Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500728
30 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – Summer 2023 Before I go any further, I have to acknowledge and thank my crew of Boom Operator Zach Wrobel and Utility Sound Technician Saif Parkar, as well as the mixers and crew who came in to handle our second units. I was also very fortunate that Netflix responded positively to my request for a Y-16a trainee as a member of our Sound Department. Due to the length of the show, I was able to have three trainees; Britney Darrett, Leslie Metts, and Brandyn Johnson cycle through for about two months each, as well as host some incredible day- player trainees. Almost every single one of those trainees have gone on to become a full-time union Utility or Boom Operator, so I want to stress the importance of pushing for a trainee as a normalized member of the Sound Department! This is how we train the next generation of sound professionals. With such intense scripts, I knew we were in for some emotional performances from our cast. Like any sound mixer, I place the utmost importance on capturing an actor's dialog as authentically as possible, to avoid the need for ADR or looping. The biggest challenge for myself was staying alert and ready for an actor to jump from a whisper to a scream with no forewarning, and have that volume change from take to take. For Boom Op Zach, he had to work with the same level of attention, but with the added challenge of staying out of eyelines, while avoiding the countless reflections and shadows on our sets lit mostly with practicals. The all-metal gold bookshelf in Glenda's apartment was a favorite for reflections. Saif, the Utility Sound Technician, was given the challenging task of wiring a main actor dressed in only a white T-shirt, fitted to his body; and to prepare for lots of physical exertion. Zach Wrobel booming Zach booming from the roof