Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1351516
38 S P R I N G 2 0 2 1 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y For this issue, I've been tasked with writing something that would speak to our current motion picture audio state of affairs; the wonderful world of remote mixing! As of this writing, there seem to be many-a-avor of hardware and software solutions to undergird our new work-a-day paradigm. That is to say, we as mix teams are generally on our dub stages and our clients are … well … not. To bridge this new physical gap, we've all been using some unholy union of Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime, good ole' conference calls, Source Live, Evercast, and/ or ClearView. I'm even told the guys and gals in lab coats at Universal's post wing went so far as to build their own streaming system from the ground up! In general, but not always, our showrunning and producing interlocutors seem to be in a home ofce with their trusty laptops and headphones, as well as a menagerie of cats, dogs, progeny, spouses, partners, and—every once in a while—an adult beverage. These are stressful times after all! The exceptions I have experienced are clients who insist on several iterated QuickTime reviews per show, those blessed with deep enough pockets who've booked another stage to hear their playback in a more immersive format than stereo, and the few intrepid-brave-foolhardy souls who are arriving in person for celebrity's sake, or just to get the hell out of the house. JONATHAN WALES CAS I first chatted about all this with re-recording mixer Jonathan Wales CAS. He tells me that when the pandemic hit, he was only a few episodes away from completing a series for Netflix and suddenly, he was home like the rest of us. Luckily, he had an ace up his sleeve—Jonathan has an S6 at home! He was able to close out the season by employing the above tactic of sending repeated QuickTimes for review. However, his next show was another Netflix series, and it was to be an Atmos mix. At first, the thought was he would get the show in shape at home, and then they would review and fix on the stage. But then, the pandemic took a turn for the worse. Lots across town closed up, and before they ever got started, Jonathan knew they would have to "find another way." To find this "other way," he and production landed on Evercast. Due to the proclivities of this particular client, Jonathan knew they were going to have to find a system that was as close to being in the same room as possible. The thought was that the chat and video features Evercast brings to the table would cut down on the Remote Mixing in the Time of COVID: User Experiences b y Pa t r i c k S p a i n C A S Jonathan Wales CAS and his home studio