Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/9707
time is spent leveling out the dialogue be- cause the actors will go up and down in vol- ume.We want to make sure that the jokes are heard and the audience isn’t straining to hear anything. If there is a footstep covering up a line, then we will look for another take that is clean. It’s so important that we can hear all the words.” Part of the appeal of Modern Family is some of the more subtle actions from the characters. “Even when dialogue is per- formed softly, that can be part of the actor’s pretrial of the character,” says Okrand. “There is a character named Mitchell and he’s very quiet sometimes. So, we have to make sure that we hear all of his perfor- mance, like if there was a subtle curl in voice, we’ll pick up on that.We want the actors, their faces, their emotions and their words to be the focus, unless there is a specific scene with a prop. For instance,we did a show with a model airplane. Even though the comedy was subtle, the airplane was not. So, we spent a lot of time working on that sound, getting it to fly around, especially for the sur- round mix where we used all the channels.” The importance of the dialogue is magni- fied even more since there is very little music used in the show. Okrand views the audio post production process as starting on the set when the actors are recorded.“With this show, there is nothing to hide behind,” he says.“It all comes down to the preparation. It has to be recorded properly on set. Sound supervisor/dialogue editor Lisa Varetakis does a great job on her end, and production mixer Steve Tibbo is great at getting everything recorded properly. Of course, there are al- ways challenges recording location sound and he handles them wonderfully. It’s very infre- quent that we ever have to replace dialogue with ADR. He gets a lot of coverage with the mics so if one thing doesn’t work we have other tracks to choose from. I have done a lot of different projects with Steve and he makes my life easy; there’s no question about it. And the show does sound better.When you start with good production sound and dialogue, then you are going to end up with the best possible mix in the end.” At Smart Post Sound, the workflow starts with importing the picture, the OMF and the output from the Zaxcom Deva,where the di- alogue has been recorded. Okrand uses Pro Tools|HD 8 running the Digidesign C24, or the D-Command, depending on which of the three rooms he is working in. JBL 2A self- powered speakers are used for monitoring. Any additional dialogue clean-up is done using the Cedar Audio 2000 plug-in. “There is an assembly that is made from the Deva into Pro Tools,” says Okrand. “Once the OMF is loaded, Lisa Varetakis tends to use the OMF’s dialogue mix over the iso-mics unless there are any specific is- sues that need to be addressed. She uses the OMF as much as she can. She does all the editorial work that is necessary, like adding handles, cleaning up lip smacks and finding the best iso-track when necessary.At the same time, the show is being prepared with the hard effects, backgrounds and Foley and it is all put into one big session where I do the mix. It is not a sound effects heavy show.We put in the hard effects, but still try to keep the natural sound as much as possi- ble.The hard effects are mostly sweeteners, like an off-mic door close or something like that. If they are driving in a car,we will put in the engine sounds, tires, suspension, gravel, or whatever is necessary.The show is well prepared, which makes things go smoothly for me during the mix.” PARKS AND RECREATION Re-recording mixers John W. Cook II and Peter J. Nusbaum mix NBC’s Parks and Recreation in Mix A at Universal Studios BluWave Audio (www.filmmakersdestina- tion.com) in Universal City, CA.The docu- mentary style of the show influences how all of the audio is handled throughout post production.“On the dialogue side, I will add things to help make it seem live,” explains Cook. “I will try to put the viewers in the room that they are seeing. It’s an interesting balance. It’s a combination of sounding great, but without sounding polished.The dialogue sounds punchy and great, but you still get the sense that it is a bit of a run-and-gun kind of feel, almost a little bit raw.” “For example,” says Nussbaum, “part of what we do to help enhance the docu- mentary style of the show is intentionally mix the production ambience and back- ground sound effects in such a way to make the scene transitions sound more jar- ring.We don’t want it to sound too pol- Parks and Recreation is mixed at Universal’s BluWave Audio. The documentary style of the show influences the audio post. jmr.com www.postmagazine.com April 2010 • Post 35 Come see us at NAB Booth SL7408