CineMontage

Q3 2020

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45 F A L L Q 3 I S S U E T E C H N O L O G Y are obviously challenges in making the edits work when edits need help coming out of the Avid. But I'm not using a lot of effects to help me get there. I'm mainly using Serato's Pitch 'n Time Pro," Brake said. "Learning to use that hardcore was the best thing I've ever done for myself. You can't do what I do without having a comprehensive knowledge of how to use Pitch 'n Time Pro." Serato's Pitch 'n Time Pro 3.0 is an AudioSuite plug-in for Pro Tools (v. 10.x and later) that allows for independent pitching (±36 semitones) and timing manipulation (1/8 speed to 8x speed), so slowing down a sound won't change the pitch, and pitching a sound won't alter the tempo. Unless you want it to. Varispeed is also an option. Pitch 'n Time Pro's pitching algo- rithms provide top-notch results, but B r a k e f i n d s t h e t i m e m a n i p u l a t i o n options — like time stretching by tempo change, length change, target length, or target BPM — to be absolutely invaluable. For instance, in Season 1, Episode 1, "In- secure as Fuck," Issa gives an impromptu p e r fo r m a n ce a t a n o p e n - m i c n i g h t . On-set, she's lip syncing to playback of a pre-recorded track. But somewhere be- tween recording her vocals in the studio and final mixing the episode, clearance for the instrumental backing track fell through. They needed to audition new tracks, make the vocals work with that, and have it sync to picture. "The music supervisor, Kier Lehman, pulled some great tracks, about 10 differ- ent options, and asked me to make them work. I had to figure out the BPM of the original track and then adjust the timing of the new tracks to match that. This was all Serato Pitch 'n Time," said Brake. "I have this method where I figure out the length of four bars in the original song, and then I know how long four bars of the new track should be. If I can make four bars of the new track be the same length of time as the original track, then I can figure the tempo difference and then adjust for the beats to match. But then you still have to cut up the song once you're there to hit the beats and the moments a little more," he added. In the end, they chose the instru- mental of a track by Kelis called "Bossy," which was faster than the original track. "And it has this synthy harpsichord sound that's playing eighth notes, so the track is really unforgiving about having any swing in the vocals," explained Brake. There was another issue with the vocals. On-set, Issa's lip sync wasn't su- per-tight inside the performance. Brake surgically tweaked and nudged the vocals to match her lip movement perfectly, but it made her performance feel off-beat at first. Brake said, "That was okay. It made 'It's a dream to work with an executive producer who loves music.' Michael Brake. P H O T O : C O U R T E S Y M I C H A E L B R A K E

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