Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1532010
scenarios. It's his way of weeding out the herd and ensuring you have the chops to go along with him on his journey. It seems like a really fast and furious learning curve once you started mixing. I totally cut my teeth in sound mixing at the highest pressure levels on those first few Oliver Stone movies. You really gave 110%, there was nothing you wouldn't do, you would jump off a cliff if you had to. Every one of those films was an education for me. I'd never done real music before The Doors, let alone playback and multitrack recording like that. Those movies were great training. But also back then, in the '80s, we were on location all of the time. And the crew would work really hard, but we would also play just as hard. It was a really fun environment to be a part of. We would all suffer in the trenches together when things were tough, but in the end, we'd all make it out and have a laugh. Getting back to The Doors, was that the experience that drew you to music-based films? Honestly, in this business, you sort of just respond to whatever comes your way. There was a period where we weren't doing these music-based jobs, and then all of a sudden, we're doing one a year. I think after The Doors in 1989, it wasn't until 1998 when we did Tim Robbins' Cradle Will Rock [1999]. And again, this was another project which pushed us to reconsider what new technology we could use to make a better end result or smoother workflow. I remember that we decided on using two ADAT eight-track recorders, which used VHS cassette tapes as media. There were big theater scenes with lots of cast doing live vocals and playing instruments. They all needed earwigs to keep sync. To accomplish that, we ran a wire loop around the entire theater which was powered by an amplifier in order for the earwigs to receive signal. Then it wasn't until we did The Producers [2005, directed by Susan Stroman] that we folded in the capabilities of Pro Tools and digital recording into the mix. After doing these kinds of projects, you learn something new every time, and it's not just me, it's the entire sound team. We all have our own ways of spotting a "Wouldn't it be easier if..." moment and building on that. For instance, when Julie Taymor reached out to me about her 2007 project Across the Universe and said all the vocals needed to be live, we sort of already had that in our playbook. So, you can say that music-based films have sort of shaped me and the team in how we approach sound. I think my whole team really enjoys putting in the leg work to get to a point where we can actually record live vocal performances on these productions and get everything right. Is it true that you tried to quit working on movies at one point? There was a stretch in the '80s where I was on location way too much and it was very painful for my family. We all have missed birthdays and graduations because of our hours, and the family things that I was missing out on was truly hurtful. Eventually Talking with Marty Scorsese during additional photography for Killers of the Flower Moon. Setting a car mic for Jack Nicholson on Something's Gotta Give. Celebrating the completion of A Complete Unknown with James Mangold. Fixing a lav on Robert DeNiro on A Bronx Tale.