Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1257029
20 starts "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby," Reggie takes the lead vocal and Shy sits in on harmonies. Amy wanted it all recorded live, so Reggie stepped up to the live stage mic (a modified vintage shell) that Midge had been using for her set, and my utility hid two Schoeps MK41's on the underside of the piano. Where it got fun was when we placed Shy's real vocalist, Darius de Haas, off stage with a clear line of sight, a Shure SM58 on a stand and a couple of sound blankets on either side of him to help isolate his vocals. He sang Shy's harmonies live, while LeRoy nailed a perfect lip sync. I had never done live lip syncing before that. Another live recording we did was in S3 E5, "It's Comedy or Cabbage." We recreated a classic Playboy After Dark episode that featured Lenny Bruce as a guest (you can find it on YouTube). It was a nine-and-a-half-page oner with ten talkers, dancers, and a jazz quartet with a vocalist who also has dialog. Although shots were cut in after the fact, we initially did it as another single-shot set piece. Everyone was wired of course, but we were told no mics could be seen except for a vintage prop mic on an overhead boom stand. My Utility, Spyros Poulos, devised a stealth mic'ing plan that worked really well. We hid a MK41 under the piano, the vocalist was wired, we snuck a bidirectional capsule between the tom and the snare, hid a Schoeps on a Collette cable behind the overhead prop mic and above the drum kit, another Schoeps MK41 hidden behind a piano leg facing the upright bass, and we wired the trumpeter's sleeve. All in a day's work! One thing I've learned from Maisel is to embrace the wires. I started my career with a mono Nagra and a 416 and would love to be able to boom everything. Yet it's just not practical and often not even possible to do that with the way films and TV shows are shot today. My advice is to really hone your wiring skills. I cannot tell you how many scenes we do on Maisel that are all wires, although I always mix in the boom to bring it alive. The show wouldn't sound anywhere near as good as it does without my crew, the miraculous work of our Dialog Editor, Sara Stern, and our very talented Re-recording Mixer, Ron Bochar CAS, who believes that "post production begins on the first day of production … the first time you open a mic on set." A major benefit of a multi-season show is the deeper relationships and easier communication with our friends in Post, and we all know how important that relationship is. They can sometimes make or break us, and I've been very fortunate to be welcomed into the spotting sessions and final mix anytime I want. Finally, the amazing vocal skills of every single one of our cast cannot be overemphasized. Tony Shalhoub is a national treasure, and everyone else is just a joy to work with. I have never heard anyone speak so fast and enunciate as well as Rachel Brosnahan. I am very fortunate to not have any mumblers or whisperers, so low signal-to-noise is never an issue. I cannot wait to start up Season 4 to see what kind of crazy challenges they're going to throw at us. One thing for sure? Hilarity will ensue! On location in Miami. Manager Susie Myerson (Alex Borstein) Photo by Philippe Antonello Midge and Dad, Abe Weissman (Tony Shalhoub) Photo by Nicole Rivelli