Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1451070
C A S Q U A R T E R L Y I S P R I N G 2 0 2 2 57 Dane, you get the time to come up with a sound without pressure. Gary made the point that they all come up with better sounds if they are given time to experiment and Alyson agreed. She also said that she likes when the sound supervisor sits on the stage because, that way, you are not second-guessing and you don't have to give them five or six alts. Gary asked Alex Gibson if his issues come from new people or the people he has worked with for a while. As one would expect, he answered that they mainly come from new people. New directors, new picture editors, etc., don't know what we do so we don't have any kind of flow and we don't have time to start from scratch these days. Time is an issue. Asked how he deals with assistant editors putting in music that will be unaffordable, Alex said it's hard. You have to communicate with the editor and the director and say don't get married to that. It's hard because you don't want to alienate the assistant because, if you do, it will not go well. You have to be their friend. When asked, Alex stated that he's typically brought in a couple of weeks after the director's cut starts. He commented that, usually, all the work leading up to the first temp will be thrown out if you have no composer, but if they are already chosen, you can use their stuff to temp. Alex said, "Lately, I have been working with directors who coerce the composer to come on early and thus, we have totally new music to work with." Gary mentioned that in the past, music editors would go to the scoring stage to set up click tracks and other things. Asked if that still happens, Alex said he has not been on the scoring stage in 20 years and that composers these days have well-greased teams. By the time he is at the scoring stage, all changes have been sorted out and there is not time to be doing new ones. Gary asked how much scoring is done on big stages with large orchestras now. Alex replied that COVID wrecked the big scores and now there are smaller groups mixed with samples, although some scores were done by individual musicians at home and sent in and combined. These days, you might get strings and brass mixed to a 5.1 stem, but most stems are stereo pairs. Turning to Craig Henighan, Gary asked about going from big pictures to broadcast, especially distributors like Netflix that require home Atmos for the broadcast projects? Craig replied, "The common theme here is time and, whether I'm doing a streaming project or a feature, I still strive to make it the best I can. The streaming started in 2015 and one of the first projects I worked on was Stranger Things. They pretty much gave me what I would have on a feature. I was able to apply a cinema workflow to a streaming workflow. The essential is to have a good team around you and let them run with it. They know the drill. I try to make as many ideas as possible early on. On Atmos projects, I tend to do what I call a "pre-premix," as there is no time to do a proper premix. Gary commented that what Craig is describing is efficiency and workflow. In the case where the producer doesn't give you the time to do what you do, how do you convince them to get you the time or ask for less? Craig answered, "Part of the politics of it is to play it cool, especially at the beginning, and see that the reality of your budget is not going to get you what you want. The worst is when I am asked to create signature sounds and there is no budget for it. The smaller projects tend to have supervisors or directors who are inexperienced, and you can't come over like a know-it-all, even though we have been successful for a number of years because we are good at what we do. The main point is to understand the schedule and figure how much you can squeeze in. The schedule always seems to open up, because the visual effects take forever, and so I get extra time." Gary remarked that means you need to communicate with the picture department about the VFX, especially when there is a new effect and they expect you to turn on a dime. Craig said you just try to get in front of it and rely on your team. Gary added that your diplomacy and the way you communicate with directors buys you that extra time. Turning to Lee Orloff, Gary said that the vast majority of people don't know the issues and problems on set, where you are fighting for the best quality you can get but you have a lot going against you. With a hundred people on set, there are only three or four in the sound department. Gary inquired, "Do you have diplomatic issues dealing with talent or producers that make it difficult to do your job? How do you deal with the people to get the time and resources you need to do your job?" Lee responded that they have the typical setup plus the soundtrack (meaning score) available for playback and public address for "Voice of God" communication.