Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1124770
49 Q2 2019 / CINEMONTAGE a lot of sound to try and cram into a scene, but it always works out." Despite the arsenal of tools at his disposal, Carpenter feels, "The mix is still dependent on the old standbys: level, panning, EQ, compression and reverb; those five tools are all you need for a great track. Obviously, the sound effects track must not dominate dialogue unless there is a very specific reason for it to do so. The sound effects team did a fantastic job of preparing effects and backgrounds; they kept a lot of material isolated in various pre- dubs so that I had a quick way of managing major aspects of the mix, as well as being able to get very granular when needed." SEPARATE PRE-DUBS Carpenter and DeAngelis will pre-dub separately until "both of us feel that our elements play in a way that we won't be slowed down by mixing together," the former explains. "Then we join up together and work through the show, Joe integrating music while I polish Foley and keep the sound effects from negatively impacting dialogue. Sonic impact is more effective if it occurs after a lull in the track. And surrounds pop if they have been ignored for a moment; ditto the overhead speakers in an Atmos environment. Leaning on the quiet moments allows the track to have greater dynamics and impact without dominating the dialogue or becoming monotonous." Given that each part of When They See Us is cut and mixed like a feature film, the shortest being 60- plus minutes and the longest 82 minutes, "There is a lot of detail that needs to play in order to establish emotion and sense of place," DeAngelis explains. "Additionally, there is a lot of wonderful score [from composer Kris Bowers] and dense, thoughtful dialogue. Needless to say, it's taken a serious amount of good work. Typically, our mixes averaged 10 days per part. I've been using UAD plug-ins and the firm's DSP Accelerators for the past eight years; they really give the warmth we were used to with the older analog gear, with the huge benefit of having it all automated and in-the-box." The team used Nugen ISL2 as a mastering/true-peak limiter. "Netflix's current specification of -27 dB LUFS, measured with a 1770-1 algorithm and Dialogue Intelligence on, allows for both creative expression and compliance," stresses DeAngelis. "It's a great spec to work in. We use the Nugen ISL2 to maintain true peak compliance but don't automate any other part of our mixing process." Benson recalls that DuVernay's notes from playback were specific: "We would typically have two playbacks with her to refine the mix. Often, it was about finding the right balance between music and sound effects to feature the element that best addressed the emotion or feel of the scene. Sometimes, ideas we had for background activity in the end distracted from the scene's main story. An example was a sequence in juvenile detention in which Raymond Santana, Jr. [Freddy Miyares] was calling his father. As their conversation takes place, there is background action where one boy is controlling access to the phones. We used group, Foley and effects to help tell this story." But those sounds became distracting from the foreground conversation between Raymond and his father, the supervising sound editor acknowledges. "In the end," says Benson, "we realized that this story was told mostly visually," f Chris Carpenter, left, and Joe DeAngelis.