May 17, 2018
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast is a Bi-Weekly podcast designed for
Audio Professionals. With your Hosts George (The Tech) Whittam,
Robert Marshall (Audio Engineer/Source Elements Creator/Owner),
Andrew Peters (Premier Voice Talent/Co-Owner Realtime
Casting), and Darren "Robbo" Robertson (Studio Owner/Sound
Designer), we cover the gamut of Audio issues. From voice Over
tips and tools to Project and Professional Studio set up and fit
out, to the latest in gear and everything in between.
This week we chat about weird things that can happen to audio
files when you send them over the internet, Robbo tells a horror
story about a project he was recently involved in, and George
reveals the piece of Antique gear that gives his studio it's
"sound", and we talk with Re-Recording mixer and Sound
Supervisor from LA, David Raines. A fascinating look behind the
scenes of Hollywood production, and an amazing story about the
recording of the dialogue tracks for the Sean Connery blockbuster
"The Hunt FOr Red October".
Find out more about David Here..
Don't forget to like our facebook page
The Pro Audio Suite Podcast copyright George Whitham, Andrew
Peters, Robert Marshall & Darren Robertson.
Products or companies we discuss are not paid endorsements.
They are not sponsored by, nor do we have any professional or
affiliate relationship of any kind with any of the companies or
products highlighted in the show.... sadly! It’s just stuff we
like, think is cool and maybe of interest to you our
listeners.
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn
professional.”
― Hunter S Thompson
00:02
this is a
test of the emergency
00:03
broadcast
system of high tech for sound
00:15
you're listening to the pro audio suite
00:18
a program
for audio and voice-over
00:28
welcome
to another pro audio suite -
00:31
Robert
but we do have George
00:33
good
afternoon evening and it's five
00:35
o'clock
somewhere it is but not a yeah
00:38
it's
repose up in Sydney we've got
00:41
Robert
I'm back morning yeah I'm back
00:44
here and
did you bring a note ID bring a
00:47
night I
bring a note from a very
00:48
apologetic client it's a long story
00:51
shall I
regard you later well we were
00:54
very
concerned that you had been struck
00:57
down by a
bus oh look it sounded well we
01:00
found out
you hadn't we was so
01:01
disappointed it's look I am I've been
01:07
talking
to a guy about a six-part TV
01:09
series
for a while and then everything
01:12
went
quiet as jobs do sometimes and so I
01:14
figured I
was never gonna see it and
01:16
then two
days before we were sporadic or
01:19
we were
supposed to record I get a
01:20
frantic
phone call from this guy going
01:22
um you
know that series I was talking
01:24
about I
had it mixed by some guy in New
01:26
Zealand
and he sent all the mixers
01:28
across
and we've compiled it all and
01:30
sent it
off to the TV stations and it's
01:32
been
rejected for audio recents and
01:35
can you
help um by the way this was and
01:40
this was
on a Thursday by the way it
01:42
goes to
air on Tuesday this was a half
01:50
hour or
45 minutes 46 minutes or
01:53
something
yeah so long story short I was
01:54
basically
sitting here redoing someone's
01:57
work who
probably should never have done
01:59
the work
in the first place because it
02:00
was the I
only heard the mix for episode
02:03
1 and it
was truly terrible and all that
02:07
place and
certainly not compliant we
02:09
have all
sorts of strange rules here in
02:10
Australia
besides loudness you've got to
02:12
have 12
frames of silencing and 12
02:14
sounds of
silence out and know what was
02:17
there and
all sorts of stuff so yeah
02:18
that's
yeah I think we're the only
02:20
country
in the world that has that
02:21
George
it's it's um it goes back to the
02:24
analog
days when the the station's
02:26
decided
they wanted some audio
02:28
separation between between shalls'
02:30
commercials yeah so they come up with
02:33
this rule
that you had to have 12 frames
02:34
of silent
scene and 12 frames of silence
02:36
out and
now we've moved into the digital
02:39
they
never got rid of that he still must
02:41
have that
if you don't have it it gets
02:42
rejected
so um that was the only reason
02:46
they were
all over the place and and the
02:47
video
wasn't compliant either so someone
02:50
else had
to do whatever they do to
02:51
rescue
that so unsafe we got it to where
02:54
but um I
wasn't answering phone calls or
02:57
answering
emails or anything I was
02:59
ProTools
the backside yeah that's right
03:02
yeah so
um we've got it interesting with
03:04
the 12
front 12 frames thing that that
03:06
is a real
trap for people in producing
03:08
spots
outside of Australia for Australia
03:10
yeah yeah
I think you said you twelve
03:13
frames
out if my memory serves me
03:14
correctly
is that rather on commercial
03:16
12 in 12
in and out no it's you know 12
03:19
annoyed
that it is so I'm so effectively
03:22
because
we were at 25 frames a second
03:24
effect
effectively for a 30-second
03:26
commercial you get 29 seconds of audio
03:28
yeah and
30 seconds of picture and 30
03:31
seconds
of picture that's right yes
03:33
Foxtel
our pay TV network interestingly
03:37
the only
requires six sixteen and six
03:41
hour so
if yeah if it's going on Foxtel
03:44
only you
can get away with six so if
03:47
you're
doing a cut so you're doing a
03:48
commercial this is typical isn't it if
03:50
you're
doing a commercial for Australian
03:52
TV and
New Zealand TV and it was going
03:55
on Fox
Fox tell ya that means they've
03:58
got to do
three cuts they do one for 30
04:00
second
for New Zealand 112 frames in 12
04:03
frames
out for Australian live TV yeah
04:06
and then
one six in six out for Foxtel
04:10
yeah yes
technically yes it depends
04:13
sometimes
they'll just do they'll just
04:15
live with
the 12 in 12 out and
04:17
distribute that to everybody other type
04:20
of times
they will do can you do us
04:21
three
mixes yes just depends what I
04:25
learned
so much today and I will never
04:28
need that
ever again now you stole that
04:31
away in
there you know for the next
04:32
trivia
night you go to for the kids or
04:34
something
yeah you know you know what's
04:37
gonna
happen George someone will
04:39
actually
one day bring that up and
04:41
they'll
say is there any strange rules
04:43
in
Australia cuz I'm just making
04:45
commercial for them yeah ah now
04:50
must tell
you yeah actually yeah yeah
04:52
yeah
that's right they're talking of
04:54
audio
issues this is one that we have
04:57
and just
to give our listeners an idea
04:59
of how
this show works basically what we
05:02
do for
this record while we were talking
05:04
to each
other and monitoring each other
05:05
we use
source connect now but what we
05:08
also do
is record ourselves at our end
05:12
Robert
records his Robert records his
05:14
and I
record mine call it a game
05:16
double-under exactly then we send
05:19
