Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1314367
Fall 2020 – LOCAL695.ORG 13 This question has been asked again and again, over the last two decades on production sound forums, and in conversations between Production Sound Mixers, Picture Editors, and Sound Editors. This is a divisive subject often leading to heated debate especially on forums and professional social media groups. I thought I'd share my thoughts and opinions. Years ago, we PSM's mixed to a mono quarter-inch Nagra track, and professional reputations were forged or lost by our production sound mix. There were no ISO tracks to save us should we miss time a fader cue or miss an actor ad-lib. With the careful blending of score and effects, our production sound dialog mix was pretty much what the audience heard in the theatre (give or take some equalization and level changes in post), and if the production mix did not work, the scene would be marked down for ADR. There was change necessitated by some Directors shooting style; a well-known example being Robert Altman, who required multiple tracks of lavaliers, so his cast could overlap each other, and the advent of multiple track tape- based equipment; the Nagra D or Tascam Hi 8, followed quickly by nonlinear systems from Zaxcom, Fostex, Aaton, and later, Sound Devices, leading us to where we are today. Similarly picture editorial and sound editorial were moving into nonlinear systems with multi track audio capabilities, the prototype systems of which are in use now; picture editorial using Avid with the ability to import multiple audio tracks, and sound editorial using Pro Tools. The movies I work on now, I'm finding that the picture editing team is becoming increasingly adept at creating a Boom-Trac by Simon Hayes AMPS CAS How Important Is the Production Mix? really great sounding Avid playout with score, and sound effects added seamlessly to the production sound mix. I have also found that for the last twenty years or so on the projects I work on, that the Dialog Editor will generally rebuild the production sound mix from the component ISO tracks I deliver. Is this a bad thing? Does this process compromise the PSM's importance in the filmmaking process? Has the PSM given up an element of control that we previously had when providing a single track mix? Has the advent of the Dialog Editor rebuilding the mix been helpful or a hindrance to the Production Sound team working on the set? And finally, how important IS the production sound mix in modern times? I've been party to recent discussions that PSM's have become 'recordists' rather than 'mixers,' and the importance of the production mix has been relegated. In my experience, this could not be further from the truth. I have actually found that the production sound mix is actually becoming more valuable rather than less so, even though the Dialog Editor is likely to rebuild the dialog mix using Pro Tools from the ISO components provided by the PSM. There are a number of factors, the main one being the audio integration of Avid software, and the huge increase of audio skills with Picture Editors and First Assistant Editors using the Avid platform. Directors are increasingly expecting their Avid cut to sound polished, like a finished product. Picture Editorial are committing more time to getting the cut sounding great. The First Assistant Editor is literally working on the Avid sound mix in real time on a lot of the films I work on. The Picture Editor is making shot decisions