openings, really. I could have come out here not knowing anybody I guess. And when I first came out here, I continued to do some of the news stuff—also behind-the-scenes stuff, getting on a few movie sets. I knew Bob Wald. He helped me loads. He’s great. I could call and ask him all the stupid questions that you’re too embarrassed to ask anybody. Like you really don’t know? Just dumb things. He was really, really great.

Would you put Bob Wald in the mentor category?

Absolutely. I would put him and I would put Bill Kaplan in that category. Bill has been so super good to me over the years. He calls and he says, “This is your agent calling.” Yeah, he’s been super, super sweet.

I talk to Amanda Beggs often and I know he’s pretty good buds with her and she says a lot of the same things about him. Such a good guy and a huge help. Yeah, he’s been really good with her, too. And he’s that way. He’s just awesome. He’d always have me come do second units and just getting that exposure that’s needed, you know. And I’ll never forget this … It was many years ago. Somebody had called him about this movie in New Mexico and he wasn’t able to do it and he said he was going to give them my name. So he called and asked me about my availability. And I said okay, great. I’d love to go out and do it. Twenty minutes go by. He calls me back and he says I had no idea you being a woman was such a big deal. Well, when Bill Kaplan recommends you for something, people tend to listen. But I never heard a peep, not a peep from them. Well, as I said to Bill, welcome to my world. I mean, welcome to our world.

Second unit additional photography for The Greatest Showman.

Second unit additional photography for The Greatest Showman.

It’s so much better now. So much better because so many women—Amanda [Beggs], great example. There are so many women coming up and doing it and doing great work. And in many cases, even better, more meticulous and because when I first started, the few women that were doing it, you couldn’t say no to anything. Whatever you were doing, you had to wear that flak jacket and sneak up with the rest of everybody. You couldn’t complain about anything. You just had to do it or you better, by God, be good at it because if you’re not—I mean talk about the scrutiny. That was always in the back of your mind. We all had to step up. You had to really get it right. It’s bad enough sitting there with Mike Wallace, but to screw up, no, no, no. It wasn’t an option. It was an option, but you’d never ever be back. You’d never work again for those people, that company, because it was very easy for them not to want a girl.

You have an impressive list of feature film credits. Do you have a favorite movie title that you mixed that sticks out in your memory that you want to talk about?

There are two off the top of my head: Gods and Monstersway back when. It was such a great group of people and the acting was amazing and to be able to watch that happening with those actors was really amazing.

And then Nightcrawler. You know, we busted our asses on that movie and it was not easy. It was probably one of the hardest I’ve ever done. But I was proud of what we got in the end. I was proud of our work and that really, it paid off.

This movie I just finished, Hotel Artemis, I’m curious about how it’s going to turn out. Sometimes you really know when you’re there in the moment. There are a lot of visual effects that are going to be added and I just don’t know. But it was a really interesting movie with a great cast.

You’ve been in this industry for so long, starting in the news-gathering side and successfully transitioning to narrative-style production. So, as far as our equipment and our techniques go, and reflecting on how much it’s changed and where you are now, where do you see the future going? How do you think we’re going to expand further?

I’m saddened by the fact that it has gotten to where it is. And it started with television and multi-camera, not [necessarily] multi-camera shows, but “single-camera” shows that really have two and three cameras. Wides- and-tights at the same time. And so you’re expected to wire everybody on set no matter what. Sound used to have life. It, you know—breathed. You felt that if you see somebody across the room, you didn’t hear them speaking like they’re sitting next to you at this table. Perspective is out the window. And we do what we can. We try very hard. I was grateful on The Grinder, a TV show that I was doing, that number one on the call sheet refused to wear a wire. So when we were on stage, we didn’t use wires, but rarely. We used them like they’re supposed to be used, instead of how they expect you to use them now.

I have done more features in my career than television. But it’s bleeding into the feature world, as well. And it’s just … it’s devastating. I remember at that CAS [Awards] we were talking about Doc Kane, and he had called out The Grinder and about how it sounded. He thought it sounded great and it was amazing. And this is a man whose received a CAS Career Achievement Award! He should know. And that’s because we boomed the crap out of that show. I’m a sound mixer and it starts to become where you’re just a recordist. I do understand that with the amount of tracks that we’re being asked to do and the improv style of many of today’s shows, it becomes impossible to record it any other way, though.

Who are some of your crew that you’d want to give a shout-out to now?

A Euro Cart and a Cantar make process trailer work so much easier!

A Euro Cart and a Cantar make process trailer work so much easier!

Well, Tom Hartig did The Grinder with Yvette Marxer. They’re both wonderful. We had a great time on that. Doug Shamburger—Doug is amazing. And I had Doug and Michelle Guasto on my last movie. Fantastic. Those are two amazing, amazing people. I’ve had the great opportunity to work with some of the most wonderful boom ops and utilities in the business. I’d also love to give a shout-out to Randy Johnson, Bob Jackson, Anthony Ortiz, Peggy Names, as well as Ross Levy, just to name a few. On an upcoming pilot, Rebecca Chan is going to be my utility. We’ve never worked together but I’m thrilled she’s going to come. I understand she’s phenomenal.

I’ve been so lucky. I’ve been able to work with a lot of different people that are just really, really great. I wish I could keep them with me all the time and just go from one thing, to the next thing, to the next thing. We’re only as good as our crew. The difference between having that mic on and not is something. I know you feel the same way. Even with your utility. If I have to do their job, forget it. I can’t do that.

Absolutely right. Well, in conclusion, is there a solution that you think could start to remedy the conundrum of how our craft has changed?

I think it’s the reality and we just have to get really good at it and help educate. Because a lot of these people that are in positions of making decisions like that, aren’t educated [fully on sound]. And to some level, when you work with those people that get it, it’s just such a dream come true. They understand how important it is to the entire chain, the entire process. When you have something that sounds real and awesome, and you don’t have to fix it later, you don’t have to tweak the hell out of it. Because you start fixing too much and then it really starts to degrade what we’ve done.

People have gotten used to that sound, too, which is weird. You go back and you watch old movies—or even not [very] old movies. Just—where it breathes. It’s part of the life of the film. It has feeling to it. And now people are just so used to it just being right “here” all the time. It’s a buried “voiceover booth” sound with clothing noise. And so it’s just kind of a bummer. I mean it happens. We all often have to wire everybody all the time. You just have to. Environments and whatever it is. We all have to grow and adapt and learn. “Old dogs, new tricks.” But there is an artistry there that we can’t lose.

Republished with permission by the Cinema Audio Society. Thank you to Shawn Holden, Devendra Clearly, and Karol Urban for their assistance.

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