Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1259912
we will watch through the episode/reel, discuss the show as a whole, notate producer/supervisor notes, and then break down specific problematic or overly busy sequences to create a plan of attack. After that, it's just moving forward and completing. Once we get going, the artists will get back into character for each character they are walking. That sometimes takes a little time, but we're usually back up to speed rather quickly. You have worked on more than five dozen episodes of GOT. Can you share some of the challenges? We worked on Thrones at three completely different stages. We started at The Lot for Season 2, then moved to Dubbing Brothers in Burbank for Seasons 3 and 4, and then our own stage we built out in Westlake for 5, 6, 7, and 8. Because of this, we had to very purposefully make sure we were able to match the sonic quality we were achieving early on. Our stage and miking had to be transparent. It took a little bit of work, but we found it. The process can be challenging on the best of days. Imagine having to make 300-plus decisions a day, but having to agree with two other people on each one of them before moving onto the next. We find that constantly working on our communication helps this go just a bit easier, often avoiding arguments or unnecessary malarkey. As for specific sounds and scenes, finding an appropriate sound for the wolf feet took a while. We ended up strapping a PZM mic onto Jeff (Wilhoit—Foley artist) for some extra movement. I recorded that material to a separate track than the feet so as not to tie Matt's [Waters] hands in the mix. Together, the tracks worked quite well. The Battle at Blackwater (from the "Blackwater" episode) stands out in terms of general busy-ness. It was unlike anything I had done up to that point. We had to be extremely judicious in our time management, keeping decisions to a minimum, focusing on finding the best sound for the moment. The series had so many detailed scenes that required a lot of work on the Foley side. Even so, is there one that stands out in terms of challenge and creative satisfaction? In terms of overall satisfaction, the sequence with Kit slamming his sword through the back of the guy 's head in, I think, Season 4, probably wins for me. All the elements for perfection were there—the character performance, the cartilage and bone, sword shunk, a bit of gore ... just perfect. We toyed with several different bone breaks until we found just the right one. What other projects have you been working on lately? We just had a show called #BlackAF drop on Netflix. That kept us busy and laughing for a few months. Presently, we're working on a new HBO show called Lovecraft Country. It's pretty great with tons of wonderful Foley moments for us to sink our teeth into! Aside from that, we have a video game project off and on, which is nice for a little change of pace. Anything else you'd like to add? Game of Thrones was such a wonderful, life-changing show to be a part of with an amazing family of sound people. ONNALEE BLANK CAS and MATHEW WATERS CAS: Re-recording Mixers Given the break between Season 7 and Season 8, did you have to reacquaint yourself with your approaches toward the mix or was it like riding a bike where you felt you could pick right back up from where you left off? OB: Maybe like riding a new bike! I came into Season 8 with a ton of energy and some new plugins to try. It was exciting to know that it was the end, but also sad at the same time. MW: For me, mixing GOT is never like riding a bike. It is more like driving a very complex, powerful rocketship. One thing Onnalee and I always try and do is keep getting better at our craft. Whether that be using experiences from other film or TV projects that we have mixed or using new and different tools and plugins. As we grow, we would like to think that GOT's mixes grow as well and that the episodes each have their own voice. Our CAS episode had a different voice then the other episodes for sure. You have mixed more than five dozen episodes of GOT. While one would assume that once you "got in the groove" of the series, the mixing aspect flowed. Is there a scene or character sound that stands out a little more than some of the others relative to creative approach or challenge translating the emotion sonically? OB: Wow, yes, there are so many memories that have accumulated over the eight years on the show. A few of the episodes that stand out are Season 3, episode nine, "Rains of Castamere"—the one the bloggers know as "The Red Wedding." Season 4, episode 10, "The Children." Season 6, episode nine, "Battle of the Bastards." These are some of the memories of sonic storytelling. In "Battle of the Bastards," that battle is close to 42 minutes long. How sonically can we make that great without making it too loud and [too similar] sounding? Let's put the horse breaths all in sync off the beat of the music. Let's take out all the high end between these two shots, then the next cut—raise the high end a lot. These are just some of the things we would do together. If every cut is thought out for sound, then I am doing my job and feel satisfied when I leave for the day. MW: Hmmm... Well, one thing I always remember about GOT is that we try and keep the sound as true and as real as possible. I use the example of the first time we meet the giant. He just walks by camp and does some work. We never see him again until the next season, but we had to set up the sound of the giant. So, we discussed how big the giant was and how he needed to sound bigger—but not [like] King Kong. So, I worked on that giant for quite some time until we got it just right. That was the fun of mixing GOT; the storytelling with sound was always purposeful.