Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1521562
C I N E M A A U D I O S O C I E T Y. O R G 39 going to try." And he did a great job, and we got some great recordings. BOBBY JOHANSON CAS: Sam came through and was telling me about this documentary he was making about sound, and how he did the live show. And now he's making it into a film. Right off the bat, it was about sound, so I was interested. He told me Mark Mangini was going to supervise and mix it, and I was super thrilled, 'cause he's an idol and he's the best, and to be able to support something that he was doing sound design and mixing on—I was thrilled! We're sound people. I recorded Sam, the whole narration of him throughout the film. What I found interesting was Mark had suggested using an Ambisonic microphone. At first, I was a little skeptical because I've been recording dialogue for 30 years. What are you going to do with it? How can you enhance it? But to my surprise, and to Mark's credit, we got a great result. I backed it up with a U87 because that's my comfort zone. But it sounded amazing. I had my assistant on headphones listening to both sides, and I was listening to the main mic. After it was all said and done, I got to listen back, and it sounded amazing. I thought it was a brilliant idea. And again, that's all to Mark's credit for using that. It was just a great experience for me to work on something about sound and doing it differently than I would normally do. The film had a unique approach to using music. SG: I love music and film. I feel like it was important, but with this movie, it's such a tricky, balancing act, the music and the sound. For example, consider the end credits. Normally with a movie, the last piece of music has people getting up and walking out. And with this, I had to have people still hear the crickets and hear the music at the same time, and have both do their work, but neither overshadow the other. It's important, the last little decompressing moment. It was a challenge. And JD (Jocelyn Samson), like all composers, I think on the one hand, she would want her music to be louder, but I think she understands it is everything in service to the movie. It was not an easy music movie. BEN GREENBERG: I'd worked with JD before on her music and I was kind of familiar with her style. I'm just a big fan of her music from over the years. I grew up here in NY and used to be in a band called "The Men," while she had a band called "Men," and we got mistaken for each other all the time! That was years before we even met. And the first time we worked together she said, "Wait, you were in 'The Men'? I was in 'The Men.'" When she called me about it, I was immediately excited just to be working with her again, and when I heard the music and saw what was happening with the film, I knew it was special. When they took it from kind of a hybrid live show into something where JD wasn't always going to be at the shows, we got together and mixed the score in stereo and in surround, which was fun. It's taken many different forms. They've done shows where she hasn't been a part of them, but maybe Sam was still narrating. It's sort of hybrid. Where did you mix? BG: We did most of the work in the NYU studios at the Clive Davis School, where JD teaches. We had great access there. We were able to do the stereo mixing in the API room, and we were able to do the surround mixing in their surround room, which is awesome. Normally, I work here at my studio. It was over winter break, so she had just unfettered access, which was pretty amazing. Did Mark have you provide specific types of stems? BG: I knew Mark a little bit, which was exciting. I'm a huge fan of his as well. He was super supportive. The fact that he was suggesting that I do the surround mix was a hugely flattering thing. Normally, when I'm on a score mix, they want the stems so they can remix it. Someone with Mark's level of experience and pedigree might say, "Just let me handle it, kid." But he was super open, super supportive, and generous with advice, and he's a great guy. In addition to Annea Lockwood and Joanna, another person featured is Edgar Choueiri. MM: Sam interviewed professor Edgar Choueiri, an old friend of mine who is a physicist from Lebanon now at Princeton. It was through me that Sam met Edgar. I said, "I think there's this guy you got to talk to who's doing some pretty revolutionary stuff." That's why Edgar's in the movie. He does the walkaround with the matchsticks. He shows up at the end with that Professor Edgar Choueiri in an anechoic chamber