Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/778398
38 W I N T E R 2 0 1 7 C A S Q U A R T E R L Y O ne of our worst days' noise-wise was when we encoun- tered a group of parachutists that were apparently with Canadian special forces. They were undergoing training from the local airport at Borrego Springs. Their flight route seemed to bring them right over our set. That was problematic, but we waited as much as we could and got the good news from locations that it was a short train- ing exercise and that they would be heading out of the area sooner than later. I have to acknowledge the patience and understanding of our first AD, John McKeown, on that par- ticular day, who was very sympathetic to our sound needs. John is one of those first AD's who gets the job done while respecting other departments and is truly sound-friendly. We were also lucky to have our post team, Zach Seivers and J.M. Davey from Snap Sound, visit us and also do their own multichannel recordings. I'm glad to say that they came out on one of the windiest days and they got to witness gusts up to 30 mph-40 mph. Once again, the Cinela system did amaz- ingly well in the most adverse conditions. Zach's company, Sound Snap, did a wonderful job to create a very beautiful 2,000-year-old imagined soundscape for this film. The des- ert truly had a unique character and this is where the sound design elevated the beautiful imagery to a whole other level. Every location we shot at had a unique feeling in its aural landscape and it also varied with the time of day. I witnessed almost every sunrise and sunset in those 20-plus days that we shot in the desert. The producers assembled a wonderful cast and a great group of people behind the camera. It's not easy selling a picture that is set 2,000 years ago with a cast of four, but they did and they shot it in California. Kudos to them and Rodrigo Garcia, who would look at me with a pained expression when I would come to him with a sound concern. I say that jok- ingly because Rodrigo and Julie were the reason I took this project. They do interesting films and they care about their crew. Most evenings, our crew would assemble in the bar for a drink and dinner. All too often on film sets, you don't really get the time to know your colleagues, since we are all so busy looking after our own needs and those of the production. This film allowed us a social setting too and it was great to chat with and get to know my fellow crew away from the set. One of our most memorable evenings was as our crew was assembled to watch the Oscars. Our DP, Emmanuel Lubezki, was nominated and won for Gravity. What a cheer went up when his name was announced! Two years later, he added another statue with his win for The Revenant. When it came to wrap the film, I was conflicted. One is always happy to finish and move on to the next project, but I also understood that I was a part of something different and unique that doesn't come around too often. It's the reason that I got into this crazy business. It also made me think about the power of what one single microphone can do when the planets all align. • Ewan McGregor and Peter Devlin on a cold morning Our chariot David Raymond after the dust storm