Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1455123
22 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – SPRING 2022 First, a Production Mixer must be equipped with quite a sizeable sound package to accommodate and anticipate everything that can (and will) happen on set. The old saying, "Large package, large rentals," is true, but being prepared is the name of the game. Over the last ten years, particularly in the past three, significant advancements in sound technology have made it easier for us to go smaller. Unfortunately, the more compact size hasn't reduced the price of the equipment or made using it any easier (i.e., every component supports a different operating system!). However, the evolution of our technology has made us more mobile, increasing what we can do exponentially. Case in point: West Side Story. When I was first offered the film, it was immediately apparent I was way, way underequipped. Recording production sound on WSS was akin to recording a Broadway show on the sweltering summer streets of NYC for seventy-eight days. The enormity of the project alone required us to build a brand-new $300k state-of-the-art sound cart from the ground up, capable of recording thirty channels of wireless inputs, and outputs sent to twenty-four IFB's and forty Comtek wireless units using seven different mixes. The system also incorporated Earwigs, Thumpers, and wireless playback speaker systems. Andrew Garfield as Jonathan Larson in tick, tick…BOOM! Re-recording mixer Andy Nelson visiting Tod Maitland on West Side Story Mike Scott booming on West Side Story