Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/778398
C A S Q U A R T E R L Y W I N T E R 2 0 1 7 47 From an interview with Scott Weber, FX mixer on HBO's Westworld, "The early days of re-recording were on magnetic film. In the machine room [there] was a recordist, a projectionist, and a loader. An engineer was also hired to help the mixers physically patch the boards. With the evolution of film to digital, instead of patching cables, everything was routed in the box." It seems that a common misconception in the industry today is that, because we no longer use tape recording, there is less work for a recordist to do. It is important to recognize that with the transfer to digital, came the annihilation of the engineering and projection ist roles on stage and that their responsibilities were handed off to the recordist. Weber states, "At one of my jobs, they decided not to have a recordist on the stage because we had transferred to digital. All that meant is that I was doing more work and had to come in earlier to get things set up. So it was difficult." One other misconception I encountered during my research was the notion that "self-sufficient" mixers shouldn't need a recordist because they know how to do the work themselves. Weber states, "The recordist job is actually more important, because the bottom line is, there is more responsibility. We don't want to see a point in which that b y B r i t t a n y E l l i s , R e c o r d i s t a t S o u t h L a k e A u d i o a RECORDIST job disappears. We need that kind of support so we can mix. We don't want to be bogged down by archiving, track naming, etc. It'll hurt the efficiency of the stage and cost the stage more money in the long run." He is completely accurate in the fact that a union mixer rate costs much more than a recordist. To have a mixer spend countless time executing recordist work and less time on the creative, a stage is hindering productivity and, therefore, spending more than actually having a recordist on the stage. Keith Rogers CAS, DX mixer on HBO's Westworld, chimes in: "I think every mixer wants to come in and trust that everything is ready to go so they can focus on the nine hours of mixing, which is mentally tiring in itself." So, what is the recordist doing back there? No, they aren't updating their status on Facebook or tagging their friends on Instagram. They have a very busy schedule that takes place primarily behind the scenes. The reason it is often hard to understand what a recordist is actu ally doing is because their role is to hide any technical insecurities or failures from the stage and solve them as quickly as they can. Where there are mixers, there are clients, and so the recordist must work with a smile to ensure that the client feels that they can trust the T he actual job description of a "recordist" has been mor- phing with the evolution of technology. Although the responsibilities are different, there is an importance in the position. With nicknames like "the unnamed hero," "the backbone of a mix," and "hidden machine," it is apparent that recordists tend to keep their heads down and power through the endless tasks that come their way. From file organization to troubleshooting "oh no" moments on the spot, the recordist is necessary in order to keep the mix running efficiently.