Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1188730
52 C I N E M O N T A G E C O V E R S T O R Y brought onto the project before pro - duction at the previsualization stage, and was able to develop a rough effects track for a first assembly by picture ed- itors Mike McCuskey, ACE, and Andrew Buckland. "To provide landscapes for their edits, I emphasized the growl and 'heft' of the race cars, with low-end and 'gravitas' to stress these big muscle machines," Sylvester explained. "We were all on the same page from day one." Fa s a l i n A u g u s t 2 0 1 8 t rave l e d to the Laguna Seca Raceway in Salinas, Calif., to record a Shelby Cobra in a racing situation. "We focused on heats featuring peri- od-correct cars, ranging from close-up starting and leaving the pits, to the dis- tant drone of constant racing," Fasal said. And then came the post-recording job of mixing and sometimes augmenting the sounds. "The GT40's 427 cubic inch V8 and the Ferrari's 12-cylinder engine, mated to their individual exhaust systems, each had their own distinct and unique sound qualities," said Giammarco, one of two sound designers on the film. "At high rpms, the Ferraris were higher in pitch than the Fords, and had a bit more of a scream and whine to them. The GT40 has a beefier sounding engine, with more low-end roar." Th e n at u ra l d i f fe re n ce s b e twe e n the cars was then exaggerated with equalization, pitch changing, sub-har- monic frequency support, and blended mic recordings. "This [combination] gave the cars t h e i r o w n v o i c e e v e n a s t h e y ra c e d right alongside one another. Both were beasts!" Giammarco said. After all, it's a movie. "As we all know, even when you go for reality and record classic cars for a film," Sylvester said, "there are still dramatic moments that, for lack of a better term, are unreal - they're theatrical in nature. That's why there were occasions when we had to augment our tracks. I don't think you'll pick out the spaceships, rockets and other unworldly elements we mixed into the cars. There's also the occasional train, metal stress from ships, some thunder and ferocious winds." Christian Bale in 'Ford v Ferrari.' 'The cars became characters in their own right,' says supervising sound editor Don Sylvester. P H O T O : F O X