Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/783510
21 a period film, practical locations and a lot of lengthy dialog scenes. My task was to assemble the best sound team possible. Douglas Shamburger had agreed to be my Boom Operator and the next step was to find a qualified local Utility Sound person. I reached out to my friend, Jim Emswiller, a fellow Sound Mixer who resides in Pittsburgh. He agreed to make some calls on my behalf, and a few days later, as he had promised, Jim recom- mended Kelly Roofner for my choice for Utility Sound. In early April, the production office called to inform me that I should prepare my equipment for shipping and make plans to travel to Pittsburgh for location scouting. Location scouting is so important for the Sound Mixer, it allows you to identify potential sound problems early on and come up with solutions. The majority of filming was in and around the house. It was most helpful to work with Ed Maloney, the Gaffer, and Steve Cohagan, his Best Boy, for placement of the generator. Oftentimes, the generator is too close to the set and there is never enough time to move it because all the cables are already in place. I use a Zaxcom Mix12, two Deva 5s, set up for ten tracks each, one as the master recorder and one for backup. Two Lectrosonics Venue receivers and an assortment of lav mics; Sanken COS 11, Countryman B-6 and DPA. For the boom poles, I use Lectrosonics UM400 plug on transmitters with Sennheiser MKH-50 and Schoeps for interiors and a MKH-60 for exteriors, plus twenty Comtek receivers for IFB. During scouting, one of the problems I encountered was that a period garbage truck was to be used; needless to say, it was loud and noisy. It was suggested that we could turn the engine off and let it coast down the hill while recording the dialog. Sounds good so far and I went to the sanitation yard where the trucks were parked and recorded wild tracks of crushing garbage. The day we filmed the scene, it was not possible to shut the engine off, due to starting and stopping at a fast rate of speed. You always have to be prepared for the worse. Lucky for me, the actors projected their lines over the engine noise. It is amazing to watch Denzel work and how he prepares for each scene. He arrives well before crew call, before me and sometimes blocked the scene with the stand-ins. At Call, the cast is brought in for a private rehearsal and then the crew for a marking rehearsal. Denzel wanted the actors to overlap their lines in many of the scenes to build intensity and emotions. Each cast member was miced with a Sanken COS 11 lav, while the boom was used overall for the master shots and close-ups. After a couple of scenes with Viola Davis, I wasn't happy with her sound using the Sanken COS 11, so we switched to a DPA lav which was better suited for her voice. Our main location was at the house in a suburban neigh- borhood, where we were able to block off the streets and control traffic. The neighbors were loud, from time to time, but when asked to be quiet, they were very consid- erate and accommodating. Some of the neighbors even baked pies, cakes and cookies for the crew. Unfortunately, the birds were not so considerate. They were very noisy forcing us to cut takes several times and try to scare them away. After some research, we ordered a couple of elec- tronic bird-repellent devices to try and get rid of them. I still have my doubts if the units really worked. We also bought several fake owls and placed them on the rooftop. All the rooms inside the house were very small, which made it difficult for the camera crew and Douglas to work. In order to film some of the master sequences in the living room, the front window glass was removed and the camera and dolly were placed outside on the Left: Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. Below: Denzel walking with Stephen McKinley Henderson. All photos by David Lee. © 2016 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.