Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1335892
30 I M PS E . O R G ... and we were lamenting the fact that there wasn't one specific place dedicated to the art of entertainment audio. Sure, there is a small museum (curated by the brilliant Sharon Smith Holley) at the Editors Guild, and there's the Grammy Museum. There are also places like the UCLA Film & Television Archive. But there really isn't a place where the public AND professionals are welcome on a daily basis to learn and share more about the craft of sound for film, video, and all other media. Even the new Motion Picture Academy Museum has had no apparent plans to dedicate a specific space to the history of movie sound. I imagined a place where one could see and learn about the craft of audio in a fun and entertaining way. We'd have interactive exhibits showing what went into creating a live radio performance. You could walk into a booth demonstrating the process of automated dialogue replacement (ADR) in films where museum guests could replace a line from a film clip of their choice. You could try recording Foley by performing footsteps and props to a movie scene. You could listen to the separate elements of a film—the dialogue, music, and sound effects—to a favorite film and try mixing them together. We would also feature the latest movie releases with rotating exhibits showing the work behind current studio product. We'd have regular screenings, lectures, workshops … the possibilities were endless. For the first few months while I was gathering ideas and discussing them with my fellow soundies, I was quietly wondering to myself whether or not a museum was even a solid idea. Thankfully, almost everyone reacted positively … so I made the decision to focus on making it happen. Over the last couple years, besides beginning the fundraising process for this whole endeavor, I have been building our collection. I was humbled to find out that as soon as word started to go around that I was serious about creating the museum… I was offered some very impressive items. Editing equipment, microphones, consoles, and Foley props … all kinds of artifacts from the history of audio. Through this column, I will be sharing with you more about what we've collected, and our progress with the museum. Right now, let me briefly tell you the story of four of the museum's "Sound Legends" whose collections we're proud to have—and whose stories we're thrilled to share. KAY ROSE Besides being in charge of sound effects for the classic Western TV shows like The Rifleman and The Big Valley, Kay was a sound editor on many great films, including On Golden Pond (1981), The Rose (1979), Prince of Tides (1991), For the Boys (1991), and Ordinary People (1980). Her reputation for stellar work earned her the favor of many great Hollywood directors, including Sydney Pollack, Peter Bogdanovich, Robert Altman, Robert Redford, and Barbra Streisand. Kay also has the honor of being the first woman to win an Oscar for Sound Editing (for The River in 1984). In October of 2002, just a couple of months before Kay passed away—George Lucas and Steven Spielberg endowed the Kay Rose Chair in the Art of Sound and Dialogue Editing at the USC School of Cinema-Television. The chair is the first of its kind in the country. I had the pleasure of working on Kay Rose Sound Effects Library. Photo courtesy of The Hollywood Sound Museum.