Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1351516
50 S P R I N G 2 0 2 1 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y Tenth Avenue facing the river. With the encouragement of Barry Sonnenfeld, a very sound-conscious director, construction agreed to build a second acoustic wall along the back of the set. Not cheap, but easy to do well in advance. And much cheaper than replacing dialogue or doing retakes for heavy traffi c or ship horns. On The Addams Family, Barry also asked me how we could reduce the HMI fan noise from the dozens of 12K's in the perms above the cemetery set. There weren't enough head cables available to move the ballasts outside; only enclosing them would help. This meant building little houses, each with a remote controllable AC unit tied to the bell system. It wasn't an easy task, but construction pulled it off, making Barry much happier on the days we shot there. ELECTRICS is another department we can happily interact with. From simple things like getting power daily, to bigger favors like work lights or borrowing of extension cords, they can be of great help to Sound. On The Tragedy of Macbeth, loud fans on the moving lights led (no pun intended) to Michael Bauman, our gaffer, sorting instruments by loudness and using the quieter ones closer to the actors. Even better, he arranged to unplug the loudest instruments when not needed, as these lights have a fan that doesn't go off when they're dimmed to zero. In a huge open stage, the cumulative fans made much more of a hum than one would expect in the Middle Ages. GRIPS are very important. These tireless soldiers provide support for almost every department. From courtesy sunshade to portable "wardrobe racks," the grips help everyone. For Sound, they often have extra furniture pads and stands for acoustic control. With some advance notice, they can rig up quite a lot of them, especially overhead. It's best to ask well upfront so they have time, resources, and the request doesn't interfere with their primary work for the DP. A good boom operator is friends with all the grips. Grips can set a fl ag to help with boom shadows or provide an opportunity for us to lay carpet before the dolly track goes down. They carry ladders of various sizes, often needed to boom from a higher position. Grips also have specialty hardware that they can help us implement for rigging mics or other equipment. I am clearly expressing my appreciation for the grips, partly because they 've been so helpful to my department, and partly to continue to atone for failing to fold and return furniture pads I borrowed 38 years ago on Blood Simple. Lesson learned, Tom. The ART department can be helpful for acoustics, sometimes working a carpet or appropriate rug into a set. The on-set dresser can help with hiding a plant mic by using a little extra dressing, especially on a desk. It's important to see the need for this early so the items can be established. No one wants a sugar bowl to appear halfway through a scene. Sometimes art and construction can go further with notice. On The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, they were able to work an opening into the roof of the stagecoach to get booms in. On The Abyss, they cut a small slot into the top of the minisub so I could sit on top and boom through it. There were many pages of dialogue as a crane lowered the steel set into a pool of water, ending with the sub totally immersed and fl ooded. No wireless was possible and any plant mic would have Each department knows so much more about what options they offer. They just need to be politely asked— as far in advance as possible. Tim Blake Nelson in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs