CAS Quarterly

24 FA L L 2 0 2 1 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y David, was it fun to just focus on sound design instead of having dialogue and music to also consider? David: Yeah, it was so much fun. It's just sticking with the story. It's the same kind of concept that we have when we're working with the other elements. You know, "What is the mission here?" We're telling a story with sound and we're honoring all the sound artists. In the credits for each episode, we're honoring the original sound designers that worked on these movies—and it's shining a spotlight on them. And we wanted to protect that with our sound approach. Season 1 was released in May 2020. Was finishing expedited since everything was in lockdown? Shannon: I remember seeing a few cuts with David Bess, I want to say it was like February, and then a month later, everything shuts down. When that happened, what were people wanting? They were wanting something relaxing that they can watch at home. It was just such a weird coincidence that we started this project and then the lockdown happened and it was released at a time when people probably really wanted some relaxing content like this the most. How did the lockdown affect your workflow, David? David: I was in my of ce at Disney Animation and they sent everyone home and said we'll come back in two weeks. Over a year later, we're back. However, once we knew that we'd have to work remotely, they sent me a nice small speaker Meyer system that I set up in my home theater, which is built for screenings. While it's a really nice system, I didn't want to use the home speaker system to mix through. I used an Avid Artist Series control surface and a very high-powered MacBook Pro that could handle the session size Shannon and I spoke of. Did you still have to deliver the mix in the same format as if you were on the dub stage? David: Working at home, I got a special waiver from Disney so we could deliver in 5.1 and Lo/Ro stereo [Left only/Right only] instead of Atmos since I didn't have an Atmos setup at home yet. So, I would do a pass in 5.1, but then jump on headphones because most people were going to hear it in stereo or on headphones. For the rst time in decades, I had to adjust based on the headphones because that's how most folks were going to listen to it. One of the tricky parts was hitting the Disney spec of a -27 Dialogue Norm on a 5.1 that has no dialogue! And the new stereo deliverable is -24 All, which took some work. Fortunately, we were given the time to do it right and Shannon provided me a beautiful starting point where I didn't have to dig from scratch since things where well laid out and set up so that it would play great. Season 1 is in 5.1 and Season 2 is in Atmos. Did you adjust your template and approach once you were back on the dub stage and mixing in Atmos for Season 2? David: We kept the same basic format of the source sessions. Even though we were moving to Atmos, it wasn't necessarily practical to mix Zenimation the way I mix cinematic releases. We developed the Disney Atmos work ow for theatrical back before Frozen. However, going to the 118 objects and seven 9.1 beds for this series— well, we had to be practical. Plus, this was all for 7.1.4 home theater and not cinema. So, I just added 20 "drag tracks" for objects. Basically, drag tracks allow me to take a sound and "drag" it onto an object track relatively easily if it needs that extra de nition. The backgrounds using Atmos really helped create the immersive space while still keeping the focus screen-oriented because that's where we're sitting. Did you end up doing anything differently on your end, Shannon? Shannon: We didn't build too much more, but we did do a few things. We provided a little more ambience and BG support, given that it was Atmos, so that you wouldn't feel the bump between the different formats as much. This series had a really strong response that I feel is very much warranted. It doesn't require a lot of time or emotional currency from the viewer but provides a different kind of relaxing escape. David: There was this amazing feedback after Season 1 and I was a little surprised because, you know, you do this and you think that maybe it's not for everyone. But people loved it—sound people and the general public. I'm thrilled to talk about Zenimation because it puts the spotlight on sound artists. Seems like there was a good deal of support to get through the remoteness of Season 1 and, now with Season 2, you were able to be get a little closer to normal. David: You know, one of the most fun parts of this whole thing is the collaboration. If I was at work, David Bess would be right down the hall. And that's one of the amazing things about working at Disney is that we can just go and sit with each other—we do that for our features. I'll go and sit with the picture editor for a movie that's three years away and we'll talk about sound moments that could possibly happen in the lm. And if there's an idea that came from one of us, there's this openness to it if it's good for the movie. Egos are checked at the door. And when you have the support of people like those on this project, our EP Amy Astley, the Head of Post Bérénice Robinson, producer Jordan Gilbert, and, of course, creator and picture editor David Bess, it makes our job on the sound side that much easier. ZENIMATION is a tribute to the visual and sound artists who have created Walt Disney Animation Studios' legacy of lms.

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