Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1262492
51 S U M M E R Q 2 I S S U E F E A T U R E of supervising sound editor and re-re- cording mixer Ron Bochar. "I go through a n d m i x t h e d i a l o g u e f i r s t w i t h o u t anything else," Bochar said. "I make that the God track." Yet the showrunners — and Bochar — want the dialogue to be embedded within a rich, realistic sonic environment, full of period-accurate sounds and generalized hustle-bustle. "Amy wanted to build a world where t h i n gs a re h a p p e n i n g a ro u n d t h e s e people — that it's not just happening with literally what we're seeing on the screen," Bochar said. "There are general backgrounds we need to put, there is another layer of near-backgrounds that need to be involved, there are sound ef- fects that happen both off-camera as well as on-camera." Music editor Annette Kudrak, MPSE, describes music as being a constant, if ever-changing, element in the series. "We don't have a composer — it's not traditional score — so we're always choosing a different song and choosing a different way to go about it," Kudrak said. A f t e r t h e s h o w r u n n e r s s e l e c t a song, Kudrak must decide whether the tune can be used in an extant version o r re re c o rd e d , i n w h o l e o r i n p a r t . "It's always something different," said Kudrak, who also points to the unique challenge of dealing with scenes that feature characters giving musical per- formances. "That music is all recorded beforehand so that the actors and the musicians who are on-camera can be playing along with that," she said. Some- times, the musicians and singers perform live on-camera. "That's really tricky," Kudrak said. "It makes a different kind of cutting challenge." It turns out that the Marvelous Ed- iting Duo is really a Marvelous Editing Squad. The picture editors offer partic- ular praise for their assistant editors, including current assistants Bochar and Holmes. "They're great in terms of just the usual responsibilities of assistants in making sure we get everything and that everything comes through and goes down the pipeline smoothly," Streeto said. "But they've also been great col- laborators. They have both done some cutting for us." For their work on the series, Sanford, Streeto, and the sound-editing team led by Bochar have each been recipients of nominations for Primetime Creative Arts Emmys, but most viewers probably don't pay too much attention to the invisible editing, subtle use of sound, and thoughtful music selection — all of which contribute to the show's unique feel. "In terms of editing, I don't know i f e v e r yo n e k n o w s e x a c t l y w h a t w e do," Sanford said. "Hopefully, it looks effortless, but it's a lot of really hard and important work. I feel really satisfied." ■ Sanford (at ACE Awards in 2019) sees Streeto as a collaborator: "We talk a lot about the show." P H O T O : P E T E R Z A K H A R Y