Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1335892
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S I 47 plant mics in the three distinct areas of the room from front to back such that as an actor traveled the length of the room I could fade between the plants in combination with some of the iso to maintain clarity yet also feel the space of the room. On larger interiors, there were M/S back of the room setups for natural reverb, and on exteriors close and deep, M/S setups for ambience. Paul used all DPA mics and so tonal matching between all of the various mic choices was very easy to maintain in the final mix. At the end of each shooting day, Paul would send me an email detailing the goings on— part relevant technical information of the challenges of the day and their impact on the quality of the recordings, and part stream of consciousness, almost therapeutic outpourings of thought. I loved receiving these. Shooting wrapped in early March 2020 just before COVID took over the United States, fortunately, having little impact on the picture editorial process which followed. In early June, I got the call that they were ready to show a cut of the film. Tariq Anwar delivered a cut that was so beautiful and elegant. He really is a master of his craft. The performances were outstanding, the production design and camera work so rich that the film felt much more like an expensive studio picture than an indie production. I told Regina on our subsequent Zoom meeting that it was clear she had made the film she had set out to make. After the giddy excitement and virtual high fives subsided, the real work began: seven weeks of sound editorial followed by two weeks of pre-dubs (one each dialogue and effects) and two weeks of final mixing. On first blush, one might think that a dialogue-driven film that spends half its time inside a motel room, with a small handful of bigger scenes sprinkled throughout, and a few musical numbers couldn't be that complex to wrangle could it? Well, yes it could, and it was. Not because the work was unusually difficult or lacking in direction but simply because there was a whole lot of it to get done in seven short weeks. We had backed ourselves into an end of August completion date in order to be able to pursue the fall film festivals, and so there was only one way to get there—hire the best and brightest people that I know to get us to that finish line. Throw in a global pandemic on top of all this with the complications it creates in shooting ADR and Group, plus the need to go out for a few days of reshoots in July, and you can begin to see why the next few months were devoted 24/7 to this picture. It was important to Regina and to the producers that as much as possible we include females and people of color in the making of this film. When I took a look around at our post sound industry, it became abundantly clear this is something we need to do better at in terms of inclusion and opportunities, and this notion has been a catalyst for discussion and change at Formosa Group where I currently call home.