Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535880
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S 43 Quoting Raymond Chandler: "It was as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food cake." The dolphin made it through playback number one. I really thought Frank Marshall, who was one of the adults in the room, would call an audible and out it would go, but nope. It might have been producer Pat Crowley who first noticed it was strange. and it should perhaps be pulled down a little. Per and Scott both said nothing (God bless 'em), but was I imagining, "look what the kids are trying to get away with" side-eyes? We'll be fine. We weren't painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa or trying to cure cancer, this was fun stuff. It made it through every playback and lives in the final mix. It's not as wrong as putting in a chicken squawk but it does stick out as much as a Wilhelm does. You're thinking, "What's the big deal? The ocean? A dolphin? So what?" Go listen to it. You'll laugh. year after The Bourne Identity, we were together again with Scott and Bob on a Martin Campbell film called Beyond Borders, starring a perhaps miscast Angelina Jolie. Through no fault of her own, she was maybe a little too beautiful for the part even though in real life, she did volunteer work for the same UN organization she works for in the film. The picture editor was Australian Nicholas Beauman who I immediately liked and became friends with. It was destined to be one of those summer camp romances and after Beyond Borders, I never saw him again. Kind and fatherly, he confided in me that his wish when he retired was to be a postman. This made me laugh because my wife Connee was a USPS letter carrier and there is no romance or rest in that job. It does have its pluses but it's not delivering to the gentle folk of Bedford Falls, it's more like life in Pottersville. It can be aggressive dogs (Connee had been bitten twice), complaining customers, back problems, oven-hot vehicles with no air conditioning and it's closely supervised with lots of "you're not going fast enough." With seniority, Connee did end up with a nice route in Bell Canyon, a semi- exclusive gated community in the Northwest San Fernando Valley. Not Bel-Air but there were celebrities both "A" and "B" and a genuine San Fernando Valley "don't knock on the door while we're shooting" porn house. I told Connee about Nick's letter carrier dream and she purchased an official USPS hat from work that I gave to him so that he could pretend. It sat small on his big brainy head. Pretty much the same crew as Bourne. We were at Sony again on one of those dub stages named after a Golden Age movie star. The mix was going well when Bob whispered to me, "We gotta put the dolphin in." Aw, Christ. Here we go again. Looking for a spot, Bob found one. A busy Cambodian street. Angelina and Clive Owen pull over in an aid truck and stop. Lots of walla, motorbikes, birds, etc. Bob says this is the spot. Hmmm, okay. I pull Flipper out of Soundminer, spot it between some dialogue and let's see what we have. Hey, it kinda works. With everything going on, it sits kind of nice in the chaotic BG's. We play back and the only note is from our picture editor buddy Nick, "Is that off stage monkey a little hot?" That's it! It's a monkey! Bob smirked. It confirmed one of the early editing lessons I learned, name an effect what you want it to be and you're halfway there. Call that Little Bird helicopter, whip-pan a motorcycle by and that's what they hear, call that lion roar a tiger roar and that's what they hear (tigers don't roar). We hear what we want to A Wearing Maximus' vest preparing to cut Gladiator.