everything off to Robbo he then lays up
05:21
the four
tracks and just gives it a bit
05:23
of a you
know slide everything into
05:24
place
then he sent it to me and because
05:26
I don't
have multitrack I have Wavelab
05:29
which is
running a stereo audio system I
05:31
only get
the two tracks and is actually
05:33
a split
mono feed really so I do the
05:36
Edit on
that so I dual the you know deep
05:38
breathing
and moving stuff around and
05:39
Counting
great lungs out whatever has to
05:41
be done
but we've had a couple of issues
05:43
in the
last two well the last two I
05:45
think two
shows that have been sent to
05:47
me from
Rob oh there's a really strange
05:49
thing
happening with the audio now my
05:51
audio is
fine but everybody else is
05:53
audio it
sounds like it's been deist and
05:56
compressed or something and I sent it
05:58
back to
rubber and said what is yours if
06:01
you got
the same problem and rubber you
06:03
didn't
know I didn't it sounds like I
06:06
actually
think it is happening on you
06:07
because I
had another listen to it last
06:09
night
when on you were gonna talk about
06:11
this
today I actually think it is
06:12
happening
on you but it's not quite as
06:14
noticeable but George to put you in the
06:16
picture
to me what it sounds like
06:17
is
someone running a de-esser but too
06:21
heavy so
it's not just taking the tops
06:23
off the
yeses it's taking the tops out
06:25
of
everything you know so they're having
06:26
a nice it
sounds like a yes is it s is a
06:32
disappearing completely in some places
06:34
yeah so
fascinating yeah so it's we I
06:38
rang
Andrew and went will you're a
06:40
dickhead
because you're running a
06:41
de-esser
and Andrew when I don't have a
06:43
DSL and I
don't use any plugins
06:47
everything so so what I mean do you guys
06:51
know what
I do on my own cuz you never
06:52
even
asked what I'm doing on my hand
06:54
okay what
are you doing you really want
06:58
to know
offended if we can't see you do
07:01
we really
want to know what you're doing
07:02
- yeah
that's - an imaginary picture
07:07
draws a
picture we're sitting
07:10
comfortably children yes okay well I am
07:13
mr.
frugal when it comes to stuff and I
07:15
have
using gear that is kind of
07:17
collected
in my lap over the last 20
07:19
years
most of it I didn't buy
07:21
it's just
castaways and things I've
07:23
found
from other studios along the way
07:25
but I'm
using a mic processor between my
07:29
mic and
the console and it's made by
07:32
roland
it's called an mm p2 and it's
07:35
discontinued for quite a few years now
07:38
it's a
stereo mic preamp with processing
07:41
digital
processing so it's got expansion
07:44
and
compression and EQ and all that kind
07:47
and I'm
using a decent amount of it I'm
07:51
I I cheat
with an expander a lot because
07:54
I'm not
in a great sounding studio and I
07:55
don't
want anybody to know so yeah I
07:59
have an
expander on there and and some
08:01
compression in the EQ is pretty close to
08:04
flat I'm
sure I have a high-pass filter
08:06
on there
too but I'm monitoring myself
08:11
through
the processor so I certainly
08:13
hear what
we'd be going to you and it
08:16
does
definitely doesn't sound dest or
08:19
been
washed in any way so should be okay
08:22
it's not
why you're sending us it's
08:24
what's
what it comes to me fine yeah and
08:27
then I I
stick I lay everybody up in Pro
08:29
Tools
yeah and then I bounced out a
08:31
stereo
mix for Andrew that sounds fine
08:33
but so
and then I deliver it to him via
08:36
hightail
uh-huh he downloads is on he
08:39
there's
his end and he's got this
08:41
lifeless
everything sounds like
08:43
everything cut below about maybe eight
08:47
or nine K
I'm sorry above I should say
08:49
everything above eight or nine K just
08:51
disappears and it sounds like this all
08:53
my tds
has just been stacking everything
08:56
that's
sounds impossible but III if we
09:00
don't
know why it's happening I could
09:01
think of
a possible theory as to how to
09:03
prevent
it yeah without understanding
09:08
are you
sending the files just as they
09:11
are like
a wave with nothing later
09:13
they're
not zipped into a zip file or
09:15
no
they're just mixed down so I so
09:18
basically
I clean up so if you've one of
09:20
us
coughed behind someone else while
09:22
they're
talking I'll cut all that out
09:23
yeah dude
you're sending a wave file
09:26
right
it's just sending a stereo mix
09:28
yeah so
basically there's four tracks of
09:30
audio I
mixed those down to a stereo
09:32
file and
forward that onto a they yeah
09:33
because
my hunch is that that file is
09:37
somehow
being bastardized in the process
09:41
of being
transferred I have no idea how
09:43
or why a
great I'm thinking is that if
09:45
you zip
it it's now basically encoded
09:49
not in
CODIS but it's yeah what's the
09:52
word it's
somehow projects rap don't you
09:55
yes and
so maybe that will preserve the
10:00
quality
it won't make the file much
10:02
smaller
cuz waves don't zip down much
10:04
but maybe
try that next time I'm gonna
10:07
do that
that's a great idea
10:09
and then
if Robert was here he would
10:11
certainly
be talking about their utility
10:13
called
sources zip what yes I don't know
10:15
if it has
any utility for us moving from
10:18
stereo to
mono stereo to multitrack and
10:22
black and
black back and forth but my
10:25
understanding is sources if is designed
10:26
to do
basically just that but a lot more
10:28
elaborate
where it preserves the track
10:30
format
and the you know the violin
10:33
namings
you know just it makes it a
10:35
cleaner
way to move projects between
10:37
studios
you I wish he was here to
10:39
explain
it better but maybe Robert might
10:41
um maybe
Robert might donate a copy to
10:43
me for
the show do you think I have no
10:48
choice
that's his payment for not
10:56
turning
up this week justice in a site
11:01
to that
George I'm just having a look at
11:03
the MP 2
here on on Google that's
11:05
fascinating I've never seen one of those
11:07
yeah the
MMP - yeah by rolling yeah
11:13
what
model like modeling preamp and it
11:15
has a mic
modeling feature which Roland
11:17
was doing
way back in you know kind of
11:19
the early
days of that techno
11:21
and I
don't use that feature to me Mike
11:24
modeling
is which is a whole nother
11:27
topic we
can go on if you like another
11:30
die think
it's something I've been
11:31
thinking
about lately because I watched
11:32
to see if
it Steven slate interview
11:35
which
creates the virtual microphone
11:38
systems
but it has a mic modeler that I
11:41
don't use
so I'm just using it because I
11:43
want to
have an expander and a little
11:45
bit of
compression on my mic so I can
11:47
get away
with having my Mac Mini and
11:49
everything in just one room and you know
11:52
not have
proper isolation yeah very well
11:56
so
where'd you find that on in a garage
11:58
sale
somewhere or something man you know
12:01
I've I've
spent time on websites like
