MPSE Wavelength

22 I M PS E . O R G the perfect harmony between all the phases of sound. I think that editing sound is probably 40 percent problem solving, 30 percent creative decisions (what to add, what to take away), and 30 percent how it's all mixed together. Working alongside my mom on such great films as On Golden Pond, The River, The Rose, The Prince of Tides, For the Boys, Ordinary People, taught me so much about WHY we decide what we do. It's not just putting in the sounds of things we see on the screen, which is easy. It's about the feeling we want to create in an audience. It is concepts like this that I want to convey to students. Sound editing, like most artistic endeavors, also comes with a component of talent. I can't teach talent to anyone. I can teach "how to" and I can teach technical button-pushing but the creative thinking outside the box is something you can improve on but I can't make it happen. I'm worried about the future of our industry. I've noticed a degrading of quality in the production sound of films even though we've gotten so many more tools to work with. Why is this? So many have said this, in various ways, "Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it." There is a point where history gives birth to new life—most film students want to reinvent the camera. Another good quote, "There is nothing new under the sun." We all want to leave our mark—make something new and fresh. Does filmmaking then become a peeing contest? What I've always loved about editing sound is figuring out how to make what I've been given better. What sounds can I add to enhance the story? Are sounds in themselves funny or dramatic or scary? Or is the context of how those sounds are used is what gives it its genre? I know that I can't reach all the future sound students, though during the pandemic, I've been able to reach many more via Zoom! I started a Vickie Sampson: Dialogue Detective Facebook page and wanted to start classes but I ran into a wall. The wall is this: There are so many up-and-coming students and editors who are so technically adept and way beyond me in tech skills, that I became a bit intimidated, even though I've been doing this for over 40 years! Yes, I can use iZotope RX and I've learned how to do simple stereo mixes within Pro Tools. But some of these students have their own 5.1 mixing rooms with thousands of dollars' worth of plugins! Since COVID, more editors are working at home and have invested in their own mix/edit rooms. Some are even building their own Foley stages and ADR booths. I'm trying to predict the future of sound but I can't see it from here. I do know that, no matter how much technology is ahead of us, all I know for certain are my principles and what I have to offer that no amount of technology will change. Though I love learning new technology, it does get harder to implement if you're not using it every day. I've had the great opportunity to branch out into directing since I retired formally from sound editing in 2014. As a director, I've had the unique position to address The old adage, "We'll fix in post" is outdated and untrue. Yes, we CAN fix it in post but we'd rather use our time and talents for more creative work! My new adage is "Fix it on the set." and instruct directing students (and established directors) on the importance of not only getting good sound recordings on the set but how to best understand the power of sound during the edit and the mix. Directors need to be educated too! I learned a lot from my favorite director, Mark Rydell, who directed The River, The Rose, On Golden Pond. He knew enough about what each department did on a shoot in order to understand and enhance their job, which makes his film better. One thing I learned from him is how to give the dialogue editor some "fill" by this simple technique. After a scene is slated, he will call out: "And … ACTION!" This gives the production sound editor about five good seconds where the whole set is quiet and ready for action. It's much better than a wild track which, for most of us editors, is pretty unusable. He does the same thing at the end of a scene. "And … CUT!" It's brilliant. He knew that that spacing gives us sound editors who will work on the film months later, clean ambience which we use to fill clicks or pops or dialogue that may be ADR'd. TO HELP YOU FUTURE EDITORS, HERE ARE MY TAKE-AWAYS! PRINCIPLE 1: You can't edit what you don't have. Make sure you have access to ALL the tracks that were recorded on the set/location. This means finding out how the film was shot. You may have to ask the assistant film editor or the film editor. Were there lavs and booms? How were the takes sunk up? Were they ingested into

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