Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1469840
36 S U M M E R 2 0 2 2 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y That seems to be more and more standard anyhow, I suppose. Diego: That is, yeah. But, once you get nice booms, it's such a nice difference. They sound so much better! So, in all this gunplay in the big opening, with all the noises and stuff, did that create problems for you specifically, Diego? Diego: No, I just left the room… Sam: [Laughter] Diego: Yeah, I spent a lot of time outside of the stage during Sam's premix to preserve … my source of income… Sam: [Laughter] Diego: No, no. We kind of work in layers. Going from big picture, setting the big volumes, to getting more and more detailed, sometimes down to the frame. Our main concern was not to leave any dead space, to have a consistent sound pressure. So, if we had gunshots, they needed to poke through the music. Or, if we needed to preserve a dialogue line, we needed to be very exact. Maybe we would skip a single gunshot to clear that line, but as soon as that word ends, we are back to the races. So, in that case, it's not like we were going to fade one thing down [as] that's too slow. So, essentially, there was a lot of editing around certain moments. Diego: Yes, there was a lot of automation editing to construct a very precise frame-by-frame mix! You know, we couldn't be competing with each other because then we would be blasting the limiters and losing all dynamics, losing all impact! So, it was a very detailed, frame by frame, for 15 minutes! That's a lot of frames! I mean, that's a reel of a film, a significant amount of time! To that end, what is your spec? What did you have to keep those gunshots and car crashed under? Sam: -24 LKFS overall with minus 2 true peak. Diego: In a long episode, [-24 overall] really helps. Sure! Sam: If I recall looking at the meter, the first 15 was like a -12. Whoa! That's a pop song! deal with most is Michael Friedman, and he has made it clear that what they strive for on the show is realism. Authenticity is the word, the top line operative note, and Michael is very good at knowing the spaces because his is always on set. He, for instance, knows details like the placement of a rug that is out of frame. He relates that info to us and we make the adjustments, in that case to the Foley. Diego: We also deal with a lot of horses and, specifically, Mustangs. [But] Mustangs cannot have horseshoes, so our horses can't sound like … horses! So it's less … hard? Sam: It's less of a snap! It's a bit more of a thud or a rumble. You know, the horses are one of the more challenging parts of the show. What gets delivered to me is very big and there is a lot to get through. Finding a way to shape that into the show in a way that doesn't feel like we are adding; that's our big challenge, and we do often make usage of production sound in these instances. Well, that leads me to my next question. I'm told you don't do much ADR. That means there must be horse sounds of all kinds, and accouterment— bridles and such; things must be making noise constantly. Sam: Ha! Yes, horses, cows, saddles, and the costuming! The costuming is incredible and very authentic. This caused the production sound guys to bury their mics deep under multiple layers of leather and cloth. And, for the most part, we get a lot out of the stuff that comes from set, and we have to! I bet! I assume it's a one or two boom sort of setup, and then everyone is wired? Diego: It's just one boom … that not always works. Because the shots are so wide! Diego: There are also multiple cameras often, so you can't really place the boom anywhere. Even indoors! We can't use the boom, most of the time. ADR mixer Michael Miller CAS ADR mixer Chris Navarro CAS