Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1122868
DOUG ANDHAM CAS: Re-recording Mixer Where did you grow up? My dad was in the military, so I grew up all over the place. Born in Colorado, then lived in Chicago until I was 3, then Oahu, Hawaii, until second grade, then Hagerstown and Fort Meade, Maryland, through fifth grade, then, West Germany through seventh grade. Eighth and ninth grade were in Corona, CA. 10th grade was in Twentynine Palms, CA. 11th was in Colorado Springs, CO, and Mesquite, NV, and then 12th grade was in Santa Monica, CA. I went to Loyola Marymount University (LMU) for college. Whoa, that's amazing! What did you want to do when you "grew up"? Lots of things. Army helicopter pilot, comic book artist, actor, rock star. So, what brought you to LA? I moved here to finish high school in California. After that, I went to LMU as a fine art major, but on my first day there while taking an orientation tour, I saw the sound studios and learned about the recording arts department there, and I decided to change my major. I knew that I wanted to work with sound and music as soon as I learned about their program. I hadn't realized that was even a possible field of study. I had to apply and lobby to join the program because it was so small. I took a work-study job as an assistant to the engineer that maintained the sound studios there so I could learn as much as possible. I also DJ'd at the student-run radio station KLMU. I was accepted into the program my sophomore year and immersed myself in it as much as possible. I made friends with film majors, learned how to do production sound, and helped them on their films. I also took post-production classes to learn this side of the sound business. I recorded bands and learned as much as I could. It was great. Did you start elsewhere? When I graduated from college, I went and bought a studio directory and sent my résumé to as many music studios as I could. I really wanted to make records and work with musicians. I was very lucky to get a job as a runner at Larrabee Sound Studios in Hollywood. (Heavy metal band) Pantera was working in one studio, and Heavy D and the Boys in another, Madonna in another. Cypress Hill worked there, as did Death Row Records artists such as Snoop and Tupac. It was a great place to meet people. I eventually even got to assistant engineer on a couple of Tupac's tracks on his Makaveli Records label. But I was making $5 an hour, so I worked at a law firm during the day and then the studios at night. How did you get into the sound-for-picture industry? I actually got my start in the post-production sound business through the law firm that I worked in during the day. The lawyer I worked for had a client that had a small post- production studio in the valley. They let me come work there, but I had to quit the law firm. I worked there for a month for free, and then they hired me for $10 an hour; twice what I made at night in the music studio! How about mentors? Was there a person who took you under their wing? That first post-production studio was where I learned a lot. It was called Digital Sound Works (DSW). I got to do a variety of different jobs. I'd record Foley, I'd record ADR. I cut sound FX. I recorded books on tape. I mixed small independent features alongside my boss Galen Walker. He was the owner and he let me work on all these different projects and taught me at the same time. It was a great place to learn and gain real-world experience. For this series, John Bauman didn't seem to have an elaborate directive from above, did you? We worked very closely with executive producer Alexis Martin Woodall in shaping the sound, as we always do on Ryan Murphy's projects. This series was unique in the sound approach in that the story was told in reverse, with each episode taking place in a different place. This first episode starts with the culmination of Andrew Cunanan's murder spree and with the actual killing of Gianni Versace. So, the sound of it is starting with the penultimate moment and then works backward. The opening montage was carried by Mac Quayle's operatic score and was meant to convey the grandeur and luxury of Gianni Versace. It was huge. Sound FX were played as just textures here until it built up to the gunshots on the title card. From there, it was about keeping up the energy of the ensuing manhunt in the present and alternately creating a sense of reality and discovery in the flashbacks. When we were loud, we were very loud. But in contrast, we embraced the moments of quiet to help create a dynamic soundtrack. Re-recording mixers Joe Earle CAS and Doug Andham CAS