12:04
gear
slots of course over the years but
12:06
I've also
googled tremendously like the
12:09
next cool
thing to set up in a home
12:11
voice
actors a studio you know what
12:13
channel
strips and such and so forth and
12:16
this
thing just popped up on the radar
12:17
I've had
it for at least five or six
12:19
years so
I can't remember where I saw it
12:22
but when
I by the time I heard it it was
12:24
way out
of production and no longer
12:27
considered really desirable so I think I
12:29
only paid
probably $150 maybe less for
12:33
this
thing so well um it's doing a
12:36
fantastic
job for what it is yeah it's
12:38
fascinating I've got a question for you
12:40
George if
you're on gear slots
12:42
Bogey's
months what's your name
12:45
oh um you
know what I have not been on
12:50
gear
slots for quite some time
12:51
I would
have to log in and actually look
12:53
and see
what my name on there is but one
12:56
of my old
user names that I came up with
13:00
when I
was in college that I was still
13:02
used to
this day on certain sites is um
13:05
when
typing in now his sound gun so oh
13:10
if you
ever see sound gun anywhere out
13:13
yep it
just auto logged me in a sound
13:16
gun on
gear so look at that
13:19
everybody
now knows I gave it away sound
13:23
good
because there's somebody because
13:24
I'm El
Cid Els ID okay oh I know I
13:30
thought
I've dropped a few things in
13:34
way off
the mark anyway just my opinion
13:37
but
there's a couple of people on there
13:39
I think
is one called Fraser mm I don't
13:42
know what
his real name is but there's a
13:44
couple of
guys and they're obviously I
13:46
think
phrases actually works in a store
13:49
or
something and he's a techie dude I
13:51
think
that's you know it's like he's a
13:52
dweeb
right into gear selling gear and
13:54
fixing
gear yeah but there's a couple of
13:56
other
guys and I I read this stuff a
13:58
nice like
I reckon they're really like a
14:00
high-end
audio engineer like record
14:02
engineer
you can just tell by the way
14:04
they talk
and the things they talk about
14:05
and can
tell that they're in like you
14:07
know
sunset sound or you know somewhere
14:09
like that
and they're really well-known
14:11
audio
engineer like a chick irelia or a
14:14
bloody um
you know those kind of guys
14:16
but I'd
love to know who they are but
14:19
they hide
behind these pseudonyms so
14:21
know who
they are yeah exactly exactly
14:23
well yeah
if you see anything sound gun
14:25
I don't
know if there's anybody else out
14:27
there
with the same name but I I think I
14:30
came up
with it in college I wanted to
14:31
have a
sound that was accurate and
14:33
powerful
so a sound gun oh I just take
14:40
Rob oh
and stick a couple of numbers
14:42
after it
yeah that's right Robbo 62
14:46
Robbo 77
Robbo 428 it's funny what's
14:51
funny
with nicknames isn't it I'm we're
14:53
getting
off topic here but when I first
14:55
left full
time radio and went freelance
14:57
I went
from rock and roll radio at
15:00
Triple
Aim where I'd been for 13 years
15:01
and I
ended up working for the ABC which
15:04
is the
government broadcaster here their
15:07
youth
station called triple j which is a
15:09
National
Youth Network and if it was my
15:13
first day
there freelancing I was there
15:14
for a
couple of weeks and on walking
15:16
down the
corridor a couple of CDs in my
15:18
hand
heading back to the studio to make
15:20
a promo
and the program directors
15:22
standing
at the other end of the
15:23
corridor
going Darren Darren Darren
15:26
finally
goes Rob oh yeah so used to Rob
15:33
I would
was even zoned out to Darren
15:35
wasn't
even thinking being at the ABC
15:39
they
could have called you mr. Robertson
15:42
yeah
indeed yeah yeah that song that was
15:44
always a
classic they're talking gear
15:45
slot so I
did see something pop up and
15:47
sent a
link to you George and Robert
15:50
because
once again the road thing is
15:52
intriguing me they've just launched a
15:55
few
different microphones a few new ones
15:57
but the
one that looks really
15:59
interesting for voice-over is the NT 49
16:04
and I did
see that mention on gear
16:06
as well
couple of guys who said it is
16:08
anybody
seen one yet or Nathan
16:10
Thomas 49
NT 49 yeah yeah mm-hmm
16:14
November
tango November says the proper
16:17
yes the
proper yeah phonetic alphabet
16:20
nice and
sexy looking a little based
16:22
isn't it
it's really because if you
16:25
remember
they did the ribbon they the
16:27
NTR was
the ribbon microphone they did
16:30
that was
the first one with that kind of
16:31
shape and
and now they've done the anti
16:34
50 which
is an omni microphone comes in
16:37
pairs and
that's for recording like
16:39
orchestras or that way you need an omni
16:41
mic and
then off that they've done a
16:44
variable
capsule for that body as a
16:47
condenser
mic yeah which looks really
16:49
really
interesting I wonder how much the
16:51
body
effects the sound because that's a
16:53
big thing
with norman like they've
16:54
they've
patented the shape of the head
16:56
basket on
the u67 for example when you
16:59
know and
yeah yeah i find it intriguing
17:02
um and
they've obviously done a lot of
17:05
research
and development and i know the
17:06
guy that
we interviewed Peter who's the
17:09
Belgian
guy that joined them about a
17:11
year ago
and he was involved in the the
17:13
I I won
the little interface has also
17:16
been
involved in the development of
17:17
these
microphones so I'm really curious
17:19
what
they're gonna sound like so I've
17:21
put in a
call to Road just to see if
17:22
they'll
let us borrow one just to check
17:24
it out
but I haven't heard anything back
17:26
as yet
but I shall keep you posted but
17:29
told you
looks rolled out officially
17:30
right
here on exactly but yeah I look
17:36
I'm I'm
really interested in what
17:38
they're
doing because they're they're
17:39
certainly
taking on the big boys now oh
17:43
yeah no I
haven't always been impressed
17:45
with Road
I even had a I might have
17:47
mentioned
this before I even had a
17:48
dealership at one time when I was
17:50
dabbling
and selling equipment which I
17:53
then they
were so nice too to deal with
17:57
that just
a guy you know who's just a
17:59
guy
installing gear and they were happy
18:02
to set me
up as a dealer and let me
18:05
resell
their product and their
18:06
distributor I think they're US offices
18:08
were in
Santa Barbara or something okay
18:12
and so I
just they were really nice to
18:14
deal with
rode great company yeah yeah
18:17
so there
you go that's another knee mark
18:19
have you
come across any anything in the
18:21
microphone area that said caught your
18:23
eye well
I was just mentioning maybe
18:26
before we
were on went on the air at
18:28
this
whole these virtual mic systems and
18:31
there's a
couple of them out there now
18:33
there's
the VMS from slate digital and
18:36
then
there's the Townsend labs speer p22
18:40
I think
