Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1436283
46 I m ps e . o rg tones and music combined with sounds, voices, and laughter which represent bits and pieces of her life mined from earlier in the movie. I started out by giving it an echo-y muffled quality, doing things to make it sound distant and mysterious. Then it was a winnowing out, sculpting process, how do we get from a place that is very busy with crowd and musically loud, to an intimate conversation that leads to a moment between Irene and Clare in which they feel something between them that's not verbal but rides on the music. That was a mixing challenge and I enjoyed finally making that one work! The opening of the movie was also a favorite, going from something that is abstract visually and sonically to where we're specifically walking on a hot day, midsummer, in New York City, during the late 1920s. We began with many construction sounds but in the end, we just left in just a few—hammering and pounding. Establishing and subtly maintaining the period soundscape was a constant challenge. It's not like we had the resources to go out there and get a bunch of cars from the period and re-record them perfectly. I relied on my library built up through the years and it did not let me down. Our sonic goals were no doubt ambitious in the best possible way. Rebecca wanted to juxtapose music and sound design in a sort of quiet kinetic, sometimes conflicting way, accurately reflecting Irene's inner struggle. To pull this off I'm happy to say, we were blessed with a talented team of enthusiastic experienced sounds editors, Branka Mrkic- Tana—dialogue, Pam DeMetrius- Thomas—ADR, George Lara—Foley editor/mixer, Marko Costanzo— Foley artist, Eric Strausser—sound assistant, HR Casting—loop group, as well as two great sound facilities, PostWorks NY and Harbor NY. In the end, I hope the Passing viewer is able to make Irene's journey with her, to get a feel for what it was like to pass for white, or not, in 1920s NYC, to wrestle with new experiences, feelings, and emotions as Irene and those in her circle did. I sincerely hope that audiences learn from and enjoy the Passing journey as much as I did. with Rebecca's input and direction. We wound up with something beautiful and spare that plays aptly with the images we see. Then there's the sequence in the dance hall where there's actually quite a lot of dialogue. That was challenging in terms of mixing; From top: Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga; André Holland and Tessa Thompson. Photos courtesy of Netflix