Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/987065
38 S P R I N G 2 0 1 8 C A S Q U A R T E R L Y Was there an intentional reference to Star Trek in the sound design of "USS Callister"? Of course, you can't get away from the Star Trek "thing." But we had to stay well-clear of any sound design that could be accused of plagiarism. That's not to say we didn't pay homage to that great show. What was it like collaborating with the producers and directors of this project? Toby is so full of enthusiasm. He brings that to the room in abundance and so it's impossible not to get caught up in that, too. New ideas would constantly be tried out but, whereas that can be exhausting, this always felt like we were always honing in on what was best for the show. Charlie's attention to detail is second to none. With a wonderful logic, he would lead us through the episodes—explaining how he felt it should be. And I have to say, he's generally right! (Sometimes annoyingly so. Ha! Ha!) Dafydd Archard: Re-recording Mixer What is your background and what other shows have you worked on? My background is in audio post production. Previously serving six years at De Lane Lea, now WB De Lane Lea, as a mix technician. I joined Twickenham Studios about five years ago in the same capacity before moving into mixing shortly after. More recently, due to issues with tinnitus, I have moved into an operational role at the studios. Black Mirror happens to be one of the last shows I mixed, so it was nice to get some recognition before moving out of mixing. I have previous mix credits on Hitman's Bodyguard, Alien: Covenant, The Martian and Victoria & Abdul and more. How did you get involved in this episode of Black Mirror? The series was being mixed at Twickenham Studios. So we had the mix in-house anyway, but I think as it happened, Tim Cavagin and myself were requested to do this particular episode by the clients. Please describe your workflow and any problems you encountered. I mixed FX on this episode. I premixed in the box using a D-Command and then bussed my outputs to the console as wide as possible for the final. I like to have some overall masters on the DFC to apply more general eq, compression and level to whatever 5.1 inputs I had coming in. But the majority of the nitty-gritty work was still taken care of by Pro Tools. I like the hybrid approach. It gives access to best of both worlds. How much time did you have to complete the production and how big was your team? I think, initially, it was meant to be a couple of days premix. each for DX and FX, then a four-day final, M+E for one day and then deliver. I think in the end, it turned out to be more like a 10-day final over a couple of separate phases. The clients came back on a few occasions with more up-to-date VFX, so the mix had to be revisited to make fixes. The team was five. Is there anything unique about this project's workflow or treatment? The approach to the soundtrack and the concept behind it is pretty unique. Dipping into a game world, then real life and back, different planets, spaceships, creatures, etc. There was a lot to cover in an hour-long episode. Toby (the director) wanted the ship's beeps, whirs, etc., to give a nod to Star Trek. Giving it a familiar feel but with originally designed elements. The ship's sounds were used like a character in itself. When the game is in play, with Jesse Plemons' character, Robert, present, the ship is alive, buzzing, bleeping, whirring, etc., full of life. When Robert exits the game, the ship powers down, leaving the remaining characters behind in a cold, quiet environment—adding to the feeling of isolation and despair that the characters feel. The same technique was used on some of the planet sequences. When Robert is there, the planet is alive, plenty of atmos and BG's. When he leaves the game, all falls silent.