Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/987065
C A S Q U A R T E R L Y S P R I N G 2 0 1 8 17 Christopher Nolan and Lee Smith direct Gregg Landaker and Gary Rizzo CAS through the final dub of Dunkirk The Authenticity Every Christopher Nolan film has a "style" to it. None of his films are conventional, and each one is unique. Dunkirk is no exception. It is unlike any World War II film before it. The transposing timelines, the duration of each story being told, and the use of the ubiquitous pulse are a few of the elements that set it apart from other films in the genre. Above all, for Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan valued realism and the purity of the moment… Mark: On Dunkirk, almost everything was done as much as possible where it actually happened [historically], in whatever conditions were present at those locations. The Mole (the pier) was shot on the Mole. The Moonstone (a rescue craft) was shot at sea. We actually shot on the beaches of Dunkirk. There were some scenes where the background of the breaking waves was extremely present, especially on the Mole. I wasn't sure they were going to be able to clean the production tracks enough to save them but Gary did. Gary: Chris is a purist. He likes things being very real. He is not a fan of ADR and he would rather live with a less than ideal production recording that has a true, honest performance on it, rather than an ADR performance that falls short. He has no interest in anything even falling slightly short in emotion and energy. It's almost like the imperfect production track helps to sell the validity and honesty of it. Gregg: For Chris, dialogue is just another tool of sound design. He wants you to think, to use your brain. At the end of the scene, did you understand the scene? That's what is important to Chris. Not that you heard every little piece of spoken dialogue. He doesn't want to spoon-feed the audience. I believe there are only three lines of ADR in the whole movie. And yes, Chris' movies are real! "I want my actors in a real cockpit, reacting to real forces." Those guys are reacting to a real plane yanking around on them or they were put in a cockpit on a gimbal for the close-up shots. It's not like there's a blue screen and the director says, "OK, now there's going to be a spaceship around here." No! In Chris' movies, you're in it. You're in a physical practical set, actually getting slammed around. Gary: And that posed challenges mixing the production sound. Mark can only do so much when the IMAX cameras are inches away from the microphone. Those things sound like lawnmowers! I appreciate Mark, and I know how hard he works. He is exceptional. Barring one brief cutaway ADR line from Tom Hardy, every single line in the planes are a synchronous recording to the picture that you're seeing—even though he's wearing that pilot's mask the whole time. Scott: In Foley, one of the items that we had to get right were the "hobnailed" boots worn by the soldiers, especially in the opening scene. Hobnails (short nails with thick heads) were affixed to the rubber soles of boots to provide traction, durability, and longevity to the footwear. They made a distinct loud crunching sound and Christopher was adamant that we cover those boots properly. In that specific scene, we did some outdoor recording of footsteps for soldiers walking in boots to layer in with what we did on stage. During our Foley sessions, I will play the recording up against the production track because you can't just record things (props or footsteps) in a vacuum and expect it to work. It's all about creating a sound so that you believe it … so you're still along for the ride. Unique Challenges Tasked with creating and maintaining suspense and authenticity, achieving the vision for Dunkirk presented some obstacles for the team… "We're not allowed to see a frame of the movie until it's our first day." -Gregg Landaker Mark Weingarten CAS at work on the Moonstone—feet up on IMAX cam (sorry) Mix 8, Field Venue, Fusion 12, Shark Fins clamped to shelf