Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1469840
28 S U M M E R 2 0 2 2 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y proprietary software tool that allows takes and playlists to be organized using time of day as reference. This lets them track and catalog dialogue and music for the editorial department. "It's the behind-the-scenes team that goes above and beyond to push the limits and bring tools that allow the stories to be told," he adds. There is a natural process for Paul to work with other sound team members like Gabriel, with whom he has an established working relationship on several films. This allows them to work seamlessly with a good understanding of each other's techniques and workflows. Paul considers Doc Kane CAS, the ADR mixer for the film, "The benchmark that all dialogue mixers aspire to. His work is so impressive that it becomes a goal and an aspiration for us to achieve that level of excellence. He is not only the best at Disney, but to me, the best in the entire industry. He is a great mentor and friend and is super inclusive and generous with his knowledge and guidance, as well as open to ideas and techniques." Paul feels that consistency is key, because actors can be recorded several times throughout a period of two or three years and the recordings must match each other regardless of where and when they are recorded. "Something that I record today has to match what I recorded two years ago; not only as ADR but also original dialogue." That's why it's very important that the whole team has a common philosophy that matches each other so they can collaborate together. In animation films, there is original dialogue which is used for animation process and lip sync. However, similar to live action, there is also ADR. It is recorded when a take has to be replaced for technical reasons like noise, the non- ideal conditions of home recordings, performance improvements, or for creative reasons. When timing has to prevail, ADR is also the choice. This process was led and supervised by Doc Kane CAS. Doc Kane CAS: ADR Mixer During the ADR process and loop group, they connected Doc's Stage B on the Disney Lot with Paul's stage at the Disney Sonora Campus; both with reduced capacity due to the health protocols and restrictions. They could get nine people separated with baffles across the two studios. Each actor was individually miked. Synchronized timecode and reference allowed them to lock the stages for the creative process and also gave them the opportunity to deliver the group tracks separately. Individual microphones gave David Fluhr CAS better control during the final mix. Paul and Gabriel handled the original dialogue recordings that were done in L.A. and were also involved in the recording of the vocals of the music with David Boucher CAS, the song mixer for Encanto. Paul mentions, "He is incredible, he is fantastic, one of the best in the world at what he does." David Boucher CAS: Song Mixer David Boucher CAS has been a musician since his teenage years in Atlanta. He studied jazz and recording at the University of Miami and later moved to Los Angeles where he has been working on recording and mixing music for motion pictures for several years now. When David was finishing Soul, he was approached to work on Encanto with Lin-Manuel Miranda, the original songs composer. They worked together on Moana, so Lin was happy to have David continue with another Disney project. David is usually involved very closely with the composer and the music department from a very early stage, and Encanto was no exception. He worked on the film for around two and a half years, initially taking Lin's demos and mixing them to a point where the director could judge them within the context of the film. They first began working on the track "Family Madrigal," sketching it out with an accordion player and a percussionist in a basement studio in the animation building. They replaced virtual instruments with live players to elevate Lin's demo. These accordion recordings even made the final mix, which is why, according to David, it's better to have professional recordings from the beginning because performances from early stages can be great for the film, but they need to be up to technical standards. "In some ways, it might be cheaper in the end because, once I record something properly with the right performer and the right performance, it's there, it can be used in the film, we're ready. Even if we end up recording a lot of stuff that doesn't make the final mix, enough stays