Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1279181
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S I 55 technology which wasn't quite ready for the deep customizability of in-the-box mixing. After a stressful mix with many technical issues, Craig realized the importance of templates that will work on any of the systems he will be working on anywhere in the world. At the time of The New World, Craig and Catherine were living in San Rafael, which meant Craig would fly into Los Angeles during the week and back home on weekends to spend time with his family. Craig wouldn't budge on this important family time even when the film scheduled weekend work. It's this strong commitment to family, as well as Craig's honest opinions on the creative decisions on the dub stage that landed him the next film from Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life. To this Craig said: "Even when I was just the fix editor, I'd answer honestly. The key is to do it in a constructive way." During the mix for the Coen brothers' film No Country for Old Men, Craig and Skip had the technicians at the Sony Lancaster stage scratching their heads as they asked for a piece of plywood to rest over the top of the Harrison console. By doing so, they could set up their single fader Presonus controller. Craig remembers the door to the side of the stage opening and closing many times as people in the facility were peeking in to see how they were mixing on a single fader. Craig talked about how they developed the mix over all the temp and pre-dubs, conforming along the way, to the point the final mix was done in just a couple days. This way the final mix's main focus is on the story and what is working or not. This is a common workflow today but it was not widely accepted in the mid 2000s. "I do a ton of work, EQ, sends verbs, all this stuff way ahead of time so that when I get to the final mix, I don't need to worry about that footstep is a little loud or I need to fix that pan. I want to listen to the overall soundscape and not get caught in the tiny details." Craig shared. No Country for Old Men would go on to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing. A couple of years later, Craig was at it again with the mix team for the Coen brothers' next film, True Grit. Once again, they requested the console be covered with plywood so that he could place his eight fader artist mix and a Wacom pad down. The Wacom pad allowed Craig to have a more tactile surface to manipulate his sound in the various locations he was working out of, without having to be hindered by the workflow of any facility. True Grit would go on to be nominated for Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing at the Academy Awards. One day, Craig was driving to the airport listening to the radio, which was discussing a story on a homeless musician called Nathanial Anthony Ayers. While listening to the program, he received a phone call from DreamWorks Studios saying that The Wacom pad allowed Craig to have a more tactile surface to manipulate his sound in the various locations he was working out of, without having to be hindered by the workflow of any facility. The New World (2005) and Digidesign Icon controller.