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72 W I N T E R 2 0 2 0 C A S Q U A R T E R L Y films like Magnum Force and The Eiger Sanction. They did everything from planting microphones in a speeding car and riding in the back, to scaling a mountainside with a Nagra. They would collaborate to make sure no words were lost in the stories being told. They had a lot of fun. Clint would play jokes on him climbing the cliffs, and Jim would follow him anywhere. Clint "wanted to hear a handshake," and Jim would always deliver. While in Switz- erland for The Eiger Sanction, Jim visit- ed Stefan Kudelski at the Nagra facto- ry to enquire about upgrades. He heard about this new 15 ips mod they were doing in San Francisco, and wanted to see if Kudelski could do it. Instead of The Sting, Jim was requested to mix a show called Joe Kidd, where he met Clint Eastwood. They had been mistaken for one another when walking around the set; and eventually when their paths crossed, they had a good laugh about it. Clint had a keen interest in sound, asking Jim lots of questions and wanting to learn everything. They both had a common interest: no looping, no ADR. Jim would fight to get it right and make that happen. Jim also had a knack for gathering sound FX (like spurs as cowboys walk into the distance) or anything that had to do with the story. Clint took notice of this, and decided to call Jim for his first time directing a Western: High Plains Drifter. He was acting, as well as directing, and didn't want to have to worry if his performance was being captured well or not. Jim and Clint would continue to work together, eventually doing He obliged and additionally applied a noise-reduction system in the heads to further eliminate the tape noise. This would change what was possible, as he could record quieter dialogue without getting lost in the hiss. Jim's reputation was growing. He was in demand, and up for the movie Family Plot with Alfred Hitchcock. Clint didn't have a movie lined up yet, and this Above: On the set of Family Plot with Alfred Hitchcock. Below: On The Eiger Sanction, en route to the next set with a flurry of XLR.