it is something 22 and they're
18:44
they're
both designed around the idea
18:46
that you
can take one microphone that's
18:48
a known
quantity and then from that
18:50
microphone emulate any other microphone
18:53
and the
slate system actually they sell
18:57
their own
mic and their own preamp the
18:59
the main
thing that you're really buying
19:00
though or
buying into is the emulations
19:03
and it's
totally done on native software
19:05
so I
guess the advantage of it is that
19:08
you don't
have to use their preamp and
19:10
you don't
have to use any other extra
19:12
hardware
you just have to have the mic
19:13
as long
as you have an extremely flat
19:16
preamp
it'll work with really any preamp
19:19
and then
they emulate the microphone and
19:23
tests
I've heard and the buzz and the
19:25
business
and these guys have been out of
19:27
for a few
years now is that it's it's
19:29
pretty
legit it's the real deal but it
19:32
entirely
relies on plugins so it's not a
19:35
hardware
solution as much as it is a
19:38
software
solution whereas the Townsend
19:41
labs
system is a little bit more I don't
19:45
hardware
related and the other thing
19:47
that
makes the towns and labs might
19:48
quite
different is that it has two
19:51
capsules
and each capsule has its own
19:55
output so
it kind of appears like a
19:58
stereo
mic but whereas your typical
20:00
cardioid
or switchable pattern mic you
20:03
know has
two capsules but then the
20:06
the two
capsules are blended together
20:08
and
phased in and out to make it an omni
20:10
or a
cardioid or a figure eight with the
20:13
spear
system those two capsules are
20:15
completely in an independent completely
20:17
independently controllable within the
20:19
software
so you can shape the pickup
20:22
pattern
and do all kinds of wacky stuff
20:24
in the
computer after you've recorded
20:26
something
so you can basically steer the
20:29
pickup
pattern where you want and on all
20:31
and any
off any side of the microphone
20:33
and you
can change the impedance of the
20:37
microphone all sorts of stuff from a
20:40
control
panel so that's kind of a new
20:43
technology that bleeding edge of
20:45
microphone design I think right now is
20:47
that sort
of technology and I haven't
20:50
demoed
these in my own world where I've
20:52
gotten to
play with them yet but it's
20:53
definitely on the radar hookup Townsend
20:56
labs
Townsend T o WN Sen D lab dr. Diaz
21:01
and
you'll find the sphere L 22 which
21:05
sells for
$1,500 u.s. whereas its
21:09
competitor the slate digital Mike with
21:13
preamp
and software is $1,000 so okay so
21:16
what are
you saying is there 1500 yeah
21:18
this is
more expensive but it's also
21:20
more
sophisticated yeah but doesn't I
21:23
mean in
terms of something anything that
21:25
seems
entirely new to me those are some
21:28
of the
entirely new ideas other than
21:31
that like
trying to think what's like a
21:35
game
should I mean I can't think of any
21:37
mic
that's coming along and saying okay
21:39
everybody
stop using the 41 six and go
21:42
get this
like remember we've created our
21:49
own
monster yes I haven't found the mic
21:53
that's
truly dethroned it I mean I
21:55
always
hearing about this micro that mic
21:57
that
people tend to feel might favor but
22:00
it's
amazing how often someone will have
22:02
that mic
and something else and then
22:05
I'll ask
them which one are you using
22:06
most of
the time and they'll say the
22:08
forty one
six and I don't know if it's
22:10
momentum
laziness it just works
22:14
familiar
familiarity it's obviously not
22:20
it's a
it's a very good mic but it's not
22:24
a flat
mic it has a sound it just
22:27
happens
to be a sound that works well
22:29
for a lot
of voices on a lot of kinds of
22:31
stuff
that's right exactly
22:33
and it's
it's true because I mean I've
22:35
got a TL
m103 in the cupboard but I
22:39
rarely
drag it out mm-hmm you know if
22:42
I've
booked a voice talent which is rare
22:45
for me
most of my voice recording I'll
22:47
dry hire
a studio rather than do it here
22:51
in a in a
project studio but I do I
22:55
rarely
drag it out it's it's Erin
22:56
whenever
I'm recording this sort of
22:57
stuff on
my wife's recording voiceovers
22:59
the
Sennheiser's the go-to yeah I mean
23:02
it's also
more advantageous in a home
23:04
studio
scenario whether maybe your noise
23:06
floor
isn't the greatest to the 416 will
23:09
attract
more background noise and have
23:11
some
practical reasons to but the other
23:14
mic
that's not that people are getting
23:17
interested in because they want an
23:19
ointment
but maybe not want to spend
23:20
thousand-plus as the TL on one out - and
23:23
it's my I
was just talking to a friend
23:26
of mine
voice actor and fellow techie
23:29
head
Graham Spicer and he said he's
23:31
finds
himself using the t LM 102 now
23:34
more than
anything and he likes it
23:37
because
it has a more of a flat response
23:39
until you
get to the top where it has a
23:41
big has a
bump at the top whereas the
23:44
103 kind
of has a rise in the upper
23:47
mid-range
and has a little bit more of
23:49
u-87
mid-range bump that doesn't always
23:54
work for
everybody it can be a little
23:56
nasal or
a little honky sounding and
23:59
that one
or two doesn't have that so
24:01
that's an
interesting alternative if
24:03
you're
looking for a different flavor
24:04
it's also
a more affordable just look
24:06
I'm 850
bucks us yeah that's the that's
24:10
the
affordable Neyman no no and I've
24:14
heard of
a lot of voice actors being
24:15
recommended that mic for their first
24:18
studio
set up and nothing wrong with
24:20
that
recommendation I just I guess cuz
24:22
I'm kind
of a cheapskate I don't usually
24:24
recommend
it $850 a mic for the first
24:26
voice
actor studio I'm gonna stick mend
24:29
something
300 or less usually like the
24:33
an 80 40
40 or something like that but
24:37
the 102
is a different take on their the
24:41
mic the
anointment sound it's a it's a
24:43
different
sounding mic than a lot of the
24:45
others
yeah well one of the mics I use
24:47
and you'd
probably look this one up as
24:48
well is a
couple of micro tech refills
24:50
here and
the first micro tech FL I
24:54
bought
was the m9 30 right and if you
24:58
have a
look at the patent on that on you
25:01
you know
cardioid but have a look at the
25:03
have a
look at the patent on that you'll
25:05
see what
I mean it's pretty flat it's a
25:07
perfect
beautifully made microphone so
25:09
they have
a bunch of them do you know
25:11
what
variation you have just the m9 30
25:14
but I did
get the I did get the
25:16
limited-edition one when it came out
25:20
know it
which was the George Norman 80th
25:24
anniversary one you know what's really
25:26
awesome
if you want to look at and
25:28
really
geek out and compare microphones
25:30
are you
familiar with a website called
25:31
recording
hacks calm oh yeah yep yep he
25:35
makes
design much he does it does make
