Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500189
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S 33 awards given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, do you feel that the Academy has finally taken sound seriously? Or are they still trying to get it off the broadcast and into the Technical Awards Show? GYW: I think everyone is happy with the combined award now. And I think it's a good thing because the lines between editing and mixing are so blurred now. I think the hardest thing is educating Academy members about what is sound. Sound is not about the score—music is very important but it's not the whole sound. It's kind of like the problem that Avatar ran into. What Jim and [producer] Jon [Landau] did was so crazy and complicated. Because of all the technology, people can't understand, for example, how it could be the best production design or how it could be an actor's best performance. Because they don't 'see' the actor, in the traditional sense. It's so mind-bending how they made the film! I think sound is one of those categories where people could work on the sound on that film?" GYW: So many! Most recently would have loved to have worked on Elvis. VRS: Since working on a film is so collaborative, how did you interface with the other parts of the sound processes? GYW: Every film is different, but usually the picture department is your best friend. The editor and first assistant can give you the information about tone and intention that the director often doesn't have time to relay, which is super crucial. The post supervisor is your logistics leader, and the conduit between all the departments. It has changed with technology, but to me, mixers and editors are the true collaborators. Without editors, mixers have nothing to mix. Mixers come to the show with fresh ears and perspectives, helpful for taking me out of the minutia of editing to look at the wider scope of the show. VRS: With the recent combining of the Sound Effects and Sound Mixing filmed. She's 13 now. Spider, played by Jack Champion, grew about two feet! They were all very professional. VRS: What new sound tools (or plug-ins) have aided you in the art of dialogue and sound editing? I know that it's not the plug-ins that do the work! GYW: You already know how I feel about MAL. I hope it becomes available to all—even if just for fixing overlaps. Used to be, if one character's dialogue overlaps another's, you couldn't separate it. You would have to find an outtake where they didn't overlap or you'd have to ADR both actors. With MAL, it learns each actor's voice and is able to separate it! iZotope [noise- reduction program] is a miracle, as is auto-align post—which aligns the boom and lavs without phasing—like a mix track without the extra noise that often comes from multiple mics on the set. I adhere to what [sound designer/supervisor/mixer] Randy Thom says about plug-ins. 'It's not the technology, it's the person behind the technology.' You use your brain to figure out problems. And they are always different. No two problems have the same solution. 'Clarity is king,' is what Jim says a lot! The finale in The Way of Water is one big chaotic moment, full of explosions, gunfire, background characters, aquatic creatures, and character dialogue. It's really tricky because the music is going, and the effects are going and the people are screaming and yelling and running around. The trick is not to lose the thread of which character you're following. You choose the tools that help you get there. VRS: Is there a project you've seen that you've thought to yourself, "I wish I Park Road Post Production, Wellingtown, New Zealand