Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1259912
Can you talk to me about your team? My boom operator is Nicolas Fejoz, whom I met 16 years ago. Margaux Peyre started to work with us on the series Panthers and was our second assistant. She was my boom operator on some projects and I really wanted to have both of them for Chernobyl. It was not so easy because the production wanted to hire someone in Lithuania. But I really insisted on having both of them because I knew that on such a project, you can't do the same thing with people you don't know, and it was very important to have them with me. Did you have any challenges that stick out in your memory? First, we had a lot of good times on this shoot. The crew was amazing. I don't know what was the most difficult part to record, maybe the trial and the control room. The light was difficult as well because they reproduced the exact light of the trial with photographs. There were a lot of fans all around the set running [that were] very noisy because they were vintage. We had to pay attention to which one was in the frame and shut down the ones not in the frame. We had to record a lot of wild tracks. We recorded each fan and all the fans together with stereos and it allowed the sound editor to play with it and to characterize the space around the characters. Johan wanted to play with the acoustics of this particular room and for the control room, which was quite difficult to record. It was so important for me to think as a sound editor. Can you tell us more about thinking like a sound editor while in production? We shot in a power plant in Lithuania, which is like a twin of Chernobyl's. It's not working anymore, of course. I really wanted to bring the opportunity to post-production to recreate the acoustics of this power plant which is very particular, because it's like a huge cube and like a cathedral. But I really wanted to give as much authenticity as possible in every way. We recorded a lot of wild tracks with the extras; just listening to the scene, moving on the chairs, coughing, etc., which were very useful. I'm very lucky to have had the opportunity to record it each time I wanted to because you usually don't have a lot of time. But it was possible because everyone was giving a lot of respect to each other. So, whenever I needed to record a wild track, even if it was quite long (because I like to record long wild tracks) whenever I asked, it was possible. What is the inventory of equipment you use? We like to work with simple kits. It consists of an Aaton Cantar X3, which is, I think, the best recorder in the world. So, we just have the X3 as the center of the kit with a Cantarem. We used an Octopack with Wisycom radio mics. The microphones on the boom were [Sennheiser] MKH 8050. For the cars, I used the Schoeps BLM—you can stick it on the ceiling, and it's invisible, easy to place. And then for the stereos, we had the M/S Schoeps with CCM-8 and the CCM-40. We had those and the ORTF component with 8040's and 8050 in the center and that's it. We learned to be light and quick and discreet and invisible as much as possible. How did you find out you won the CAS Award? The sound editor told me. And I received an email from the CAS. [This project] was very gratifying for us because the director wanted us to be there. The level of everyone on set— you want to be as good as the other. This particular series, this particular subject, is very important to me, and I really wanted it to be a success. And, yes, I'm very lucky. And when we had this Emmy in September, I felt very honored and was really happy. And the CAS Award—I don't know which one is more important—to be rewarded by other sound professionals. I watched all the projects nominated. For me and my two boom operators, it was very rewarding to be recognized by the CAS. What do you like to do with your free time? There is not one day in a year where I don't play with sound in one way or another. I play music, I play the guitar but I really like synthesizers as well. I'm always recording and playing with sound and using it in many ways, musical ways or just to have fun. To manipulate sound, it's like a game for me. When I'm recording dialogue, I don't [just] pay attention to what is said, but [also] to sound; the textures, the timbre, etc. So, yes, sound is something with which I am always playing. It seems like your hobbies and profession go hand-in- hand. Exactly. I'm always listening to something, and it's like a game. Anyone you want to thank? The first one I want to thank is the director of Chernobyl, Johan Renck. I want to thank my two boom operators of course, because without them, it wouldn't have been possible. And also, the first AD of Chernobyl, David Meanti, because it's so, so important to have such a good first AD on set for sound. GIBRAN FARRAH: ADR Mixer How did you first get into ADR mixing? Like many people in this industry, I started off as a runner making tea and coffee. When I wasn't making tea, I sat in studios and watched great sound editors and mixers and tried to learn as much as I could from them. I'd been a runner at Molinare and an audio trainee on Mission: Impossible 5 before starting as a runner at the facility I work at now, Boom Post. One day at Boom, I quite literally was asked by my bosses if I'd Gibran Farrah