25:37
several
but what's cool is they have the
25:40
ability
to look at a frequency response
25:41
and then
overlay another microphones
25:44
response
it's really cool so if you're
25:48
looking
at I'm doing it right now if
25:49
you're
looking at a mic like them 1 930
25:51
you'll
see in the specifications area
25:54
the curve
if you click on it it pops out
25:57
a window
and then in that window there's
26:00
an empty
box that says select another
26:01
mic and
you just start typing the name
26:03
of the
mic and it pops up and so I typed
26:05
in caddy
100's because this is one of my
26:08
favorite
mics that it just sounds
26:13
it's
us-made for people that find that
26:15
intriguing and it's under 500 us and it
26:20
sounds
fantastic very low noise and I
26:22
want to I
wanted to line those two up so
26:24
because
when you mention that you and I
26:27
saw the
curve it said that looks like
26:28
the e100
s-curve and it's very similar
26:32
they just
have their peaks at a little
26:34
bit
different spot though 930 peak is up
26:37
higher
it's above 10k which I kind of
26:40
liked
actually and the the cads peak is
26:46
so but
other than that they're really
26:48
similar
very flat across the board
26:50
otherwise
yeah I also like that that 930
26:53
is so
small which actually the 102 is
26:56
also a
very compact mic you might not
26:58
notice it
without context but the 102 is
27:02
maybe
almost half the size of a 103
27:04
physically so it's the one two nine
27:07
thirty
and then one or two are very
27:09
similar
in shape which is kind of nice
27:11
for
voiceover because it doesn't
27:13
obstruct
your copy as easily are the
27:16
inline 30
is great and also was that mic
27:18
I used to
take on the road with me
27:20
because
if I'm using like the Porter
27:24
cuz it's
small it just sits in there you
27:26
know it
doesn't get in the way at all I
27:27
have to
remember that one I I've heard
27:29
that one
come up a voice actor here in
27:31
the US
who does a lot of blogging named
27:33
Paul
Strickler de is a really big fan of
27:36
that
microphone well you know the funny
27:38
thing is
about Paul years and years and
27:40
years ago
I did a thing I think it could
27:42
have been
on Kia slots or somewhere and
27:44
I
mentioned that that the chain I used
27:47
was an m9
30 and a grace m101 and that
27:52
was from
advice from a guy here in
27:53
Melbourne
mm-hmm and I put that up there
27:55
and he
ended up because when I spoke to
27:59
him about
the the microphone said IB he
28:01
actually
in one one and oh yes yeah and
28:05
but he
went and bought the m101 he said
28:08
Oh and I
said what made you buy the mono
28:10
one he
said I read it somewhere that you
28:12
know that
microphone in that preamp
28:14
worked
really well together and they're
28:15
fantastic
and I said yeah that one sir
28:21
yes but
it's you said that is a really
28:25
really
nice chain to have the M 930 in a
28:31
I mean we
do have a special guest
28:34
actually
live on the line disfranchise
28:37
it is
we've got expat Ozzy who now lives
28:43
in
Hollywood and he's working in film
28:45
and
television doing audio yeah an old
28:47
radio
buddy of mine and yours indeed
28:49
indeed
it's David Raines so uh so Dave
28:52
wanted to
to get us started why don't
28:54
you give
us an idea of your average day
28:56
at work
then at the moment what are you
28:58
you
working with what are you doing what
28:59
are you
working on oh it varies quite a
29:02
lot I
have a couple of different roles
29:05
here
primarily I used to get hired a lot
29:09
as a
recording mixer and now I get hired
29:11
to both
mix and supervise re-recording
29:16
is what
they call when you're when
29:18
you're
you know mixing a television show
29:20
or a
feature film so in that role I get
29:22
hired by
either by the major studios or
29:25
by a
certain production and you know I
29:29
come into
the facility and work with the
29:31
crew and
help steer the the mix and
29:34
obviously
do the mixing as well get
29:37
hired as
the sound supervisor which is
29:39
usually
someone who's involved much
29:41
earlier
in the show or in the movie and
29:45
you come
in and you work with the
29:46
picture
editor and the director and
29:48
composers
and sometimes the
29:50
screenwriters you know budget the sound
29:53
high the
crew often I choose the
29:55
facilities to be used in collaboration
29:58
with the
filmmakers and then sort of act
30:00
acute the
direction of the soundtrack
30:02
and then
as part of that sometimes I'll
30:04
do the
mixing as well so does that
30:07
before
production even begins sometimes
30:10
it does
it's it's great when it does
30:12
it's rare
I have a few filmmakers that
30:17
insist on
me being involved while their
30:19
screenwriting and definitely in the
30:22
pre-production a lot of studio
30:26
productions don't just not set up that
30:29
way it
really takes the filmmakers
30:32
pushing
that direction for it to happen
30:34
that's
fascinating because I just have a
30:36
very
small stint in production mixing I
30:39
never got
to the Union level but I had a
30:41
taste of
that for a few years so it's
30:43
interesting the interesting to hear how
30:45
what you
do fits into the timeline of
30:48
the sound
post on the film yes and I
30:51
would say
that I've done about a day or
30:54
maybe two
days of actual production
30:56
mixing as
I I don't I don't profess to
31:02
have the
skills to be a production mixer
31:03
and but
what I have done is been you
31:07
know I
work on one series up here that
31:09
and I
worked with that production crew
31:12
producers
and everyone else but also
31:15
that
sound production crew for about
31:17
five
years straight and I used to fly
31:20
myself up
to Canada on my own dime every
31:23
year
before we went into post but while
31:25
I was
shooting to just go on the set and
31:28
see what
those guys were doing because
31:32
and
they're all good friends of mine but
31:34
like I
said I don't profess to be and be
31:38
when I'm
involved in you know product
31:41
pre-production and you know prior to
31:44
it's from
a the perspective of how are
31:47
we going
to make this film feel
31:50
emotionally what subjects are we going
31:53
to bring
to it from a sound perspective
31:55
what can
sound bring to the screenplay
31:57
and to
the perspective of the shooting
32:00
that will
mean that it is a more or less
32:03
emotional
journey for the audience
32:05
depending
on what the filmmaker wants so
32:07
for your
your day or the average day
32:10
working
on a film what does that entail
32:13
I mean
because for a lot of people who
32:15
are
listening and probably thought
32:16
you're on
the faders doing a mix but
32:18
obviously
we just worked out you not so
32:19
what do
you actually do I do do that
32:22
absolutely and when I'm on a mixed stage
32:25
and I'm
mixing it's the standard mixed
32:26
day
having today the standard mixed day
32:28
here is
here's a minimum of nine hours
32:31
at the
console or running the room and
32:36
that
