Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1532010
28 S P R I N G 2 0 2 5 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y different people and how each one of them has a different relationship with the director is a key skill. The director is the hub, and they need to be that great communicator, that leader. I've had the chance to work with great directors; Sydney Pollack comes to mind. Not only was he a pleasure, but he knew everything about the process and each crew member's role. Where some people may have felt intimidated, we relished those directors because they have a way of challenging and demanding you to do the best job you can. They are paying attention, they know what you are doing, and they know what they want. I've learned so much from this career and met so many people that have been inspiring. Can you name some of those inspiring people? As mentioned, my father was an early mentor of mine; he was there from the beginning obviously. I had a chance to do a movie with Bob Gravenor, who was Robert Altman's mixer, a movie Rich Kids [1978], directed by Robert M. Young. Gravenor was using an 8-track one-inch analog tape recorder with lots of wireless. I had never known using wireless microphones at that level because, in NYC, we would have only used them in emergencies or when we really had to, but with Bob and the Altman system, it was the norm. Everybody was wired all the time, we boomed everything as well, of course, but that really opened my eyes to this multitrack world, wiring talent, and how to make that all sound really good. It was a revelation. Funny how something that is the norm nowadays had that effect on me back then. In the 1980s, I boomed many shows with Les Lazarowitz. Going back to relationships in this business, Les and I, we loved each other, we had a great relationship. He knew that he could always count on me and vice versa. I really loved my days booming for Les, and when my first mixing job came up, I was actually sad to be leaving him and sad not to be the boom person on set anymore. It goes back to what I mentioned earlier, that this is a very social business. Accounting for all the time we spend on set together, surrounding your time with fun and enriching people has really been important to me in growing and learning all these years. Somehow, I had great luck in teaming up with people who are gifted in their work and being friends. I think I've only worked with a few boom operators, T.J. O'Mara was with me from the start. We spent more than 15 years together and he was a great support to me in those early years. Then Michael H. Scott and now you, Jerry Yuen. Same goes for the utility, whom I can't do anything without. My sister, Kim, was with me from the beginning and then Joel Holland was with me for a very long time. Then Frank Graziadei and now Terence McCormack Maitland. It's really been a small group of people, all of whom have given me the support and guidance to do each film. Without them, none of this would be possible. Again, it comes down to having really good relationships. Everyone comes with different skill sets and puts so much heart and devotion into what they do and what we all can do together as a group. What else do you do between shows and teaching? Sarah, my wife, and I live in an old farmhouse in rural Upstate New York, and that keeps both of us quite busy. Sarah is half- French and, ever since she was young, her mother would take her to an island off the coast of Brittany every summer where they would, essentially, camp for two months amongst a community of other summer visitors and islanders. It was a brilliant childhood. So, we always make room for that in our schedules. It really reminds me of the expanded web of friendships we have in the film community and how we can just pick up after not seeing each other for years. Sarah still knows childhood friends on the island. Plus, I get to jump into a boat and go fishing again! Besides that, I like to build things With Steven Spielberg and the sound cart we built specifically to handle the needs for West Side Story. Early musicals with lots of equipment on The Producers with Mike Scott, TR Boyce, and Jerome Vitucci.