Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/634968
35 In The Martian, a film by Sir Ridley Scott, Matt Damon plants a seed. (Photo: Peter Mountain) and Denecke SB-Ts on the 3ality Stereo camera rigs, all playing very nicely together. Wadi Rum, Jordan, was our location for the surface of Mars where Matt Damon drove a working Rover over great dis- tances. Our wireless microphones and communication sys- tems were put to the greatest test here. This is an aspect of our workflow that couldn't be tested in prep so we were rightfully concerned. We set up our recording and communication relay system in a flatbed Toyota Hilux pickup truck. The frequency spec - trum was incredibly clean, however, the distances between us, the Rover and Ridley were great and pushed the techni- cal limits of reception. Matt Damon was free-driving the vehicle and luckily, we managed to keep to about a kilometer. We were constantly faced with super-wide shots to highlight the vast landscapes and there was nowhere to hide, so we were forced to find distances between the two on the fly. Happily, our commu - nication systems worked amazingly well under the duress of this environment. We were certainly pushed to the limits at times, but all in all, we were able to satisfy the technical and creative needs of the film under these most demanding circumstances. This location was the most convincing con - firmation of our efforts on The Martian. It was an incredible feeling to complete the movie to Mr. Scott's and the cast's satisfaction. We felt like the Sound Department contributed to the "reality" that Ridley Scott had asked for. I have to thank my crew, Sam Stella as First Assistant Sound and primary Boom Operator; Bal Varga as Primary Wire - less Engineer and fabricator of the custom spacesuit rigs; György Mihályi as Boom Operator and the longest work- ing member of my team. György Mohai as Communications Systems Specialist and Tamás Székely as Playback Special- ist; György Rajna as Second Unit Production Sound Mixer and influential workflow engineer, Áron Havasi, Bence Né- meth and Attila Kohári as additional manpower. I would be remiss in not thanking the work of our Post Sound team who collaborated with me from start to fin- ish. Oliver Tarney, Supervising Sound Editor who provided great support, along with Paul Massey and Mark Taylor, the Re-recording Mixers. Rachael Tate, our Dialog Editor and self-proclaimed iZotope RX ninja, was a huge ally in pre - serving the original dialog recordings. I believe the Sound Department's efforts are tangibly felt in the finished product of The Martian, not only transparently as it should be in the recording of the performances, but in so many more ways as well.