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www.postmagazine.com 30 POST APRIL 2017 using thicker paper that had different tones and different flexibility, and then built the scene by editing the sounds together. "It took some time to get it right but I'm really happy about how it sounded in the end." In addition to leading the sound editorial, Ottosson was also the sole re-recording mixer on the film, handling all aspects of the mix. It's a workflow that he's employed for the past sev- en years with great success. He says, "I work a little bit differently because I mix as I go. I start pre-dubbing and mixing six months before a tradi- tional pre-dub would happen." Ottosson pre-mixed The Boss Baby in his studio at Sony inside Pro Tools, and then transferred it to the dub stage at DreamWorks Animation for the Barco Auro 11.1 mix. Ottosson brought the film back to Sony Pictures Post for the Dolby Atmos mix, and then to Dolby Laboratories in Burbank, CA, to mix the Atmos home theater version. "I mixed the movie in many places and the studios all sounded a little different, but if it's a good mix and you're in a good room then the mix itself is retained. It's all going to translate," Ottosson concludes. SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE Sony Pictures Animation's Smurfs: The Lost Village hit theaters on April 5th. For supervising sound editor/sound designer Robert L. Sephton, it's his fifth Smurfcentric project. He's worked on CG/2D visual hybrids like The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol (2011) short film, and CG/live action hybrids like The Smurfs (2011) and The Smurfs 2 (2013). But Smurfs: The Lost Village is different. Director Kelly Asbury wanted to revamp the Smurfs franchise. His film is completely 2D animation, just like the 80s cartoon TV series — only better. "There is so much color, and the world they created here is so amazing. It's new, fresh and different. They wanted the sound to be more embellished, with unique and special sound design for the animals and the atmospheres," says Sephton. Working at Sony Pictures Post in Culver City, CA (www.sonypicturespost.com), Sephton spent nearly six months developing numerous character sounds, designing rich atmospheres for places like The Forbidden Forest and The Enchanted Forest, and giving sound to all the magical flora and fauna that exists in the Smurfs' world, like glow bunnies and kissing flowers. Sephton says, "With anima- tion, you can make it to be whatever you want it to be. There is no sound that you have to try and mask, or work around. You get to build it from the ground up. You get to start with a clean slate and come up with these wonderful, different sounds." One of Sephton's favorite characters to build was Monty — Gargamel's dim-witted pet vulture that transforms into an aggressive bird of prey when hunting Smurfs. Sephton worked with voice actor Dee Bradley Baker to record a range of sounds that would cover the extreme polarity of Monty's personality. "Those elements I was able to twist, pitch and manipulate to fit them into the character, to go from this dumb sounding bird to this amazing pterodactyl almost. I tried to add real bird sounds, but mostly I was pitching and manipulating what I got from Dee Bradley Baker," says Sephton. Another favorite sound for Sephton was his Sounds for Smurfs were developed at Sony Pictures Post. The Smurfs' sound team. Robert L. Sephton The soundscape is "new, fresh, and different."