Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1335892
60 I M PS E . O R G the room, spread them at different distances from the screen. We played back the entire movie from the screen speakers and re-recorded the entire film from start to finish. We curated the mic selection and added that reverb back into the sound that the audience hears when they watch the movie. The Patina process was an added consideration on Mank but there were plenty of challenges in the work itself. It's a period piece so all of the vehicles, shoes, typewriters, phones, and materials had to be correct. The loop group, Loop Squad, did extensive research so they were talking about relevant issues and speaking in the manner of the day in all of the group scenes. The Foley team bought old candlestick phones and vintage shoes and jewelry. They walked on creaky wood floors for the Victorville bungalow and walked on sturdy, clean stone for the Hearst Castle. There was a great deal of attention paid to the details of the sounds of the Victorville bungalow, San Simeon, and the hustle and bustle of the studio lots, giving each location a specific sound. SEQUENCES OF NOTE One of our favorite scenes is Mank and Marion's walk through the topiary at San Simeon at night. It's the very best of all the crafts of sound together. Fincher had recorded all of Gary and Amanda's dialogue there on the day, but for creative reasons he wanted to re- record their performances. Every line was re-recorded, Amanda from one location and Gary from another, separately. When we replace the dialogue, all of the other production sounds disappear. We had to add everything—the sound of Marion's jewelry, her feet on the gravel, their clothing, the sloshing and drinking of the bottles, and Fincher directed all of it down to the tiniest detail, along with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' beautiful, delicate score. The way it came together was a joy. The studio back lot is also a great place for sound. Fincher was obsessed with making it sound like it was bursting with energy, with the heavy gear and set bells of old- school filmmaking, with animals on set and people bringing props in and out. He also wanted the music to have that bustling feel and he asked Trent and Atticus if they could add a typewriter into their music sequence. You can see the steno pool working in rhythm with this— which is a cross between sound effects and music. For San Simeon, David wanted the feeling of opulence and extravagance. Everything needed to sound expensive; the way the Photos courtesy of Netflix Arliss Howard as Louis B. Mayer and Ferdinand Kingsley as Irving Thalberg. Below: Tom Burke as Orson Welles.