CAS Quarterly

C A S Q U A R T E R L Y I S P R I N G 2 0 2 1 49 Even within our own department, there's often a need to weigh the requests of the production mixer with the needs of the boom operator. When I was booming, it was frequently my job to interpret the demands I got through my headsets into practical frame lines or socially acceptable messages to the director about sound issues. As I moved to mixing, I was often the source of these requests. Randy Johnson, the boom operator I have long collaborated with, is a master of translation. He can hear me say over the private line, "This is completely #$?!#%$*. Tell them to *%#!>* themselves!" and then he quietly asks for foot foam on an extra. WARDROBE is a department we work a compromise with every day. If we can develop a friendly working relationship, there's a lot they can do for sound, and by extension, the movie. On Wild Wild West, Will Smith's costumer, Robert Mata, was able to work with Steve Bowerman CAS to semi-permanently install a wireless mic in Will's hat with the capsule neatly slotted into a gap along the forehead. This eliminated rewiring every day and sometimes gave a better mic position than even the boom—which was hard to get pointed below the hat brim. Recently on The Tragedy of Macbeth, Randy Johnson went in days before production to work out permanent lav positions with Denzel Washington's personal dresser, Craig Anthony. The mic was sewn into MacBeth's coat so we could just plug in the transmitter daily before he put it on. This helped Denzel to concentrate before any scene possibly requiring a radio mic. And something similar was done for Lady MacBeth for her sleepwalking scene. The costume department sewed a small pocket into her gown so Frances McDormand wouldn't be distracted by it. All of this requires some forethought and prep time. I doubt the stitchers would have been as happy to have to do these things on short notice. We also have to work closely with CAMERA. Evolving technology means reinventing sync, often with sync boxes needing to be attached, jammed, and re- batteried throughout the day. This has become a major task for the utility person. Developing a close working relationship with camera assistants and prepping with them makes this a much easier enterprise, especially when they can cooperatively work out the most effcient plan. The DIT's and data managers can greatly improve the sound mixer's day when workfl ow is planned in advance so breaks are effcient. We can help camera, too. I recently listened to cinematographer Roger Deakin's podcast on the diffculties now with RF transmission for focus and remote operation, as well as how to best manage digital fi les. I couldn't help but think these are issues the sound department has been successfully negotiating for decades. And now that so many camera and lighting devices are wireless, we can help in frequency coordination and tracing issues. He mentions the great help it is to have thorough camera tests to work out workfl ow and sync issues. Helping camera in this way also helps us. And besides, they usually have extra Velcro when we need it. Prep time is the key. Often, the sound department has much less prep time than others. I believe this is a mistake. So many times, with good communications, I've been able to request things in advance that would be impossible on the day. Location scouting is an invaluable help. On Inside Llewyn Davis, reducing background noise was critical because almost all of the music was to be shot live. In scouting, I found that a key set for a quiet music scene was next to a major road. Scouting along with a rep from CONSTRUCTION, I was able to ask for the window to have an extra layer of glass—which helped enormously. On the same scout, we heard toilets fl ushing above our main music location. This allowed LOCATION time to prepare so those facilities weren't needed on the shooting days. On another show, one look at the metal roof on the building planned for cover sets led to covering it with hog's hair fi lter material. Locations had determined the building was quiet, but they hadn't listened in the rain, which was the only time we'd ever need to use it! Similarly, on For Love or Money, our primary stage was located in an old building that was on a noisy part of Manhattan's From top: Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black; Wild Wild West; Oscar Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis; Gabrielle Anwar and Michael J. Fox in For Love or Money.

• Cover
• 26-27 Filmmaker Award-Clooney