Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1316380
52 I M PS E . O R G With the ability to send a rig out to talent from the West Coast, East Coast, or Europe, Massey found that Parabolic NY is an easy answer. "It's been great because we have people all over the world… We've had pretty much our choice of mic and they can get it anywhere pretty quickly." Performing ADR is a difficult task and that should be what actors are focused on during ADR sessions. Asking actors to be their own ADR mixer by finding the right location to record, positioning the microphone, and having to engineer their end of the session simply doesn't give Winter the results he's looking for. "I'm just trying to make it as easy for actors as possible," he states. Deluxe's One Dub is something that he is currently evaluating. Launched in May of 2020, the One Dub system offers a cloud-based ADR studio application that allows for secure video playback, the ability to host multiple users remotely, and offers an editable multitrack timeline, as well as cue sheet display. Originally developed as an in-house solution for recording dialogue for localized versions of television and film, Winter believes the system shows promise, "If we just send [actors] a mic that plugs into their laptop and then take control… I think it will be a lot smoother." Supervising The Politician through the spring, Megregian found the production gods smiling upon him. "Fortunately, we didn't have a lot of ADR needs. We had a couple iPhone records from principle, but [regarding] loop group, it wasn't a very heavy show, thankfully." For what was needed, he and the producers selected a small group of six group actors to cover the entire season based on sample recordings from their home setups. Megregian sent the actors cue sheets directly and the picture department sent individual links for them to review securely while they each recorded themselves wild while on a video conference call. For beds, he would always record long to ensure there was enough usable material to cover the scene. "We had a naming convention for them with their initials so when they sent me files, I could at least bring it in and it would be somewhat organized." Even with all that organization, the individual tracks lead to additional editorial, which ultimately results in a need for additional time to be budgeted. To prep for the stage on The Politician, Megregian built a template session where he had laid his six actors' iso tracks out with EQs and processing specific to each actor's recording so that he could comp together cues and minimize the tracks he sent to the dub. Even with a minimal amount of group, the workflow requires additional time. On projects with a greater need for loop group, the necessary work can balloon exponentially. On Massey's group sessions through The Virtual Loop Group, he receives 12 independent channels, a mono crash down, and two stereo files (one for male actors and one for female actors where each have three actors panned left and three right). Massey confessed, "If we're doing a Walla bed, that 'could' work out. But the problem with that becomes the noise floor, because of course, now we have 12 separate mics… So I do find myself going to the iso's a lot." He added, "Even just the latency between everybody talking… That all has to be tightened up, otherwise there's these uncomfortable gaps in between everybody's sentences. For recording, I think we've got that down. That feels like you're in a session. But post that … there is a bit more work to be done." Morrone pointed out that "Nobody predicted this and wants to be in this situation. In order to service clients, especially with clients that you've had for a long time, I would imagine, it becomes a give and take." Winter agreed, saying that he shut down his crew on his larger production for a period of time but left his sound designer and co-supervisor on simply due to the amount of work to complete. On other projects, Winter shared that sometimes "the budget is the budget and you just figure out a way to get it done. We're all adapting and trying to figure out the best way forward." Morrone wrapped the discussion succinctly with high praise of the entire sound community saying, "[The sound community has] stepped up and has all been really open to sharing what their solutions are… I think that's what makes the sound community a little bit different especially at a time like this where we all understand that it's important for all of us to be working together and be helping each other out." "The sound community has stepped up and has all been really open to sharing what their solutions are…" –FRANK MORRONE CAS MPSE