Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1545202
C I N E M A A U D I O S O C I E T Y. O R G 35 designer, Chris, who I knew quite well and the DP to coordinate. I put blackouts over the top of the talent and told the DP, if you don't mind lighting with this around the subject, [it will help] to create a soundproof box in the best way possible. I wanted him to walk into an environment where it's free. On their chairs, anything that squeaked was not allowed. And I made sure their management sat miles away as well. Since we couldn't afford traffic management, I created an out-of-the-box solution. I got runners to stand at the two traffic lights with radios at each end of the street. We timed it so that they could press the crosswalk buttons to stop the cars on each side in time for the take. What a creative hack! Nigel, you got to spend a lot of time with the band. What was your takeaway? Nigel: I think their drive, focus, and determination is second to none. And it's nice to be in the energy of people that basically have a one-track mind. Even in the face of early bad reviews, they kept going on the same path and showed the critics. And the fact that they are still passionate people about music, sound, and originality. Nick, Nigel, any final thoughts? Nick: Especially on the documentary side of the film world, I think people often have low expectations for sound and assume vintage audio always sounded poor in one way or another. However, as long as you can track down an original source and extract the audio in the best possible way, the sound can be incredible. There are so many powerful digital restoration tools these days, and they can do some amazing things, but there's always some sacrifice. Transfer work is usually considered entry-level work in our industry, but for a film like this, getting the analog source audio right is really where the magic happens and where the fidelity gets locked in. It was wonderful being able to personally transfer all the vintage analog sources and ensure they were as perfect as possible in the raw state before putting them into the mix or even into the picture edit. Nigel: It might come across as a technical role, but I see what we do as deeply creative. In many ways, we're shaping the emotional language of the film—like a director of photography does visually. My goal is always to give post options to provide a palette of sound so they can decide how far to push things or how subtle to keep it. Bringing post into the process earlier was a big part of that. It allowed sound to become part of the storytelling from the start rather than something that's just refined at the end. That collaboration is where the work really comes to life.