Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1515068
Spring 2024 – LOCAL695.COM 35 Jodie Foster—another dream of mine. I also had the chance to work with directors Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, who garnered critical acclaim for their incredibly accomplished documentaries, Free Solo (Oscar, Best Documentary Feature, 2022) and The Rescue (BAFTA nomination, 2021). NYAD would be their first time performing as scripted directors. I watched as many films as possible that involved intensive scenes that were shot both in and on the water. I came to the conclusion that the majority of films I viewed were about people trying to get out of the water. This film project is about someone who wants to be in the water, and be in the water for extremely long periods of time. For my part as a Sound Mixer, this was just one of the many challenges I faced. Considerable amounts of dialog needed to be captured while the actors were on the boat or swimming. During the two weeks of preparation, challenges with both the underwater and above-ground PA system occurred for both the Assistant Director and the Directors. You can imagine how much we had on our plate at all times: prepping, cleaning, and wrapping on a daily basis. This was beyond what a four-person sound crew normally handled but, unfortunately, there was no room in the budget for an additional sound person. Luckily, Marco "Tato" Vargas, our Music Playback Operator from Lost City, was available to help us set up and resolve any issues with the PA systems. Our Cinematographer, Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi), used two cameras on Technocranes that moved along two hundred-meter tracks and covered the majority of the tank. One of the biggest challenges for sound was working with the two main cameras; one was used for mostly extremely wide shots and the other camera captured extremely tight shots of the actors. Additionally, there was an underwater camera crew, and an underwater submarine camera named The Miranda. As a result, we had to rely on wires unless our actors, such as Diana and Bonnie, were in the water. This is where the boom comes in. In this situation, Alex Burstein, our Boom Operator, is most essential. During our two weeks of prep, we fitted him in rash guards and wetsuits to prepare for his time in the water every day and almost all day. Once it became clear that the tropical afternoon rains occurred almost daily, we knew it would be very difficult to wire all the actors in addition to assisting Alex in and out of the water all day. When the directors yelled, "Cut!" the boom pole could not simply be put down as usual. Always in chest-high water, Alex had to hand his pole to a sound team member on deck, who had to be ready to grab the eighteen-foot- to twenty-foot-long pole out of his hands. Sometimes it would be our utility sound person, Dia Donnelly, who would be on the After wiring the talent, Dia Donnelly hides from the shot Dia Donnelly booming Annette Bening & Jodie Foster Alex Burstein, Boom Operator