CAS Quarterly

54 S U M M E R 2 0 2 1 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y NON-THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURE OR LIMITED SERIES The Queen's Gambit Ep. 4 " Middle Game" by STEPHEN FITZMAURICE CAS Meet the Winners The Queen's Gambit is the story of prodigy Beth Harmon and her vault to the pinnacle of chess competition who must overcome trauma and substance abuse along the way. The show is at once real and stylized. I found myself impressed by the bold choices for playing sounds as simple as a door close or the voice treatments in a natural hall; not unlike the way Anya Taylor-Joy's portrayal of Beth creates a character that is at once awkward, strong, vulnerable, and unstoppable. In a field of stiff competition, The Queen's Gambit won the coveted CAS Award for a Non-Theatrical Motion Picture or Limited Series, along with MPSE Golden Reel wins for Dialogue and ADR; Music or Musical; and Effects and Foley. I reached out to the team to find out what sorcery went into creating the soundscape. Re-recording mixers Eric Hirsch and Leo Marcil were joined by scoring mixer Lawrence Manchester, and I'm grateful for the time they carved out of their busy schedules to share their stories. (Production mixer Roland Winke and re-recording mixer Eric Hoehn CAS were unavailable.) I always love hearing people's origin stories. Can each of you share how you got your start and anyone who influenced you along the way? Eric Hirsch: I came to mixing through playing in bands in high school and college. The desire to record and produce records myself drove me to learn Pro Tools. When I had a chance to work as a messenger at Sound One in New York, I jumped at it. While working there, I would hang out in the machine rooms and learn from the re-recordists, and eventually got the chance to start working on student films that one of the mixers recommended me for. I met Eric Hoehn fairly recently through the sound designer on the show, Wylie Stateman. I've known Wylie since I was about 5 years old through my father, who is a film editor who has worked with Wylie a number of times. I love the opportunity to work with filmmakers who care about sound, and I find it particularly satisfying when a client notices a small piece of Foley or something that I never expected anyone to hear consciously. Leo Marcil: I originally grew up in Topanga Canyon, California, with instruments all over my house (my area of expertise is the drums). From an early age, I was always recording things and, without realizing it, I have always gravitated toward sound. I come from an overall very creative family, so my parents were thrilled when I decided to attend Savannah College of Art and Design, where I played baseball and was first introduced to post- production sound. After graduating with a degree in sound design, I moved back to L.A. and have been working in the industry ever since. The significant mentors in my life include supervising sound editor Wylie Stateman, SFX designer Harry Cohen, and re-recording mixer Eric Hoehn. Clockwise from top left Eric Hoehn CAS, Leo Marcil, and Lawrence Manchester

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