Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/713016
32 S U M M E R 2 0 1 6 C A S Q U A R T E R L Y I t is under- stood and encouraged that, as production sound professionals, we can benefit tremendously from attending the final mix sessions of projects we are involved in. True, our work schedules sometime cause conflict in our ability to attend. Even if this is not the case, sometimes family, friends, vacations, and living life can get in the way of making this a possibility. Putting all of that aside—and at risk of sounding preachy or otherwise obvious—I feel that it is not only a good idea but is imperative that we attend these mix sessions as often as possible. On that same token, I feel the inverse doesn't hap- pen enough and that post-production re-recording mixers and supervising sound editors should make the pilgrimage to the set every so often as well. As much as I know the work is appreciated, I feel that a physical visit will solidify what goes into laying these tracks down at the compromised pace and in the environment that we work in. With each of us The sound crew of Murder in the First. L to R: Rich Weingart, FX mixer, Devendra Cleary CAS, production mixer, and Michael Colomby, dialogue and music mixer. I t is under- stood and encouraged that, The sound crew of the First FX mixer, Devendra Cleary CAS, production mixer, and Michael Colomby, dialogue and music mixer. A Guest in the Mix visiting the other side of our craft, we can further build relationships—while building a better understanding of this evolving world of sound. Every time I attend a mix session, it is a unique experience. As a fair warning, when I talk about post-production sound here, my lack of expertise will become very apparent. Yes, I have attended plenty of final mix sessions, but I have no formal training or hands- on practice in this craft. I have strictly been engulfed in the study, practice, and application of production sound for the last 18 years and have not explored post sound other than as an admirer and a spectator. Typically, on a one-hour episodic TV series, there are two days to mix an episode with those days occurring back-to-back. The day that you, as the production mixer, choose to attend may result in very different experiences. The "day one" can be very educational for the production mixer because you may hear some rougher, work-in-progress scenes where you get to see and hear how the re-recording mixers finesse the material. You may also have to be more of a "fly-on-the-wall" because the mixers are busy and under a tough deadline—so they may not be able to explain exactly everything they are doing. For instance, I'll see the iZotope