Post Magazine

cording mixer for dialogue and music, and Ross Davis, rerecording mixer for ef- fects and Foley, opened the same tem- plate and sessions on their own Pro Tools system with a ProControl surface. They laid back 5.1 and stereo mixes to HD tape for delivery to TNT. T H E T U D O R S Recreating 16th Centur y England on location and on soundstages in Dublin is not only a production challenge for The Tudors, a lavish Ireland-Canada co-pro- duction airing exclusively on Showtime in the US, it's also a post audio challenge for Toronto's Tattersall Sound & Picture (www.tattersallsound.com), which han- dles sound editorial, mixing, sound design and sound effects for the series about Henry VIII and his six wives. Its third sea- son will be broadcast next year. While the Tudor England created on- stage in Dublin is a controllable shooting environment, the Tudor England shot on location is typically subject to 21st Cen- tur y issues. "Traffic control is not what we're accustomed to, and you'll hear diesel trucks rattling along," says co-pro- ducer Bill Goddard, the executive in charge of post production at Toronto's Dufferin Gate Productions (www.duf- feringate.com), a longtime production and post services provider to Showtime. "Sound recordist Dan Birch often has his head in his hands, but he still manages to get good sound and a lot of dynamic range" on his eight-track Deva recorder. Whether onstage or on location, nothing can be hidden in audio post with modern room tones, Goddard points out. "They're just not there. It's got to be a dead track that you build on with sound design creating separate sound- scapes for Parliament, Hampton Cour t Palace and its Great Hall and private chambers, the sounds of London from horses to shipping on the Thames." Scenes of the unfor tunates imprisoned in the Tower of London are frequently punctuated by church bells, a familiar sound to all in Tudor England and a bleak reminder of the prisoners' eventual fate. Loop groups are recorded in London by Phoebe Scholfield of Sync or Swim. Composed largely of English stage actors well-versed in the historic period, they play an important role in the series voic- ing ever yone from cour tiers to crowds attending executions. ADR is performed in Dublin at Ard- more Sound and as far afield as Sydney, Australia, Goddard repor ts — wherever the cast is working next. Other ADR venues include Goldcrest in London and New York, and POP Sound in Los Angeles. Authentic source music, from full- blown dance tracks to lute solos, is recorded at Technicolor. "We also get a choir in several times a season," Goddard adds. "And local musicologist David Fallis wrangles medieval instruments." Foley is recorded by the celebrated Andy Malcolm, who runs the innovative Footsteps Studios at his Toronto-area "Foley farm," where his "house is wired for sound," Goddard repor ts. "He's got all the weaponr y for sword fights and beheadings, plus suits of armor and suit- able fabric props. When we needed some horse sounds he rented half a dozen from a neighbor and recorded them running." At Tattersall, Mar tin Lee and Kirk Lynds mix the dialogue & music, and the effects, respectively, using a Pro Tools|HD system with a dual D-Command control surface. Lou Solakofski subs as dia- logue/music mixer as needed. The team plays back the mix for executive pro- ducer Sheila Hockin and Goddard then sends the mix via ISDN to London and LA for network and other producer ap- provals. They deliver 5.1 surround and LT/RT mixes of an international Pay TV cut used by Showtime and distributed abroad by Sony; a free TV cut for the US, which is subject to language and violence restrictions; and a CBC TV cut for Canada, timed for commercials and with descriptive video. "With location sound that's good, sound design that fits the story and loca- tion, and music that augments the show's locations and drama, The Tudors sounds just great," Goddard concludes. www.postmagazine.com October 2008 • Post 53 Tattersal's Martin Lee and Kirk Lynds (L-R) mix The Tudors' dialogue, music and effects, respectively. They call on a Pro Tools|HD system with a dual D-Command control surface.

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