Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535953
Summer 2025 – LOCAL695.COM 27 Mixing Hacks has been one of the best experiences of my twenty-plus-year career as a Local 695 Mixer in Los Angeles. I first want to thank Boom Operator Ryan Fee and Sound Utility Claire Mondragon for joining me on Hacks, as well as several other shows. Department continuity helps even the most technically challenging days to move smoothly; and we've definitely had our share of curveballs during Hacks. In my opinion, the joyful attitude Ryan and Claire bring to set every day is seldom matched in this business, and I'm very fortunate to call them my friends and my colleagues. A huge thank you to the brilliant creators and showrunners Lucia Aniello, Paul Downs, and Jen Statsky. To say Hacks is a heavy on-location series or that it has a lot of moving parts would be a huge understatement. Lucia, Paul, and Jen have created an environment where every department can thrive, and I think it translates to the screen how much the entire cast and crew puts into this show and enjoys the process of making it. I would also like to thank our post sound team of John Cook, Ben Wilkins, Brett Hinton, and everyone else for their incredible work and tremendous communication over the seasons. During my career, I've mixed shows on everything from a Nagra 4.2, Fostex PD4, and all the way through the HDD/SSD multitrack transition. The Deva II, being my first recorder, and back in those days, I was mixing on a PSC M8. After a brief time with the Fostex DV824 and then the Sound Devices 788T, I had moved over to the Sound Devices 688/CL-12 combination with great results. After going over the scripts I got prior to starting Hacks, and having conversations with our showrunners, it was clear that the 688 may be just a touch short on tracks for a comedy series where everyone was to be wired at all times for improvisation and last-minute adds that didn't slow down