Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1259912
58 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 – Specials MEET THE WINNERS David Bowie: Finding Fame by Peter Kelsey CAS David Bowie: Finding Fame was the winner of the CAS Award for Television Non-Fiction, Variety, Music Series or Specials. The people responsible for the sound are production mixer Sean O'Neil and re-recording mixer Greg Gettens. It is a wonderful exploration of the career and life of David Bowie from his beginnings up through the release of the Ziggy Stardust album. This is a beautiful documentary with great sound by two experienced mixers and is well worth a look. It has particular significance for me as I was an ardent fan of Mr. Bowie during that period. I started my career in the entertainment industry in 1972 at Trident Studios in London. The second day I was there, David Bowie walked in to produce Mott the Hoople's album All the Young Dudes. I had been a big fan for a while and, even though a little star struck, I was able to make tea and coffee for him and found him to be a very friendly individual who would talk to anyone. All of David Bowie's early albums were recorded at Trident Studios. including Space Oddity and the recently released at that time Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. I sent some questions to the two mixers about their experiences and here are the responses. SEAN O'NEIL: Production Mixer What is your background and what other projects have you worked on? My background is mostly in British-based documentaries. After I left NYU Film School, I was fortunate enough to meet Kaly Walker, who ran the BBC office here in New York City in the early '90s. She cultivated an amazing community of filmmakers and artists where I was able to work and learn from some really talented storytellers from the UK and abroad. It was here where I worked on tons of arts- and science-based documentaries. I've been fortunate enough to film with Arthur C. Clarke in Sri Lanka, observe the process of Ayahuasca being made in the rainforests in South America, filmed in the death camp after Pol Pot's demise in Cambodia, and spent a month in Guantanamo Bay detention camp. [On the music front], I was nominated for a BAFTA for David Bowie's The Last Five Years and nominated for another CAS Award for the Paul McCartney documentary Wings Over America. These are just a few projects I have been privileged to be a part of. How did you get involved in being the production mixer on this project? I was the sound mixer on Francis Whately 's previous David Bowie films, Five Years and The Last Five Years, so I think Francis wanted to keep the same groove going on this film. One of the great things about Francis as a director is that he really respects the sound department and appreciates what good sound does for his films. How much time did you have to complete the interviews and how big was your team?