Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535806
C I N E M A A U D I O S O C I E T Y. O R G 67 Sometimes all the planning in the world can't prepare you for what happens on set or on the mix stage. When technical solutions run dry and/or creative differences arise, success often comes down to how we handle these challenges from the inside out. In my 12 years as a production sound mixer, I've faced my share of impossible situations. It can really take the passion out of the craft knowing what I'm recording will be erased and replaced. I recently mixed a film about the first "lady wrestlers," starting in the 1930's. Here, I faced some of the biggest challenges of my career. This production threw everything at us: large cast, improvised dialogue, noisy wrestling rings, period costumes, stunts, extreme vocal dynamics, and simultaneous wide/tight coverage—all while battling tornado weather and a looming SAG strike. I collaborated with the hairstylist to hide the Q5X mics in elaborate wigs and up-dos. They worked beautifully—until the wrestling incorporated hair-grabbing. While the thin and flexible Q5X transmitters handled stunts safely, the skin-tight costumes left few hiding spots, and they didn't have the VFX budget to remove visible packs. This meant boom-able coverage would be crucial. Unfortunately, in order to make our days, wide and tight coverage was very common. We deployed our usual tricks—asking for boom dips during wides, convincing B-camera to shoot inserts or crowd reactions instead of tight coverage of the dialogue. My boom op, Tom Pieczkolon, is great at making friends and asking for the right favors, but with constant pressure to make our days, sound often took a backseat. The SAG strike presented its own unique challenge. While we were able to get a waiver to keep filming during the strike, we still had to shut down precisely at 3 a.m. EST the day of. This forced production to shoot a long walk-and-talk scene with very limited time at a location that wasn't scouted. We quickly Tod A. Maitland CAS, Production Sound Mixer CAS Career Achievement Award recipient Tod Maitland shared insights into challenges where even careful preparation couldn't overcome difficult circumstances. When working with Ella Purnell on Fallout, he encountered a wedding dress with taffeta that created unavoidable noise. "There was just no way to get away from the sound of that dress," he explains. "Even a boom just picked up so much noise with every movement she made." This echoed his experience with Brad Pitt on Sleepers, where a polyester suit created similar issues during courtroom scenes. Maitland emphasizes that wardrobe often presents the toughest challenges because it's something "you have the least control over." Creative problem-solving is crucial in his approach. On Fallout, the fully vinyl vault suits initially seemed impossible to work with. But he found a solution by modifying the characters' biometric devices on their chests with the wardrobe department, creating just enough space for a DPA 6060 microphone. But when they reached the windy Namib Desert, even this setup failed. ran 300 feet of antenna cable to divide the walking path with active antennas at 100 feet and 200 feet down the corridor. But with each passing take, new lines were given to nonscripted cast which added more and more RF hits with each additional mic pack in this narrow concrete hallway. I never got a clean take before 3 a.m. Finding the line between fighting for good sound and accepting what's possible in these unique situations is always a challenge. This made me wonder, how do other sound professionals, with decades of more experience, handle their own technical and emotional challenges while retaining the love for their craft? With this goal in mind, the following is a collection of stories from both production and post-production perspectives.