Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/110591
C . O . G [ Cont.from 10 ] Alvarez, "the music is always playing over the scene, and not underscoring it. You have to make the decision in the mix to not be overbearing, while still being bold. I feel like that is a lot of the final decisions being made now in the sound mix. We're finding that border between being bold, but not being too invasive to the story. We're trying to find that perfect balance there." The edit for C.O.G. happened very fast. In order to make the Sundance deadline, the picture edit and the sound edit needed to overlap, which is never an ideal situation. Fortunately, it didn't hinder the progress of the film. "I had to leave the window open for the picture edit while we started on the sound," explains Alvarez. That's never ideal, but for our timeline that was the best way to do it. Our workflow ended up not being hindered by it at all." Zub and Carden were just finishing the mix at the time of our interview. With the accelerated schedule, Alvarez worried the quality of the film might suffer, but after spending a few weeks with Zub and Carden, he feels very confident about the final product. "On a independent film, sometimes you feel so challenged with the resources you have, and in post production — sound especially — but I haven't felt challenged in the slightest. I feel like what they've done is exactly what we need for the movie and that's a testament to Martyn and Paul for sure." THE MIX C.O.G. was being mixed in 5.1 at Puget Sound, located in the historic Del Mar Theater in Los Angeles, on a 36-fader Avid ICON console. Zub notes, "We are carrying everything in a single session, which is helping us get through the mix quickly. That way we don't have materials spread across systems everywhere." The film is dialogue driven, so most of the mix is focused in the center channel, though the surrounds were very useful in making the orchard scenes feel more open. According to Zub, "We were able to open up the exteriors more, and we were able to move sounds around us, but always the sound is on the subtle side. We want it to sound as real as possible, but at the same time, still filling up the room." For Alvarez, the sound of C.O.G. is all about the details. With a dialogue-driven movie, he wants the sound to feel natural, and not staged. "This is the kind of movie where there is an awkward pause and you accent that with a certain sound, or you emphasize the comedy in a certain way. The movie is very delicate with its tone. It tows the line between comedy and drama very finely, and sometimes it's both at the same time. It's always about playing with what sounds we hear where, and it's also about making the work invisible to the audience so it all feels like it fits into the world we created on-set." G E T T I N G [ Cont.from 20 ] people if they're available; we have an unspoken language in common that makes the process straight-line, hassle-free and fun." TOP CHEF It takes Magical Elves to get Bravo's celebrated Top Chef on the air — at least the Hollywood-based Magical Elves who handle post production (www.magicalelves. com) for the series, which is now in its 10th season. The company provides complete post for Top Chef, apart from creating deliverables. It has also furnished post for other shows in the franchise: Top Chef Masters, Life After Top Chef and Top Chef Just Desserts. Magical Elves' director of post production, Adam Ford, has worked on the show for the last seven years. Top Chef follows "more of a traditional production and post production process," he notes. "The majority of footage is still shot on hard media, there's still a traditional digitizing process and offline and online on Avid Media Composers 5." Color grading is done on Avid Symphony. Magical Elves also mixes Top Chef. "It's not unique to us, but we focus as much as we can on maintaining the [audio] integrity of the competition," says Ford. "We do a lot of coverage: We use large-format audio multitracks in the kitchen or on the stage; we have individual lavs on contestants and boom mics. For location work we use Sound Devices 788 or 552 docu-follow rigs for more run 'n gun coverage." Keeping track of all the contestants and other audio sources can be a challenge. Transitioning to multi-track recorders in season three has helped, Ford says. "Now Classifieds HELP WANTED ADVERTISING SALES REP. Ad Sales Rep needed for advertising sales in Post Magazine and Computer Graphics World. The purpose of the position is to generate classified advertising sales for the publications CGW & Post Magazine in the areas of Rapid Prototyping (3D printing), Camera, Displays/monitors/projectors, Workstations (mobile, desktop), GPUs/CPUs, Input devices (mice, scanners, etc), Motion-capture, Storage, Service provider, Education/training, 2D modeling, 3D modeling, 3D animation, Compositing, Rendering, Lighting, Editing, CAD/CAM/CAE/CAA, AI/VR (including headmounted displays), Game engines, Middleware, Texturing, Simulation, Plug-ins, Web content tools, Music Libraries, Stock Footage, Large File Transfer companies , Studios. Full-time position. Operates from office when not traveling. Skills/Qualifications: Customer Service, Meeting Sales Goals, Closing Skills,Prospecting Skills, Negotiation, SelfConfidence, Product Knowledge, Presentation Skills, Client Relationships, Motivation for Sales. Send cover letter and resume to: ksafaryan@copcomm.com. R E A L CSR - CUSTOMER SERVICE REP. when a contestant has a mic channel he can stay there all day, and when the tracks go into Avid, the editors and assistants can easily pick them up." Once the Avid offline is done the AAF is loaded into Pro Tools, a process developed by mixer Patrick Grandclaudon and the editorial team to ensure a smooth continuance of the workflow. "For a long time Pro Tools was not able to read grouped audio," notes Ford. "Grouped audio existed in the AAF, but we weren't able to distinguish it in Pro Tools. But with Pro Tools 10 we now have a way to access grouped media. That one change drastically decreased the time it takes the assistants to prep sequences for Patrick and to have slightlymixed sequences go to him." One of the big audio challenges for season nine of Top Chef was coping with the air conditioning noises captured during mid-summer Texas shoots, where the temperature topped 100 degrees. "We tried to shut off the air conditioning whenever possible, and when that couldn't happen we used plug-ins and filters" in post, Ford explains. "We have hundreds of plug-ins; we use everything," including iZotope RX 2, Cedar DNS One and Waves Mercury Bundle. Magical Elves typically doesn't add sizzle to the steak, however. "We try to be as natural as possible acquiring food sounds on the set," laughs Ford. "There's no replacement for that." Top Chef is mixed in stereo. The fact that Grandclaudon and the online editors are across the hall from each other is a plus, says Ford. "Going back and forth with video and audio to finish the show in one step has been invaluable to us." Our local office in Glendale, CA is seeking a Customer Service Representative to be the first point of contact with our print customers. Our customer service representatives are passionate, customer-focused professionals with outstanding people skills and the desire to help us grow our business through hard work and innovative thinking! As a customer service professional, your responsibilities will include: • Responding to service requests. • Investigating and resolving customer questions and concerns efficiently and compassionately. • Preparing and distributing reports (utilizing various proprietary systems) on a regular and timely basis. • Assisting with various administrative duties, such as filing, data entry, and ensuring SOP compliance. • Participating in inside sales activities. Successful team members also possess the following qualifications: • A High School Diploma or equivalent. Preferably a College Graduate. • At least 2 years of experience in a customer service or call-center environment. • Excellent written and verbal communication skills. • Strong data entry/typing skills. • The ability to multi-task and prioritize multiple assignments. Send cover letter and resume to: ksafaryan@copcomm.com. For Advertising Rates & Schedules: POST Magazine, 620 West Elk Ave., Glendale, CA 91204; Western Region 818-291-1153, Fax: 818-547-4607; Eastern Region 781-255-0625 Fax: 781-255-0431 www.postmagazine.com Post0213_042-43-Jump.indd 43 Post • February 2013 43 1/23/13 6:48 PM