Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1504940
C A S Q U A R T E R L Y I FA L L 2 0 2 3 47 boots with little metal spikes on their soles. This would mean a huge problem for us, so we made more than 200 rubber soles that could be stapled to the original boots. The wardrobe department was not happy about this at all but there was nothing else that could have been done. Of course, we also used floor mats or different pairs of boots (with no metal spikes) whenever it was possible. And we have a lot of floor mats. During pre-production, I also got in touch with the art department to create the best possible environment for the production sound. On the tech recce [site survey], I asked Patrick Herzberg (art director) to build a wall for the "rainy trench scene" so we could eliminate as much noise from the fire truck engines that were running close to the set as possible. Then, for example, in another scene where General Friedrichs is having dinner at the big table, we used sound- absorbing blankets behind the camera to eliminate the room echo. And, of course, I was also communicating with Frank Kruse (supervising sound editor) intensively. We went through the script together and discussed what wild tracks would be needed. We had some very rare picture vehicles from 1912 to 1920 and hundreds of extras on set, so we knew we had to make wild tracks of those because it would be extremely difficult (if not impossible) to make it some other day. Our schedule was extremely tight, so we couldn't do it ourselves, but Mark Nolting (line producer) helped us out and gave us 10 days with additional sound mixers Jan Sulcek and Peter Hilcansky to record whatever we needed. Now that the additional wild tracks were approved by the production, everyone from the AD's department and picture vehicles were aware of it and it became a part of the daily schedule. It was like having a splinter unit but just for sound. When we were done shooting with the picture vehicles or tanks on the main unit, the additional sound mixers would take them someplace else to do the wild tracks. They used Sound Devices 688, MixPre-10 II, Holophone H3-D, Schoeps mics in ORTF, Sennheiser MHK60 & MHK30, and DPA 4061 for exhausts, engines, and the tank tracks. All the loud stuff such as tanks or a soldier's war cry was recorded in 192 kHz/32 bit. We tried to cover those situations from various distances and perspectives. Our goal was to provide as much usable material from the set as possible. Eventually, we managed to record almost 50 gigabytes of audio in mono, stereo, and even five-channel. It looks like it was well worth it. Portable set for trench tests The first draft of rubber soles