CAS Quarterly

You cannot learn mixing without doing it. You really have to sit down and do it. I made many mistakes on my first film, my crossfades were terrible. You have to learn the touch. David Bondelevitch CAS MPSE: I learned production sound as a grad student at USC at a time when it was a Nagra 4.2 over my shoulder and a Sennheiser 416 in the hands of a boom operator. Did you have mentors of your own? Mark: Oh yeah!! I still do. Starting with my dad, then Chris Newman CAS (who is still mentoring and coaching me and many others), editor Mimi Arsham, Jim Webb, Roger Corman (who blessed me with his trust as a member of the last generation of his de facto film finishing school in Santa Monica), and there are more, and more to come. James: Pat Toma, Bill Reinhardt, John Coffey CAS, and Cameron Hamza CAS. Tod: Les Lazarowitz, as I spent the most time with him as boom operator. I did Tootsie and Easy Money with him. David: At USC, Ron Curfman CAS (retired) taught me the most about production sound, but I also learned from Rodger Pardee MPSE and Tom Holman (CAS Career Achievement Award recipient). Chris: Ironically, both of my mentors were cameramen: Gordon Willis and Julian Townsend. A third mentor was Peter Glushanok, a director/cameraman and electronic music composer. They didn't teach me how to do sound, but they taught me how to tell stories and how to approach jobs. Both men dragged me along to their jobs and taught me how to make films and solve problems. Then I learned how to press the buttons on my own. I made every mistake a sound person could make. But when you keep doing a thing, eventually you get the hang of it! Another mentor—well, EVERY sound person's mentor in New York City, a mentor for an entire generation of sound people—was Dick Vorisek, the re-recording mixer. He taught me what mattered when I was on the set recording—what I had to insist on and what I could let go. " I TEACH MORE ABOUT THE PHILOSOPHY OF BEING A SOUND MIXER; WHAT SOUND IS, HOW YOU RECORD IT, HOW TO USE MICROPHONES, AND HOW TO INTERACT ON SET. " —TOD MAITLAND CAS Julian Townsend took me in hand. He's a professional. He was organized and meticulous and he took pity on me and taught me to be a filmmaker. Julian taught me that there was a way to do everything and a reason for everything you did. "How do you tell the story?" That was always Julian's point. "Is it the sound of milk squirting into a pail? You'll need a direc- tional mic to get that. Is it the sound of the farmer's boots in the mud? You'll need carpeting so you can walk on the mud beside the farmer without making noise. Is it the horses? Did you pack apples to get them to make noises? Or is it the farmer's dog? No problem to record him barking. Dogs bark all the time. But did you bring dog biscuits for when you're trying to record other sounds and you can't shut the damn dog up?" How did your mentors support your learning? Did they help you find work? Chris: By sharing what they knew and by helping me find work. James: Yes, especially Cameron, who was focused on his post business. I got sent out on gigs and recommended for shows when they were busy. Mark: Well, if there is a common thread in my experience with my mentors and Tod Maitland CAS

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