Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1521562
48 S U M M E R 2 0 2 4 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y ladder comes down for Ellie, that was very important as was the last five seconds of the last episode, because that piece of music is taken directly from the game. To Kevin's point, we made the whole thing about being believable. So, anytime we came upon something in the FX build that was too over the top, we removed it, like gore or goosh that went too far. RW: With most shows, we find that the coverage for the Foley is more than enough, but we were getting notes from the mix stage of next-level stuff. And it was like, "If they are asking for this, then there is a whole bunch of detail going in!" [For example], in the mall scenes, we were being asked for a glass crunch on one foot and something different on the next. Adding those little details to the mix is what makes it fun! It certainly makes it sound more authentic! Now, back to that pickup truck driving across the field. I was like, "How did they do that?" I couldn't tell if it was ADR or not, it was so good. How did you deal with that scene? MF: The only ADR in that scene is at the very end where Sarah turns around and the plane is coming. The rest is all production! Michael just did an amazing job and we had great tracks. Speaking of that, there is not a lot of ADR in show overall. That was a shot [the truck interior] that we probably went back to 10 times before the end of the mix just because the visual FX kept changing. But, in terms of Michael's mics, they're giving us everything now, boom and lavs time-aligned so we can use everything together—and that's always my approach. I'll have a boom and two lavs and I'll do a three-finger thing and lean into it. And for this scene, it was just whatever worked; they wouldn't have given it to me if it were completely unusable anyway. Somehow, I think there was only one exterior in the whole show where there was a plane! We were really lucky! For you Kevin, was the pickup scene just a festival of PFX? Meaning, how did you guys navigate that together? Because if that is all production, I would imagine there was a ton of sound going on throughout. KR: You know, I don't know if it was an electric car, but there wasn't a lot of engine noise. And so, one of the mix techs had a truck and they went out and did a multi-channel recording of it, and that's the main part of the engine and muffler! Then for that part in the field, we had to get it really dirty [FX-wise] with cab shakes. Yeah, it strikes me when I hear it—it's very realistic, but clean. Randy, I assume you shot a bunch for that? RW: Yeah, we always do some car seat moves, and we have a track we like to call "essence of car" which is like the [mouths] "dugga-dugga-dugga-dugga" where you grab a car door and manipulate it. It kinda gives you that… Chevy from 20 years ago falling apart vibe? Yeah! And you can just fit it in around the dialogue; you don't want it to compete with anything else in there. You know, there is so much [going on] with the sound effects there, we just wanted to add a little layer. I think the show, they way the cut it, has a really good rhythm between those super-busy action moments and complete calm. I would think to myself, "I can actually hear BG's!" That's not the usual. The show has a nice breathing to it, which is super nice and made it spookier! KR: Yeah, and Craig's thing is dynamics. Not just in terms of level, but in terms of time, EQ, space, color, pacing—just like making changes. MF: That was a problem, too, for Kevin, Randy, and the team. When the fungus hit and there was no longer a society, there were no more mechanical sounds in the world. Especially in episode three with the two guys in the house, you know, you couldn't have lawnmowers or car-by's. I can see you editing stuff out of your BG's now! MF: Right! And so, episode one was more interesting because it's the one time you are in a city with a big population; there are people, there's a lot of walla and all that. You don't really get that in most of the other episodes. This is why we needed Randy's work so much, because that was really the life of it, that's what made it come alive. You know, you couldn't have an outside car-by, and even the birds were very specific. We would have conversations about that. These guys did a lot of work! It's fortunate to have that level of time to really craft something this well—and it sounds quite amazing! Congrats again on your CAS Award win! Utility Valerie Siu and boom operator Louw Verwoerd dealing with the elements on Fortress Mountain