process of mixing is broken into
32:41
sort of
parts you know the dialogue pre
32:43
dubs the
effects products
32:45
music
production cetera and then what we
32:48
call the
final which is bringing all
32:51
those
elements together and working out
32:52
what the
final print is going to sound
32:54
like so
yes I will do that but more
32:57
lately is
this only the last couple of
33:00
years
I've been doing a lot more
33:01
supervising such a standard day it can
33:05
vary
tremendously I could be out
33:08
recording
animals or vehicles or weapons
33:13
or any
you know key story element that
33:18
needs a
library built for the production
33:23
you know
editing dialogue I could be
33:25
editing
staff and you know sound effects
33:26
mostly I
have a crew who does that stuff
33:30
but as a
supervisor arms are killed in
33:33
all those
areas so I will usually get my
33:36
feet wet
in all those areas to a greater
33:39
or lesser
degree working a lot with
33:43
actors is
often something I do for
33:47
instance
I just did an action picture
33:49
for an
Indonesian director last year
33:51
which we
finished down at Paramount and
33:53
I spent
two weeks in Jakarta shooting
33:56
ADR ADR
for those of you that don't know
34:01
so
getting the principal actors to maybe
34:05
reread
lines to add to them to clarify
34:08
story or
in the case of this film was a
34:12
big
action film and there were groups of
34:14
people
running around the jungle trying
34:15
to kill
themselves or kill each other
34:17
rather it
was about creating tension in
34:20
the track
in terms of hearing the other
34:23
people
moving around you know the jungle
34:26
gosh I
can imagine the challenge of
34:28
getting
any kind of usable dialogue in
34:31
that kind
of environment I mean I'm sure
34:33
they're
better at it now than they ever
34:34
have been
in the past but it still got
34:36
to be
very difficult actually that
34:39
production in particular had really good
34:41
production sound some of the things that
34:44
production mixes do I don't know how
34:46
they do
it but but what they do and the
34:49
tracks
that they're able to bring into
34:51
post are
unbelievable but what it
34:56
usually
takes for that to happen is for
35:00
the
production to treat you know to give
35:02
them some
authority on the set and to
35:04
sort of
back them up because if you look
35:08
at a
decent sized film production there
35:10
might be
a hundred people on the set of
35:12
which
only you know four or five of them
35:14
might be
cast and there's on even on a
35:18
big film
there's only three sound people
35:21
on today
so there's there's 90 odd other
35:25
people
that are really just related to
35:27
the
camera department and everything
35:29
associated with the picture so you know
35:32
wardrobe
production production design
35:36
all those
people are focused on what you
35:37
see and
there's only really three people
35:39
on the
set focused on what you hear and
35:41
so just
the physics of the environment
35:44
the
physics of the number of people on
35:45
set make
it very difficult for a
35:47
production sound crew to get good sound
35:49
unless
they have an entire production
35:53
from the
producers on down that respects
35:55
their
role if they don't then the track
35:57
won't be
any good it's interesting I've
35:59
seen you
because when you look at a
36:01
soundstage or or actually a film set
36:04
they're
not designed particularly well
36:06
for audio
so there must be a huge
36:09
challenge
if you're the audio person on
36:11
set yeah
my perspective you know it was
36:16
ridiculous at times the and I was again
36:18
I was
working at the low end of the
36:22
but
generally I understand it's probably
36:24
not that
different going up the food
36:26
you know
you're you're just like he said
36:29
I mean I
always felt like we were the
36:30
redheaded
stepchild of the production
36:33
you know
if we were lucky we had to
36:35
sound
people on set at that budget and
36:38
they was
getting it was very difficult
36:40
to get
your - to get them to even give
36:43
you room
tone at times you know let
36:46
alone
anything else so yeah it was very
36:49
challenging to get usable sound yeah
36:51
it's very
like I said it all comes from
36:53
the top
and it all comes from you know
36:56
the great
production crew I worked with
36:57
up in
Canada they did a pilot that they
36:59
were
shooting mostly in Calgary but and
37:02
they were
based in Calgary which is in
37:04
the
middle of Canada but they went out
37:07
and shot
a pilot on the west coast in
37:09
Vancouver
and I ended up mixing that
37:11
pilot and
those tracks were just as bad
37:13
as all
the other tracks I've received in
37:14
television and that told me oh you know
37:17
what it's
not the production crew these
37:19
are the
producers they didn't give them
37:21
authority
they didn't back him up on the
37:23
set they
didn't give them you know an
37:25
environment that promotes the ability to
37:28
record
good sound and so therefore the
37:30
founders
many could yeah we I mean we
37:33
use
digital cameras back in that early
37:35
2000s it
sounded like a refrigerator
37:37
when do
you decide it's time in your in
37:41
your role
to go out and get elements go
37:43
do field
recording and and because
37:46
obviously
you must have some
37:48
massive
sound libraries to draw from
37:51
it's a
collaborative decision and you
37:55
know
because there always involves
37:56
spending
money so you know you've got to
37:58
get the
production to pay for it right
38:00
and you
know like in every you know film
38:05
is a one
of the guys you wanna brothers
38:07
said to
me years ago he said you know
38:09
it's a
handmade product from start to
38:11
film in
general but sound also and so
38:15
you look
at every single piece of in the
38:19
case of
sound every piece of sound that
38:21
goes into
a track and if it is not
38:23
handmade
the right way for an emotional
38:26
response
that is the right promotional
38:28
response
you're looking for in that
38:30
scene or
that moment or that emotional
38:32
beat then
it's not the right sound you
38:35
know you
can have I've used really sort
38:38
of old
you know I've used sound ideas
38:41
series/1000 sound effects in big movies
38:43
not
because they're terribly great even
38:46
recordings as it relates to these days
38:49
recordings but they're the right sound
38:51
for that
emotion so in terms of making
38:55
your
decision about whether I go and
38:57
shoot
something it comes down to do we
38:59
have the
right sounds for the emotion
39:01
we're
looking for in this in this moment
39:03
and if we
don't then we generally go and
39:08
my sound
library at home but you know my
39:11
personal
library which I've been
39:12
building
for nearly two decades now it's
39:16
pretty
large but it's not it's only
39:18
about the
quarter of the size of the
39:20
major
studios sound library and even
39:24
then with
a major studio behind me I
39:28
often
will make the decision or try and
39:31
