Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1487666
80 W I N T E R 2 0 2 3 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y MU: For me, the whole awards experience was a kind of "Alice Through the Looking-Glass" event. After years of passionate engagement in telling the story with sound and enjoying the privilege of being a member of the film sound community, suddenly to be up there looking out on the audience of peers was kind of mind-bending. CAS, BAFTA, AMPS, and AMPAS recognition by your peers in sound is the highest compliment we can receive for our work—so very humbling—but at the end of the day, the privilege of doing what you love is the real reward. These public acknowledgments are amazing validation for your family and colleagues but "What is the next project challenge?" and "What is the next shot?" are the real energizers. How can we continue to learn and grow in our fluency? There is no mastery in this game. We are on a perpetual track of student-hood. If you miss this truth, you are at great risk of misinterpreting your good fortune and bringing damage to yourself. What did you do that worked well? Were there any lessons learned on Titanic? TB: Happily, I am retired, but it's wonderful to reconnect with all the members of the sound crew. What worked well? I think the wonderful delicate blending of the Mir [submersible] sound effects with the subtle dying voices was truly a poetic moment. It presaged the tragic ending in an exquisite manner. I also think the sonic way in which we differentiated steerage from first class made the point of class distinctions. Given the amount of ADR, scene after scene, we were able to replace the production dialogue with the ADR without losing performance, and the sync was dead-on. MU: Well, in a way. My team individually continued to successfully progress in their respective careers, and we maintain a very positive connection professionally. One of my crew is my longtime partner in the sound business— Patrushkha Mierzwa—author of the wildly successful book, Behind the Sound Cart. Like myself, she is a deeply invested mentor, nurturing professional development within the film sound community and partnering in workshops internationally, evangelizing "telling the story with sound." To me, the key to success and a durable career in the rough and tumble world of film production is to engage as a musician or athlete, always seeking to improve, to learn the new and to avoid staying in your comfort zone. Have a system of progression in your craft to maintain fluency in your instrument. Channel your ego to serving the project. Practice, practice, practice. Become literate about filmmaking and film history. Keep abreast and relevant in the ever-evolving tool set in production and post-production. Prepare intensely. Remain curious and love what you do. Tell the story. GR: I worked with everyone on the sound crew on films after Titanic. Very recently, I worked with Tom Johnson and Mark Ulano on Ad Astra. There's a bond between people who work on films like Titanic, films that are uniquely big, memorable, and hard. It was an aptly named film. One memory is hearing Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" when it was first brought to us in the mix, and the sound crew telling Jim we liked it—which I like to think had a hand in him putting it on the end credits. The rest is history! Thank you to Gary, Tom, and Mark for taking us on the most exhilarating ride of the '90s. A shout-out goes to the other Oscar winners who weren't able to participate in this article—Tom Johnson (re-recording mixer) and Gary Summers (re-recording mixer: music). The magnificence of this film is second only to the superbly talented crew that painstakingly stayed afloat and gave us one of the best-sounding films in history. Here's to another 25 years of Titanic! The set of Titanic