Production Sound & Video

22 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – Winter 2021 Clockwise from top: Zengel and Hanks. Photo: Bruce W. Talamon/Universal Pictures; Boom Operator Dave Roberts; Dave Roberts takes a test drive; Roberts pondering.. It's here that I need to mention the terrific Second Unit and splinter crew that did so much to aid the soundtrack. David Brownlow came in to do all the insane chase scenes and the physical stuff with Boom Zach Sneesby and Utility Jason Pinney, while the magnificent David Sickles (I owe him money, I think) came in for a few days to cover for me when the company went high into the rock where some old guys (me) dare not venture. This story would not be complete without mentioning the remarkable DIT Ryan Nguyan, who had to keep up with the constantly moving targets, and all the cameras, to give us great images. Finally, the very congenial Video Assist guy, Adam Barth. Adam's job was especially difficult as we were constantly on the move. He rigged his SUV with monitors on the outside so his "village" could go anywhere it was needed, but still had to put up other villages, as well for makeup, hair, and costumes. He was a real trooper These fellows made it all look easy and helped out immeasurably. As far as my setup is concerned, I'm a tad old school (or just old) in that I still use, and have for many years, the Zaxcom Cameo mixer and the Zaxcom Deva 8-track recorder. All of my wirelesses are Lectrosonics SMA's and HM plug- ons. Mercifully, the Santa Fe area is a largely conflict- free zone for RF issues. Added, the costumes, being soft period garb, made wiring actors mostly problem-free. For all the moving shots, I used the Zax Mix 12 sitting on my lap as we traveled in the caravan. For the boom, I use the amazing Schoeps CMIT and the Cinela Piano. It turns out that the boom was extremely important as the winds were often hard to deal with on the wires. My intrepid Boom Operator, Dave Roberts, would do the insane task of walking (jogging really) alongside the buckboard or the horse Hanks and Zengel rode through a manmade raging "river," managing to not get hung up on the ubiquitous cactus or fall into a gopher hole, a scary sight to see. Our amazing Third, Rob Hidalgo, kept up

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