Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1259912
46 S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 C A S Q U A R T E R L Y CAS Award Winner – Television Half-Hour MEET THE WINNERS Barry "ronny/lily" by David Bondelevitch CAS MPSE The HBO Bill Hader dramedy Barry, about a hit man who decides to take acting classes in Los Angeles, has stacked up awards in its first two seasons. This year, the show won three Emmys; one for Bill Hader's performance, and the other two for Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. It was the second Emmy for the sound mixing crew's work. The episode "ronny/lily " also won the sound mixing team this year's Cinema Audio Society Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Series – Half-Hour. I checked in with the team to learn more about them. (Unfortunately, due to scheduling deadlines, I was unable to interview ADR mixer Aaron Hasson.) BENJAMIN A. PATRICK CAS: Production Mixer Production sound mixer Benjamin A. Patrick CAS works with a full setup for the show, using a Zaxcom Deva 16 controlled by a Mix 12, giving him 16 available tracks. He uses an average of 6-8 channels at a time, and up to 15 in scenes with a large cast. He often uses two booms with everyone wired, and occasionally uses plant mics. Lectrosonics wireless with Sanken COS-11 and Countryman B6 lavs took care of character ISO's with a Schoeps CMIT and Sennheiser MKH 50 as shotguns. Benjamin came from a musical background, studying classical piano through high school. He came to the show from another HBO favorite, Silicon Valley. He adds, "I'd like to thank my crew, boom operator Jacques Pienaar and sound utility Corey Woods." JOHN SANACORE CAS: Foley Mixer I asked John about his background. "I grew up in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. After about 10 years of being a buyer for record stores, I decided to take my passion for music and technology to the next level. The recording program that I went through was a combination of bookwork combined with a hands-on studio internship. "My early mentor was Michael McDonald (not the singer). His facility exposed me to the art of studio recording. I was second engineer on many recording sessions from full-blown orchestras to intimate ADR and voiceover sessions and, of course, Foley. During that time, I was also cutting sound effects, backgrounds, and Foley on independent features. After many years of working in various aspects of post, I realized that Foley recording was my true passion." At the time he was hired on Barry, John was working at Warner Bros., where the audio post was being done. "The sound supervisors and I had worked together on a number of series prior to Barry, so I knew the kind of sound they were after." The Foley is recorded at Warner Bros., where he used a Pro Tools system with a D-Command. "We typically deliver around 20 tracks. It's broken down to footsteps, props, and movement. The main plugin I use is the FabFilter Pro-Q 3 equalizer. I use one instance for notching out any room issues and another for more specific broad strokes. It's a great sounding EQ that doesn't introduce any phase weirdness." Asked if any scenes in particular were challenging, John replied, "The whole episode was fun, but a challenge to record. The footsteps were unusually physical due to all the martial (L-R) Award winners Jason "Frenchie" Gaya, Aaron Hassan, John Sanacore CAS, Elmo Ponsdomenech CAS, Benjamin Patrick CAS. Photo: Tyler Curtis/ABImages