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54 C I N E M O N T A G E C O V E R S T O R Y way to stitch the narrative together. "From the beginning of Ford v Ferra- ri, Don and I strategized about how we could create space for both the cars and the music to support each other," said Caplan, the music editor. "In many ways, since the cars were another instrument in the orchestra, we never felt that the two elements were in competition with each other, but rather playing different parts of the same tune. The biggest challenge was during the Le Mans race; we spent a lot of time trying to find a sound that was playful, intimate a n d i n te n s e, a n d d i d eve r y t h i n g we could to stay away from a score that felt overly sentimental." Early in the film, Caplan used a small jazz ensemble - upright bass, piano, guitar and drums - to set the tone for the Ford and Ferrari factories, while record- ing cues from composers Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders. "With a slight nod to [composer] Lalo Schifrin, the arrangement gives those sections an air of Sixties 'daytime drinking,' corporate intrigue. Later in the film, the Daytona race is the best example of how all the styles come together. It begins with The Who-inspired organ motif underscoring [Carroll] Shelby's planning. Next it launches into a propul- sive rhythm section - acoustic and fuzz guitars, drums, percussion and electric bass – when [Ken] Miles is finally loose. And then, after the race comes to a grand thematic brass section finish, a solo pedal steel guitar wafts in like a relieved exhale. The unique blend adds so much character to the film." Wi t h a l l t h e e l e m e n ts i n p l a ce, a s i x-we e k Na t i ve At m o s d u b s ta r te d in May 2019, with print mastering in June – just in time for the summer film festival season. Working at Fox Studios' Neve DFC console and Avid S6 control surface, Massey and Giammarco replayed, re- spectively, music, dialogue and ADR from one high-capacity Pro Tools server and FX, BGs plus Foley from another. With "Ford v Ferrari" marking the sixth feature film on which he has worked with James Mangold, Massey was aware of what the sound-savvy director would be looking for. "Jim is very appreciative of sound," Massey said, "and allows us to experi- ment, especially with the music tracks, offering up different ideas. He will often describe a mood or emotion that he wants the audience to feel, giving me key words to pick up on. Marco Beltrami's and Buck Sanders' music was perfect; Jim likes a raw and gritty quality in his scores; not too polished - think Rolling Stones, not Steely Dan." Working in his remix facility, Massey prepared 14 5.1-channel Music pre-dubs and eight, 8-channel Dialogue, ADR , Group, and Race Announcer pre-dubs. "I received 24 production dialogue tracks from Polly [McKinnon], together with multiple ADR and Group tracks," the re-recording mixer said. "We ended up using a lot of the production dialogue instead of ADR in the final mix once it was balanced against the music and FX." With the Atmos mix evolving during May and June, and final VFX sequences continually arriving on the stage, "we s p e n t t i m e re f i n i n g o u r b a l a n c e s," Massey added. "Dave [Giammarco] and I have worked together on so many films now that we have our own instinctive shorthand. That makes the process a lot of fun, and so the final passes went very smoothly." Giammarco utilized four 16-track pre-dubs for the Ford GT40 and four for the Ferrari P3, with interior and exte- rior sounds. "I also had three additional Vehicle pre-dubs, six Practical FX pre-dubs and three Design FX pre-dubs, plus three pre-dubs for individual tires, suspension, and three Crash pre-dubs," the FX mixer adds. "In addition to FX, there were six 16-track Background pre-dubs. I had stadium crowd effects on my side, while Paul [Massey] had the PA sounds with Group ADR. I isolated Atmos objects that I wanted to place in the surrounds and overheads, including car-cockpit interi- ors, suspension rattles, rain on the cars, buffeting winds and crowds." Th e re s u l t i s a n a c t i o n - f i l l e d p e - r i o d f i l m t h a t m a x i m i z e d t h e te a m effort that produced all those larger- than-life sounds. " We h a d g re a t s o u n d re co rd i n gs from the star cars, with plenty of spatial placement and microphone choices, and incredible FX and Foley editorial work," Giammarco said. "I enjoy working on films with excit- ing action scenes that also need to play emotionally without the audience being overwhelmed with sound," Massey con - cludes. "We elected to take the audience on a powerful ride while telling this story; I'm proud that we achieved that without deafening them." ■ Mel Lambert is a freelance writer. Polly McKinnon helped keep the dialogue clear amid the car noise.