Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535880
42 M PS E . O R G by Dan O'Connell and John Cucci, backgrounds picked and cut by Dan Hegeman and adding Chris Jargo's always pretty perfect ADR, more than 20 years later, those fights still sound great today. I had kind of become the unofficial car-chase guy of our regular crew. With the Bourne car chase, using Bullitt as an example, I tried to talk them into dropping the music. Bullitt and The French Connection are the two car chases we remember most and neither one of them have music. That crazy Chinese Dragon chase in What's Up Doc? has no music. I think they are all better for it, but nope, we're using music. Bummer. I don't want to give the impression that it was just us. Frequently, credit isn't given where credit is due. There was, of course, a huge crew. Those outside the business don't have any clue how much work goes on before the tracks go to the stage. The mix is almost a victory lap for the massive amount of work done in editorial. First assistant Phil Morrill and Per's partner, Karen Baker-Landers, were holding down the fort back at Soundelux and a team of FX editors, dialogue editors, ADR editors, Foley editors, recordists, techs, etc., all contributed. They're all on IMDb where everyone gets equal credit no matter how much or how little one does. Director Doug had, ummm, interesting notes. Over a city establishing shot, he wanted the sound of an actual beehive. Interesting idea that didn't work. He suggested using a lawnmower for the Mini Cooper. That, of course, wasn't going to work. Lots of fun, quirky suggestions. Some that were brilliant and some that were never going to work. I was set up next to Bob on the right-hand side of the mixing board. Why is it that FX mixers are always on the right and dialogue/music mixers always on the left? Like old married couples having established sides of the bed. Even while traveling and staying in strange hotels, always the same side of the bed. No matter the stage, FX right, dialogue and music left. There is probably a sensible, practical reason that I know nothing about. We're mixing away and whenever an unusual, interesting suggestion from Doug would come up, Beemer would turn to me and say, "Chris, send me a dolphin on Sweetener One." It became a running joke. o, there we were, the last day of the final, the last scene. With no interesting mix note from Doug, Bob says to me out of nowhere, "Send me a dolphin on One." Wait ... what? "Really?" "Yeah, we'll stick it over the flying over the ocean shot. They won't notice." "Bob, they'll notice." "Nah, c'mon, it'll be great." Scott was buried in a dialogue pass and didn't seem to be aware of what we were about to do. Per was likewise preoccupied. During those long dialogue passes when room tones are being matched and ADR lines are being smoothed, many tune out. Something about the same lines being played over and over and over again makes your attention wander and your hearing turn off. The picture editor was off roller skating around the lot and Doug, Frank, and the rest were off doing something important. It was like the teacher had left the classroom. I dug into my library and found the classic Flipper dolphin chatter. I sunk (sank? synched?) it up and sent it to Bob. He put it in, and I immediately thought it was way too hot. So, there we are, copter shot skimming the Mediterranean Sea and up pops Flipper, as proud and loud as Celine Dion singing, "My Heart Will Go On." S Beyond Borders (2003) crew: Per Hallberg, Bob Beemer, director Martin Campbell, Jim Henrikson, Chris Assells, Barbara McDermott, Fred Peck.