Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/933783
16 W I N T E R 2 0 1 8 C A S Q U A R T E R L Y seemed like there was plenty of work. I do remember when I completed my training program, management did not have a mixing position for me and wanted me to return to the machine room. I said, "No, I will take my chances." I ended up bouncing around the company and working with many different mixers. It was a great experience. Then, Chris Jenkins suggested I spend some time with Richard Portman. I spent two years working with Richard. How incredible! Yes. Oh my God, he was just so amazing and so crazy and so fun and so … so many things all rolled into one! [CHUCKLES] But mostly, Richard was an artist and a storyteller. I learned a great deal from him. How do you think your development as a mixer progressed working with these two incredibly talented mixers? I think in the beginning, you're just so damn busy figuring out what everything does and getting your mechanics down. I mean, you're so busy with all the minutiae. It's only when you get more comfortable that you can relax and be creative. Gary gave me the good, fundamental knowledge to be able to get to that next place. Because without that, you can't "watch the screen and let it tell you what it needs."…. Richard Portman quote. Has your workflow changed significantly as a result of changing technology? Yes, we didn't even have full automation the first day I was mixing. So for me, the evolution has been incredible. But you baked down, correct? You weren't deal- ing with 300 tracks. Yes. I pre-mixed from raw tracks. Lots of them. I used to sit on the floor of the stage and spread out the cue sheets that resembled sheets of wallpaper. I used colored pens on the sheets to group like material together. And [I] organized my pre-mixes. That's why there are colored Sharpies on a mixing stage. It just must be a throwback because we do still have Sharpies on stages. You were also limited on the number of pre-mixes you could make because the older consoles couldn't handle as many inputs as today's consoles and you would also run out of dubbers to play the pre-mixes, so organization was key. Do you feel a squish at all with budgets shrinking? Are you working with the same crew size? Of course. We are all feeling squished. You rarely get as much time as you would like to pre-mix or [work] on a final mix. But the expectations haven't changed and the demands are even greater. Crews are much smaller—less people doing more work. That is one thing technology has facilitated. Because features are so custom and unique, how do you determine the time you will need? It's all based on the budget and the demands of the film's content. I would assume you get a screener and you get to make notes? It generally works like this: They give me a timeframe for pre-mixes and final mix. After watching the film and consulting with my mixing partner, I let them know if I think it's doable. Sometimes you're given X amount of days for pre-mixing and we split the days up according to the film's content. If it's a dialogue film, more time is allotted for those pre-mixes. If it has heavy effects, more time goes to FX pre-mixes. I will always do my best to stay on schedule and budget. You give it serious hustle. Oh, yeah. My clients know that staying on schedule is just as important to me as it is to them. When a director approaches you, can they envision their story through sound or do they rely on you to suggest and navigate what will enhance their narrative? Some can envision their own story. But, for example, I have suggested Atmos as a great tool with subtlety and quiet because you need something specific happening to hear it. If you've got a big action scene with music and effects all playing loudly together, you're not going to be able to really feel it. It's all in the subtlety and it can be so beautiful. Inevitably, it's the great storytellers that succeed.