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 21 Gary: I think Chris Nolan takes joy in seeing how Gregg and I respond for the first time, our knee-jerk reactions. He takes inventory of our gut reactions, he evaluates and responds to that. That being said, Chris has got the road map in his head and it's really interesting to hear him navigate us through that first pass. For us, he's kind of illuminating the path through a foreboding woods. We're trying to make our way through the story and he'll be revealing the path one step at a time without giving away the full narrative. He'll give us little warnings, "This is the easy part guys, let's not get bogged down…" and he will give us cues for precision timing, "I want the audience to hold their breath right … here and not exhale until … HERE!" And of course, we ultimately hear, "This has got to be the most powerful moment that we've had in the film so far!" The gift in this is that Chris is truly directing us. He's directing us as mixers, just like he's directing actors on set. Gregg: Regarding no pre-dubbing, Chris feels that if you pre-dub the film, you take out the surprise element. In pre- dubbing, the individual elements, you (the mixer) will make decisions that may not be necessary to Chris' vision. It's an interesting process and I'm fascinated by it. Gary and I kind of stumble through reel 1, play it back, make a couple small tweaks and we move on to reel 2. We dub the whole movie that way for about six to seven days. Then it goes away. They screen it back in the Avid, they make some score changes, other changes and then we dub the movie the same way all over again. And we do that now on a weekly basis. Monday through Thursday, we dub the entire movie, screen it on Friday, maybe make a couple fixes, come back Monday and then go through the whole movie again. This way, you don't labor on a scene over and over because you know you will see that scene multiple times. It's an evolution week after week. Gary and I see this movie week after week after week in its entirety. As you go along, you don't have to worry about certain things anymore where Chris has said, "Don't touch. I like the way that is working." You can start working on other stuff. Gary: When things are working and Chris is happy, we leave them. He is a brilliant filmmaker. He can tell when something has been messed with. He can tell when something has changed. Not only does he have a photographic memory, but he has a sonographic memory. He remembers how things sound. That's how good he is. Gregg: When he says, "I like that pass," that pass has to live for eight weeks and it cannot change. He likes the emotional attachment and the physical attachment that his films give him. And he wants his audiences to feel that same energy in their gut. Gary: Sometime during the first or second pass, I figured out this three-word "code" for this mix. Every sound in Dunkirk was being manipulated by its pace, its pulse, and its purpose. The "Pace," meaning its timing and its momentum. The "Pulse," meaning where we are on the amplitude scale as things are constantly having to build. And the "Purpose," as in "What are we leading up to?" Where are we in our story? Where are we in our energy? How fast does this need to be moving forward and how big, or small, does it need to be to get us from one point to another so that we can start a new cycle to allow the soundtrack to continue to be constantly pressing forward in its anxiety and self-propulsion. Gregg: Ultimately, the soundtrack of this film was all designed to manipulate the audience. That was talked about in the very beginning and we constantly worked hard to come up with the right frequencies of sound, the right blends of elements that make you feel like there's a primeval force coming down your neck so that you got a sense of fear, just like those guys on the Mole, just like those guys on the beach. Our job was to put a physical force on the audience. If you felt winded at the end of it, then we did our jobs. I give kudos to everybody involved on Dunkirk because we did our jobs. The evacuation of Dunkirk is a phenomenal story of courage, grit, ingenuity, and sacrifice. Sir Winston Churchill hailed it "a miracle of deliverance" for both the stranded soldiers, as well as the people of the United Kingdom who desperately needed their forces to return home for protection against invasion. Christopher Nolan put images on the screen depicting the gravity of those circumstances. This talented team of sound mixers made us feel it. It has been well publicized that this is Gregg Landaker's final film. It's difficult to imagine a more exceptional and storied career than one that starts with an Oscar ® for The Empire Strikes Back and ends with an Oscar for Dunkirk. Gregg Landaker, the sound community wishes you and your family all the best in your retirement, and we thank you for the soundtracks you have given the world these last 40 years. "That pulse controls the blood pressure of the film itself. It's a hijacking of the cardiovascular system." -Gary Rizzo CAS