get the
production to get us involved in
39:34
recording
you know something new for
39:36
instance
I did a documentary I was at
39:39
Universal
at the time and you know
39:41
they've
got a pretty big library it's
39:43
it's I
don't know six seven hundred
39:45
thousand
sounds I guess and this
39:48
documentary was about elephants and it
39:50
was about
the fact that elephants are
39:52
going to
be extinct in the wild in
39:54
Africa
body into this decade unless
39:56
something
changes and so the filmmaker
40:00
was very
empathetic towards elephant
40:02
spent
several years in Africa shoe you
40:04
know
recording the film shooting the
40:06
film but
of course in the process of
40:09
acquiring
the footage they used for the
40:11
film when
you shoot documentary style
40:14
it's
generally pretty rough in terms of
40:16
soundtrack and so we had these beautiful
40:18
emotional
shots of elephants but the
40:21
sound
wasn't anywhere near intimate
40:24
enough
for those moments and so I
40:26
convinced
the picture editor to convince
40:28
the
director to give us some budget to
40:31
go on
record elephants and I wrangled I
40:33
had five
African elephants for about a
40:36
day at a
sanctuary up near Monterrey on
40:39
the
California coast and we recorded
40:42
these
elephants and then of course
40:43
brought
them back in you know cleaned
40:45
all the
recordings up put them in our
40:47
library
and then started editing and
40:48
editing
the men into the picture and the
40:51
weird
thing about it was even though the
40:54
filmmaker
had made the decision to give
40:55
us a
budget to go and do it she didn't
40:57
really
understand what it was going to
40:59
do to fit
film and that became obvious
41:02
to me
when we came down to Los Angeles
41:04
because
they were cutting up in Oregon
41:07
she came
down to LA and we press play on
41:09
the first
reel to run the the track with
41:12
her and
give her an idea of how it was
41:14
coming
together and she pretty much
41:17
cried
through the whole reel Wow
41:20
and and
it was about her emotional
41:23
response
to hearing the intimacy of
41:25
these
elephants and and what elephants
41:27
do when
they are being very passive and
41:33
and it
you know it's mostly the
41:36
rumblings
not the trumpeting sound but
41:37
the
rumblings and the swishing of the
41:39
trunk and
those kind of sounds settle
41:41
it's kind
of forgotten what those sounds
41:42
were like
and what they would would do
41:44
for an
audience and obviously what they
41:46
did for
her that's fantastic wow that's
41:49
nice but
it was it was very much a
41:51
collaborative decision but getting back
41:54
to your
original question the first
41:55
thing we
do is try and use them you know
41:57
the
material we have it's funny though
42:04
isn't I
mean I actually came across
42:06
something
not on the scale of what
42:08
you're
talking about but I was actually
42:09
doing a
comedy sketch for a radio
42:11
station I
do some work for up in
42:15
of seen
in inverted commas in this radio
42:17
sketch
where someone walked into the
42:19
room and
I couldn't find a door I know
42:23
it sounds
stupid but I couldn't find a
42:24
door
opening and closing that sort of
42:26
seemed to
make it work and I remembered
42:29
jeez we
were talking about our radio
42:31
days
before the interview but about 20
42:33
odd years
ago my old boss in Brisbane
42:34
had this
door that he used to use for
42:36
the
breakfast show and one of the
42:38
characters would sort of inadvertent
42:39
commas
enter and leave the studio we
42:42
used to
call it but we still call it the
42:43
comedy
door because it just it's perfect
42:46
and
actually ended up ringing him and
42:47
getting
him to sent it to me because
42:49
purely
because I couldn't find anything
42:51
else that
was right and and and that's
42:53
the magic
of it isn't it is finding that
42:55
sound
that is just absolutely spot-on
42:58
perfect
in each and every way for for
43:01
that
scene right I was gonna say I heard
43:04
a great
story the other day about the
43:05
movie Red
October and there's a scene in
43:08
the movie
where the the submarines sunk
43:10
and it's
kind of like a fan kind of
43:12
noise and
just watch just that eerie
43:14
kind of
the silence yeah the silent yeah
43:17
that's it
and every time the sound guys
43:20
put the
sound in the director would come
43:21
down and
say no no and it went on and on
43:24
and on
and it got to the point where the
43:27
guy who
was doing the sound and went up
43:29
and sat
on the roof and had a ciggy
43:30
while he
was up there he heard the fans
43:33
on the
rooftop air conditioning went
43:35
downstairs grabbed his recorder recorded
43:38
the fans
on the air-conditioning unit on
43:40
the roof
came back processed it threw it
43:42
back in
as the directors leaving he said
43:44
can't
come and check this out before you
43:46
go bang
that was it that was the sound
43:48
they
ended up using in the movie you
43:50
know it's
also interesting about that
43:51
movie and
I only know this because I
43:54
know the
sound supervisor she's a very
43:56
very good
friend of mine and I was very
43:59
lucky to
meet her almost before I moved
44:02
to Los
Angeles and around the time of
44:06
when I
moved to Los Angeles was the 20th
44:08
anniversary it was like four or five
44:10
years
after I moved here it was the 20th
44:12
anniversary of that film and the studio
44:16
which is
paramount and the Academy the
44:19
Motion
Picture Academy put on a
44:21
screening
was only one screening of the
44:23
print and
they restored the print and
44:25
they
played it at the academy theater
44:28
when they
were talking afterwards the
44:31
production sound mixer was there and he
44:33
told a
story about how they gathered the
44:36
production sound on that film because
44:38
they did
win an Oscar for this out and
44:41
someone
said well how did you get the
44:43
you know
such a good production sound
44:44
and his
options were boom or plant mics
44:50
on most
of the production he couldn't
44:52
use a
boom because all the sets were
44:55
built it
at the studio and they were all
44:57
submarine
sets so they were all really
44:59
really
short and you know small right so
45:03
he
couldn't get a mic in over the top
45:04
and he
could barely get a mic in under
45:05
the
bottom so he ended up putting client
45:08
Mike's
all the way through all the sets
45:10
and he
would mix the track with these
45:13
plant
mics well and he asked everyone in
45:16
the
audience he said you know given the
45:18
perspective of wearing you know twenty
45:21
eleven
right now whatever it was how
45:24
many
tracks do you think came off that
45:26
set and
the answer is one track of sound
45:30
yeah well
so he nixed he mixed it live
45:34
to Nagre
one track and they want an
45:37
Academy
Award Wow isn't it so
45:39
mind-boggling I mean he has to had a
45:41
board
there on you know and his cart and
45:43
just it
was like orchestrating Lee
45:46
moving
the faders as the actors moved
45:48
