Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/830490
C A S Q U A R T E R L Y S P R I N G 2 0 1 7 27 back-and-forth between the cassette deck and the live interview. The choice was made to make the change in vocal quality as slight as possible regardless of the image. The interview plays more in your face than is typically done in reality-based drama. The funeral of Nicole Brown was interesting. It allowed us to use sound design to get into O.J.'s head, spiked with flashes of real cameras and press walla. It also allowed us to introduce the haunting music theme by composer Mac Quayle that would play throughout the limited series. The final sequence at O.J.'s home is a tribute to fine acting. There is momentum moving toward the escape in the Ford Bronco, but most of the work here was done by the terrific actors and the great recordings of John Bauman. Our hats are off to Ryan Murphy, Alexis Martin-Woodall, and all in their production camp for continuing to make shows that push at the boundaries of television broadcast dramas. DOUG ANDHAM CAS: RE-RECORDING MIXER How did this project differ from other Ryan Murphy projects? Joe and I, along with supervising sound editor Gary Megregian, usually meet with Ryan's team, led by executive producer Alexis Martin-Woodall, prior to starting each proj- ect. Alexis will discuss Ryan's plans for each series and how it may be different from other projects of his. The great thing about working with Ryan is that no series is the same. Whereas on American Horror Story we tend to heighten every moment that can be heightened to increase suspense and scare the audience, The People v. O.J. is more about taking the viewer on the journey of discovery and understanding how the events unfolded and required a more delicate touch. Did you find yourself working with your mix partner to imply or misdirect the audience to keep this suspense and tension? As always, our approach to the sound was in support of the story. This show, for me being the fx mixer, was about sup- porting the reality and naturalism of the locations the char- acters inhabit. The cast and writing was so phenomenal that sonically, it was more about making sure that their environ- ments felt real and allowed them to tell us the story. Was there a particular scene that you feel the sound design truly elevated and made come alive? The opening of the show is made up of different news foot- age of the Rodney King beating and the unfolding of the LA riots. It was very important to show these scenes to the viewer so that they could understand where Los Angeles was as a city, as a people. The first image of the show is the foot- age of the Rodney King beating. We started very quietly, you could barely hear the sound fx, you heard the news anchor explaining what was going on, and each subsequent image shows how the LA riots grew out of this event. As the foot- age progressed, the sound design grew louder and louder and the sound fx spread out wider and we added layer upon layer that built to a crescendo as the riots went on and then went to nothing as we go to black. From there, we start quietly and build the slow burn and boil through the rest of the episode. Gary Megregian and his team of sound editors filled it out with multiple layers of crowds and violent sounds of glass breaking, sirens, helicopters, explosions, fire, loop group, and the different newscasters' audio to tie it all together. How did you approach the transitions from the sound of the familiar news footage of the events to the dramatic scenes? Did you employ any lo-fi treatments or narrowing of pans, etc.? The sound fx start in the center at the very first shot of the show and spread out as the sequence unfolds, getting wider and wider and louder as the news footage sequence revealed more, and then went to absolute quiet before we transitioned to the dramatic scenes. The overall soundtrack becomes very dynamic from this point on, starting quietly with O.J. being picked up in a limo to go to the airport, which starts our slow boil throughout the rest of the episode, alternating from scenes of quiet discovery as the investigation unfolds, to the craziness of the crowds and paparazzi as it becomes a news story, back to moments of quiet such as occur with Darden and Cochran in his basement office, to the frenzied office of the district attorney filled with phones and activity that is spread throughout the 5.1 environment. The soundscape alternates between a sense of quiet and dread at times to heightened moments of activity, and back to quiet, and back to that sense of boiling activity, depending on the scene and its emotion, allowing for a very dynamic and full mix. Any closing thoughts? I would just like to say that working on this show has been a highlight of my career. We have such a great team and it is an absolute joy to come to work on our stage with Joe and Gary and our incredibly hard-working mix tech Robin Warren. We try to keep it light and loose on the stage and it is a positive environment for creativity as a result.