Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1179544
Sound/Music team equipment row 21 that does not match the location of the actor we are watching on screen? All of these questions are being asked at a deep base level by every moviegoer. With this in mind, Tom con- tinued to explain that the VFX process would be presenting audiences with something they had not seen before, human "cats." Having the performers sing live throughout the film was one of the main strategies Tom had for helping the audi- ence immerse themselves in the narrative. As our conversation continued, I was getting more impor- tant information from Tom that would affect my pitch in how to capture the live singing. Tom explained that he wanted to showcase modern and exciting choreography that would involve break dancing, street dance, and parkour (free run- ning, a dynamic, and explosive style based around gymnastic movements), as well as more classical styles like ballet. Up to this point, I had thought that due to the fur being painted onto the bodies in post, and the actors wearing mo-cap suits, it would be an ideal opportunity to place lavaliers on the body in vision, and that they would not have the usual clothing rustle. This workflow would not need to be signed off by the VFX team as they were adding a layer of fur anyway. Tom described the dancing tests he was excited about, and the type of rolling, tumbling, and break dancing the choreogra- phy would contain. I quickly realized I had to come up with a better strategy. Mics on the chest/solar plexus would be prone to getting impacted by the dance moves, and secondly, the excessive head movements of the style of choreography Tom favored, would mean the actors' vocals would be going off axis regularly. The first idea I pitched was using DPA 'cheek' mics on miniature booms that attach to the performers' ears. Looking back now, I was extremely fortunate that Tom didn't want to use this process, citing the fact that even though the VFX would paint fur onto the actors' faces, the fur was going to be translucent so facial expressions could be retained under- neath. Tom felt the cheek mics would need to be digitally removed before the fur could be added. He wasn't concerned by the financial impact; Tom's concern was potentially losing valuable facial expressions from around the mouth during the mic-removal process. I had to think fast and come up with another idea. Fortuitously, my idea was actually going to provide our film with higher quality, richer vocals than the cheek mics. I asked whether I could attach a DPA lavalier to the forehead of each