Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/47109
POST: When you start the mix process, what goals do you have in mind? RAINES: "Our goal it to get to the point where we've got all the housekeeping done, we know all the elements intimately — every- thing that the dialogue, music and effects departments have brought to the stage, so when our producers are in the room it's all about story and character and the emotion of the moment for each frame and scene. That is what we are trying to achieve from the start of the process, and the sooner we get there the sooner we can achieve that, and we start pushing the story and the characters through the soundtrack." POST: How do you accomplish that part? RAINES: "It's a collaboration between our sound editorial team, who have had five to seven days to work with the picture and ele- ments — that's more time than we've had. They know the picture better than we do. It's also a collaboration with associate producer Scott Schofield, who is very involved and very knowledgeable about what the producers are trying to achieve with the sound. "Toward the end of the process the key collaborators in the room are the creators, Tony and Joe Gayton, the show runner John Shiban, and other executives like Jeremy Gold, and sometimes the network is involved. Every- one knows what the scene is about, but every- one has a subjective way of getting to the emotional core of that scene, so discussing those different strategies and implementing different tactics to achieve those strategies is what it's about. As much as we can have every- one involved in that collaboration, the better." POST: Can you give us an example of some things they've asked for from you? RAINES: "We are really lucky on the show in that the creators, Tony and Joe, come from a feature film background; they think about how they want the sound from the script stage and how it might bring additional emo- tional impact to their story. They carry that strategy onto set, into picture editorial, into visual effects and into sound, so we'll have some incredibly bold choices and they'll sometimes make them on the mix stage. "For instance, 'Let's run an entire gun- fight action sequence with absolutely no effects and see how that sounds.' And they do that from a storytelling perspective because they want to bring more emo- tional impact to the story than otherwise would be done." POST: Any surprises or challeng- es during the process? RAINES: "The challenges are always the collaboration. When we are in the mix, in some of the play- backs for this series, we've had 20 people in the back of the room. Once you're into a series, after the first three or four mixes, generally things become a little more focused, everyone knows what to expect and what they are going to do in each sequence. For example, 'There is an action sequence in show eight so we are going to play it similar to the action sequence in show three,' but not in this show. They want the action sequence in show eight to be its own produc- tion and have more storytelling impact than it did, or play it as a different scene. Or play the sound in a completely different manner because there is a different charac- ter involved. That's been surprising and a wonderful experience because often that doesn't happen. These producers want every show and every scene unique." POST: So they are open to ideas from all? RAINES: "The producers and the show runner want the sound team to challenge them on the stage. They know the sound editorial and mix- ing crew can contribute such a tremendous amount to the story and characters rather than just going with the OMF. "That is the other thing that can happen in television: sometimes productions use the sound edit from the OMF in the final mix, or they're satisfied with the Avid mix in terms of strategy. Those sound elements or mixes are often not nearly as emotionally powerful as they could be. The sound edit from the OMF is usually rushed, it's the picture department having to put some- thing temporary together — they're usually focused on the picture not the sound and as a result being satisfied with the temp from a sound editorial and mixing perspective is short changing your story, I think." "In filmmaking you only really get one chance. It's rare that a production will try a strategy and then someone challenges that strategy and they go back and redo. These producers are open to being pushed cre- atively and pushing us creatively; it's a true collaboration. So being satisfied with any part of the process is not what they do. As such, it's a much more creative and powerful track as a result." POST: What gear do you guys call on? RAINES: "We use Avid's ICON series of consoles, mixing in six-track surround and also delivering a stereo track. As far as plug- ins, we use Waves Platinum bundle and the full complement of Avid plug-ins like EQ3. "Some mix crews work at different stages so the tools we use depend on the project. When we work on features, it's more time- based tools than plug-ins." www.postmagazine.com Post • November 2011 17 David Raines (standing) and mixing partner Mark Server on the stage at Larson Studios.