Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1433345
32 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – Winter 2022 Some days, in the name of safety, the volume of music was requested by our horse wranglers, as the horses were very sensitive to loud noises and sudden movements. One key aspect of our success as the production sound team on The Harder They Fall was our communication within the department. Having a dedicated private comms system that could allow Doug, Nick, and I to speak freely at any point during setups, takes, or rehearsals, but also keeping the conversations private. Doug and Nick wore Lectrosonics LT transmitters that I had assigned to channels 15 and 16 on the Scorpio, pre-fade, routed to a custom headphone mix and their IEM's bus feed; push-to-talk surveillance mics converted to T5 connectors. Their in-ear monitors are Wisycom MPR50's with a Wisycom MTP40S transmitter on my main cart. I chose the portable transmitter unit so I could quickly remove it from the main cart and use it on my portable "bag" rig. Wind, wind, and more wind. I was very fortunate to be advised by fellow mixers, prior to arriving in New Mexico, that the wind could sometimes be very aggressive. That's an understatement! Nick Ronzio, our Sound Utility, did his homework and prepared himself for the battle of the wind, and very successfully was able to keep it from contaminating our production tracks. Boom Operator Doug Shamburger also had his work cut out for him with the open boom mics. The Cinela PIA-Piano and Cinela COSI came in handy to mitigate wind on whichever mic was decided to be at the end of the boom pole. The wind was so strong on a handful of days that we found refuge inside our truck with the main recording and utility carts. The wind shook our truck side to side, while the cast and shooting crew were protected inside. The powered Betso antennas took a dive at some point. In one scene, where Trudy Smith tells Stagecoach Mary (Zazie Beetz) her sister's story, you can probably see the evidence of the wind gusts happening on the main street, out the window. Collaboration was the key to our team efforts. Weeks before the start of production, I flew out to New Mexico for our technical From top: Boom Operator Doug Shamburger on the roof and Anthony Ortiz CAS below; Anthony Ortiz, Production Sound Mixer, mixing from inside a set structure in the town of Redwood. Last day of photography (L-R): David Lee, Still Photographer, Sound Utility Nick Ronzio, Anthony Ortiz, Douglas Shamburger, and our Honorary Sound Department member, Teamsters brother Rob Elliott-Barry