Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1401019
46 I m ps e . o rg The first week of the shoot was mostly exteriors, establishing the Harmon's house exterior, college campus exteriors, with Kentucky and New York City being doubled in Toronto, Canada. Dave McMillan was tasked to do the recording in Canada. We were finally rolling. Immediately after, the company moved to Berlin, Germany, where Roland Winke and his team of two were to take over and do the remaining portion of the production sound recording. For sure, Berlin was to be a heavy lift of sync and often delicate interior and exterior production dialogue. Roland was enthusiastic and agreed to recording ambiences in multichannel stereo. A "Decca Tree" mic rig with three omni Schoeps microphones was deployed for many of the chess matches, producing amazing ambient tracks. These multichannel production recordings were eventually used behind the mono sync dialogue tracks to lovely avail. The sound for the final chess match with Beth's archrival, Russian Grand Master Borgo, could not have been realized as it is without Roland's dedication to this fine detail and his team's much appreciated extra efforts. 3. During Post-Production Within the editorial department, sound moves with the editor and the cut from a gathering phase into what feels more like an assembly and incremental "rolling approval" process: ABC, always be cutting, and of course, ABM, always be mixing. Eric Hirsch and Gregg Swiatlowski joined Michelle Tesoro in the cutting room in NYC. They took charge of the rough assemblies and steered the initial prototyping and polishing. Editing, by its very nature, is an experimental process involving assembly, disassembly, re- assembly, and review. Here, my goal was to serve as a creative bridge with an ear toward developing and gaining approval of thematic structures, in terms of the overall soundtrack. As time would permit, I would review and coordinate the prototyping of dialogue, sound design, and music mixes ahead of assembly. Tom Kramer, music producer, editor, and first pass mixer, performed a wonderful creative service for the production. His efforts to single- handedly perfect the presentation music and his overall good taste is reflected everywhere in the finished soundtrack. Carlos' score and the use of sound songs combine to propel Beth Harmon's character and turn the many chess matches into something excited by the backing soundtrack. Some of my favorite mix moments are Anya's dancing to "Along Comes Mary," "Fever," and "Venus." I also really enjoyed how the sound design and music complemented each other with the use of "Pink Champagne" against speed chess in Benny's basement. Leo Marcel was a key contributor in the ABC/ABM sound design process. Weeks turned into months and with COVID-19 protocols in full effect, he and I soldiered on. The six original episodes became seven. Cold openings were shuffled by Michelle and quickly reimagined by Leo and me. Our remote workflow and rolling editorial/mix process