CAS Quarterly

C A S Q U A R T E R L Y I S U M M E R 2 0 2 1 77 James Coburn CAS their support for my education, it is this idea of being a perpetual student: stay curious, prepare intensively, have a system of learning that is continuous and independent of your emotions. Also, most important: Love what you do! As far as finding work, most certainly my mentors helped me establish a professional presence. This was especially true during my early days working in NYC. I went to the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in Manhattan because they had a unique four-year under- graduate program. They have a policy requiring all the faculty teaching the production courses to be successfully working in their primary careers. This created an automatic kind of access to the professional world in two ways. First, we had access to guidance when confronted with challenges in professional work situations and second, it built in a first-level network of pros who knew you and would and could refer you or recommend you for jobs. I've maintained my relationship with my alma mater and lecture to SVA students annually. David: I did get a few production jobs after school, but to be honest, I never really enjoyed it, and I moved into music editing and then re-recording mixing. Do you teach production sound mixing, re-recording mixing, or both? Chris: Both. If you're teaching one, you're teaching the other. Mark: My focus has been in teaching the filmmaking aspect first, with my main bona fides in production sound mixing. However, I strongly emphasize the essential relation- ship between the three legs of the stool. Production sound, sound editing, and re-record- ing mixing are the three-way collaboration that results in the sound design of the finished project. The philosophy of this collaboration is, in my opinion, the key to better, more creative outcomes. The over-compartmentalization and subsequent non-communication between the practitioners are completely counterintuitive. James: I teach production sound, but I have been collaborating with the post-produc- tion faculty as we work to develop and improve an overall cohesive course of study in sound. Most of the students are aspiring directors or producers, although we also have cinematographers and writers. So, the focus is on how sound can be used to forward the story and their vision. " THERE ARE THE ASPECTS OF WORKING ON A CREW AND COLLABORATING WITH THE REST OF THE PEOPLE ON THE SET AND UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMICS OF A SET. TO BECOME A GREAT MIXER, A STUDENT NEEDS TO HAVE A 'JOURNEYMAN' EXPERIENCE TO BUILD ON THEIR CLASSES. " –JAMES COBURN CAS David: I do a lecture on production sound in my intro class, as well as in my second-semester class, but I made sure we hired a real production mixer (Drew Levinson, who has been very supportive to our students) to teach a three-day seminar class for my students to prepare them for doing production sound on student films. When did you start teaching? What courses have you taught? Tod: Three years ago, Peter Snyder from Gotham Sound recommended me (he teaches as well) to NYU. It gave me a great feeling of giving back, and I felt con- nected to the kids. Most of them are there

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