Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1525212
Ella Purnell in "Fallout." P H OT O : P R I M E V I D E O 47 F A L L Q 3 I S S U E F E A T U R E Rogers and Steve Bucino — to discuss what goes into a big-budget series like this. Before diving in, the quartet made sure to tip their cap to several of their "Fall- out" colleagues who were invaluable to creating the sound of the series, including d i a l o g u e e d i to r Ja n e B o e ge l ("a g re a t asset"), music editor Chris Kaller, mix tech Rick Camara ("he keeps us all together"), and sound effects editors Jonathan Golod- ner and Karen Triest. "It has been a joy working with this group," said Cahill. "Fallout" stars Ella Purnell as Lucy MacLean, an intrepid vault dweller who makes the bold decision to leave Vault 33 and go to the surface by herself in search of her missing father (Kyle MacLachlan). The show's sound team took a fascinating approach to creating the epic roar of the vault opening, with each creak and groan sounding a warning of the danger that lurks beyond the safety of its massive door. "When Lucy is coming out of the vault door in Episode 1, [video game publisher] Bethesda gave us a library of various sounds from the different games. Each game is based on a different vault, so I picked little pieces of various vault doors to put into this one. So, we start with a little of Vault 111 from Fallout 4, and towards the end of it opening up, you hear this great creak from [Fallout 76's] Vault 76," explained Colman. "It's massive putting it all together [be- cause] of all these little layers and nuances, but hearing it on the mix stage once Steve had really worked it into the Atmos field, you could hear the key start from the ceiling and sweep all the way through the room, clank into the front of the screen, turn, open up the vault door, yank, and reverse back up all the way to the ceiling. It was this all-en- compassing experience of really working Atmos to its fullest," Colman said. "There's also a key reveal once Lucy comes out of the vault, and Bucino ex- plained how initially, there were some drums from composer Ramin Djawadi that were giving away the coastline reveal, which they wanted to build to with sound design and crashing waves. The drums were a little too close to the sound of the waves crashing, so Rogers pulled down some of those sounds so we hold back [the coastline reveal]. It was all about tension and release, as it's Lucy's first time outside, and most of that is a big set in Africa — a real location with the exception of the Ferris wheel on the pier." Of course, that all happens at the end of Episode 1. But it's Episode 2 that the team is most proud of and subsequently submitted for Emmy consideration. (That episode, "The Target," ended up getting an Emmy nod for Sound Mixing.) "There are great scenes with The Ghoul, and Maximus and the [Knight Titus] suit f ighting, and that moment where Max loses control of the jetpack and flies around uncontrollably. Steve did an amazing job in the mix [with Max] flying overhead and bouncing all around us," said Cahill. "We had a lot of fun with the ADR to that, and treating the voice in the suit, and playing up the comedy as well as all the action" as it malfunctioned. The "Fallout" team also singled out a scene set in an outdoor market in Philly that is teeming with life -- even as the specter of death hangs over everything and everyone -- because it gave them the opportunity to take full advantage of Dolby Atmos' remark- able capabilities. "It's as if the show was shot with that in mind," joked Bucino. "There was a conversation in the room about revealing Philly as we came up over