Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/348146
www.postmagazine.com 20 POST JULY 2014 IN THE MIX So, the music guys recorded IR (impulse response) recordings in order to bring it back into the studio. So, it was a collabo- rative effort from the guys on the music side, before it got to us, prepping and mixing down the music and vocals in the fashion to represent where it was record- ed and it was us continuing that in the post production side to make it all come together seamlessly." What tools did you use? RUDLOFF: "We were mixing with Pro Tools, there were different plug-ins being used." REITZ: "We relied a lot on Izotope to clean up the tracks." RUDLOFF: "We mixed the film on an AMS Neve | DFS Gemini console. We were us- ing Pro Tools workstations, I believe they recorded to Pro Tools on the set, mixed down and laid the tracks to Pro Tools and all of our source sessions were Pro Tools." Were there any particular challenges you faced while working on the film? RUDLOFF: "When working on one of Clint's films, the surprise would be, if there were any surprises. We're a family; we've all been working together for so long, if there are any challenges, we just figure them out. We discuss everything as we go along or even ahead of time." MURRAY: "I think the biggest issue was making sure the sound effects and backgrounds were true to the period represented in the film. The film was shot here at Warner Bros., so we actually got to record the cars on film at the same lo- cation they shot in for the film, just three months later. It perfectly blended with the production tracks that were done during the filming process." What was it like working with Clint Eastwood? You have history together? RUDLOFF: "Clint is great— we've all worked with Clint for a very long time. But we all take our queue from Allan; always have. Allan is the guy who has always been in touch with Clint. We all know what Clint likes and what he doesn't like, but Allan pretty much oversees our process the whole way and we present it to Clint and Clint makes adjustments to it as we go." MURRAY: "Clint doesn't like to restrict people. He wants to give you free reign and bring what you do to the stage and he wants you to come up with your ideas but also stay in the tone of the movie. He trusts everybody he works with to bring their A game to the stage. Basically, we mix the reel and he comes in and does his critiques or tweaks but we're pretty much done with the reel when he does his playback because we're familiar with how he mixes and what he likes." RUDLOFF: "It is intense, though, because if you're heard or read anything about Clint, he works very quickly, so you are on your game going the whole way. You don't just get to kick back. You're always moving forward. You need to have everything lined up, in place and ready to go and move along at the pace he likes to move." What was it like for you to work on this film? Were any of you Four Seasons fans? REITZ: "Absolutely. Probably one of the better movies that I've worked on. I've seen the Jersey Boys six times on stage, so I really was thrilled to see it come our way." RUDLOFF: "We were thrilled when we found out we were going to do it. We thoroughly enjoyed working on it. We had a blast the whole way." DPA MICROPHONES IS NEWEST MEMBER OF THE JERSEY BOYS' BIG-SCREEN QUARTET When production started on the film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical Jersey Boys, crew members knew they would need to capture all audio, music and vocals live without any pre-recordings. As instrument miking was not available during the 1950s to 1970s era of the film, the pro- duction team also needed to conceal the musicians' mics on set. Tim Boot, production music mixer for Jersey Boys, relied heavily on DPA Microphones' d:vote 4099 instru- ment microphones and d:screet 4061 omnidirectional miniature microphones to capture the live instruments on set. Easy to conceal during filming, these mics provided a natural sound quality that stayed true to the era of the film. Further keeping with the film's theme, the crew used vintage instruments, such as Fender guitars and Ludwig drums, to maintain a classic sound, while the mics allowed them to record discreetly. "You always have to be prepared when you have live music on set," says Boot. "DPA was my hero when it came to miking the drums. I couldn't use prop mics, so I bought myself a kit of DPA d:vote 4099 and d:screet 4061 mics. Depending on the setup, we buried five to 12 microphones on the drum kit. You don't see the mics on camera, but each element of the kit was individually miked." Boot achieved the studio-recording results by placing the d:screet 4061 under the cymbals and in other areas that were more challenging to con- ceal. He relied on the d:vote for the snare and kick drums. In addition, he placed a d:screet 4061 on the stand of every sax, trombone and reed instru- ment also used in the film.