Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1490686
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S I 33 directing a feature. He had been a second unit director and a visual FX guy on a bunch of James Cameron films, so it wasn't his first rodeo. He was smart, had been around and knew what he was doing. You sometimes get directors who aren't nice to you because they don't have to be nice to anybody. He was not that. Like most directors early in their directing career, he was open, appreciative, collaborative and happy to be there. This just might work. I was kind of old school and actually enjoyed making cue sheets by hand. As you know, when digital editing took off, some brainy people made a program that printed out cue sheets that had all the personality and charm of a tax return. The information was all there but it was pretty soulless. They looked like something software engineers or CPAs would use. I would take those cue sheets and doctor them up using different- colored Sharpies and highlighters to point things out like what sounds should be featured, which FX were alternates, POV changes, and the like. My good friend Dino DiMuro had a set of different-colored stamp pads and rubber stamps with pointing fingers, exclamation points, little picture frames, and strange stuff that he would use to dress up his cue sheets. Cue sheets as art, a now lost art. Cue sheets were disappearing. Mixers would now watch the labeled sounds march by on their Pro Tools screens and watch the meters bounce. I got it, things were changing. On a mix, I still made cue sheets by hand for stage sweeteners. It was a good way to keep track of what we had added, mixers could reference my notes, make notes of their own and when the reel came back up, we could immediately refresh our memories as to what had been added. More importantly, I enjoyed doing them. For me, it was like putting the final polish on a beautiful car (or trying to polish a turd depending on the film). It brought me peace, a moment of Zen. Did our director like to be called Steve or Steven? Can't remember so I'm going with Steve. Our director Steve had never seen these kinds of cue sheets. He fell in love with them and asked if he could keep them. I told him no, there were union rules about these things and you know how unions are. It took a minute, he laughed and asked us if when we were done, we could sign them. I think we did. I hope he remembered to take them. Probably gathering dust in a forgotten cardboard box without a top on a forgotten shelf in a forgotten storeroom. We came in well prepared and the mix was going great. Extremely friendly, happy vibe, and I really liked this guy. We were bonding! I was feeling my oats so I asked, "Is it all right if my dad stops by the stage for a visit?" "Of course, bring him by." "My sister Maria will be with him. He's not comfortable driving to Burbank." "No problem." I called in a drive-on pass for them, then decided to drop in on old friend Kim "Kiwi" Waugh who had become some kind of mucky-muck at Warner Bros. I talked my way past his guardians in a building we used to call Producers Four. I walked into his office like I belonged, wearing a Bob Marley T-shirt, Levi's and my beat- up Soundelux hat. I explained to him what was happening and although I knew this request was far below his pay grade, I asked about getting a good parking spot for my dad and sister and a cart to drive them around the Lot. "No problem mate. I'd love to meet them." What a beautiful guy. So we were on. The day came and I got the call that they had arrived. They were James Assells, WWII.