through
the sadden he would have to know
45:53
the
scripts better than any actor on the
45:55
yeah
didn't know the script mr. blonde
46:01
they're
probably not going to do seven
46:04
or eight
takes until you get the mix
46:05
right
yeah I'm guessing in production
46:16
really
gets the opportunity for another
46:20
the
camera yeah no you do if you don't
46:23
if you do
you're in trouble put a shadow
46:30
it's the
coldest shoulder on the planet
46:33
is that
it's a tough feeling I can't
46:34
imagine I
can't imagine uttering the
46:36
words I
forgot to press record what
46:44
you're
saying about yeah you're gonna
46:47
get the
cold shoulder but you're gonna
46:48
get the
cold shoulder from a hundred
46:49
people
and there's only two or three of
46:51
you yeah
that's right yeah that's right
46:54
but when
they want to roll a duct tape
46:56
you got
it on your card baby they love
46:58
you all
of a sudden you gonna get the
47:02
cold
shoulder from Sean Connery
47:06
individual yeah I can't imagine it'd
47:08
take too
much well you know he's
47:11
licensed
to kill after all Ryan the
47:13
disease
he's not licensed to do a
47:15
Russian
accent that's for sure I have a
47:19
I have a
total geeky question insider
47:22
question
I don't know how my inside of
47:24
this is
but how often do you get to use
47:26
or how
often do you choose to use the
47:29
Wilhelm
scream explain if I listen as
47:39
though
renze go I don't know when it was
47:42
first
used but it looks 50s over 16 yeah
47:50
I guess
in a diet was it was
47:53
blood-curdling these days it just comes
47:55
sounds
kind of silly but been overused
47:58
I don't
you I haven't actually used it
48:01
although
I've worked on I've been at the
48:03
mix
console when other supervisors have
48:05
brought
it to the stage and put it up in
48:07
the
tracks and we all have a chuckle
48:10
about it
of course right I don't make it
48:13
part of
my bag of tricks and the other
48:17
one
that's I don't know the name of it
48:20
but there
is a passing semi truck horn
48:23
sound the
Doppler Hall yes that thing
48:28
Oh God
hundreds of times I think yeah
48:33
and every
time you go to a watch
48:39
yeah and
every time a bad guy advances
48:44
on a
protagonist in a film you know you
48:46
hear a
gun I love it when the same
48:54
one who's
doing the sound has no idea
48:56
about
cars and you'll have a car in shot
48:59
and the
sound you know if you know that
49:01
car is
not the sound of that car yeah if
49:05
the car
really sounds like in the sound
49:08
of
pictures like more ballsy could even
49:17
go back
to your story about the Hunt for
49:19
Red
October though 2ap and sort of say
49:21
well hang
on it's the submarines going
49:23
into a
silent drive why do we need a
49:26
sound but
you know again that's
49:28
Hollywood
you've got to have something
49:29
there I'd
say the one thing I don't know
49:31
work then
this would be interesting cuz
49:32
David
wanted to ask you this David
49:34
because
I'm sure you've seen the movie
49:35
but this
movie has very little dialogue
49:38
but the
sound to me was amazing
49:41
have you
seen Dunkirk oh and woody were
49:44
had here
eyes out oh my god it was mixed
49:47
about 500
feet from where I'm sitting
49:49
right now
Oh are they and yeah what were
49:55
you gonna
ask me about it or yeah yeah
49:58
yeah how
do you how do you write it
50:00
um it's a
certain type of track and in
50:04
that
filmmaker has been going down that
50:06
route for
a number of years I'm not sure
50:11
that it's
my taste in soundtrack but
50:14
having
said that I can absolutely
50:16
appreciate the skill that it takes to
50:19
get a
track like that I mean they're an
50:21
amazing
crew Richard King is amazing and
50:24
Kerry
Rizzo and the guys who makes those
50:26
tracks
they're amazed I mean they're
50:28
just
amazing and to be able to put a
50:30
track
together like that I mean Chris
50:33
Nolan is
a very very powerful force you
50:36
know and
and you have to be to be a
50:38
director
like that and to be at that
50:40
sort of
playing at that level so you
50:43
know a
lot of it comes to be able to
50:45
create a
track like that you need a
50:47
filmmaker
like Chris Nolan or a Michael
50:50
Mann
because it is an unusual track
50:53
yeah and
and there are people who in the
50:57
studio
world may give you some
50:59
resistance about how to how to you know
51:02
about
whether you can print that track
51:04
and it
takes a filmmaker like a
51:06
crystalline or a Michael Mann someone
51:09
like that
to say no this is the way this
51:11
is the
direction we're going and this
51:12
hope you
know so more power to them to
51:15
be able
to create a track like that's
51:17
extraordinary track yeah and the
51:19
handsomer
I mean he did the music from
51:21
memory
and I just found the whole thing
51:23
did for
the blue suspenseful and a
51:25
handsome
is soundtrack or with music was
51:27
amazing
Hollywood legend for about three
51:34
decades
now indeed yeah speaking of
51:37
soundtracks do you ever find yourself
51:38
having an
occasion to go over to the
51:42
Eastwood
scoring stage it's in the next
51:46
building
over where I'm sitting right
51:48
now I
pass that every day I've been in
51:51
there a
couple of times it's not my
51:53
domain
it's not somewhere I get to play
51:57
around in
it's one of the things though
51:59
that I
loved that one of others has a
52:02
scoring
stage and continues to maintain
52:04
it
because and and continues to you know
52:08
pay for
it and you know make it
52:10
available
to filmmakers because scoring
52:13
stages
have disappeared from LA
52:17
you know
the tide Vittorio scoring stage
52:19
in in
Studio City you know that was John
52:23
Williams
favorite I heard for a long
52:25
time and
they call that room down not
52:28
ten years
ago and you know Fox and still
52:32
got a
stage Sony's got one obviously you
52:35
know and
Warner Brothers does Universal
52:37
doesn't
have a scoring stage anymore
52:39
paramount
doesn't have a scoring stage
52:41
anymore
they took theirs down about 12
52:43
years ago
so it's you ask about that
52:47
stage
it's just great that they have won
52:48
here and
that they continue to have it I
52:51
only
mentioned it selfishly because I've
52:54
been very
fortunate enough to see it and
52:56
sit in
the room in the scoring room
52:58
during
the recording of something one
53:02
and it
was unbelievable I mean just from
53:06
a studio
design perspective the noise
53:08
floor
it's so quiet the moment the
53:11
conductor
lifts the baton and he does
53:13
the
downbeat it's absolutely dead silent
53:17
and
there's a hundred people sitting in
53:19
there
it's just incredible just an
53:21
amazing
experience well you're one up on
53:23
me I've
never I've never been in there
53:25
one has
been musicians playing that
53:28
must've
been amazing that was very lucky
53:30
I was I
happen to be with Don LaFontaine
53:31
who
somehow got a piece of music
53:35
recorded
there so his wife Nita could
53:39
sing this
piece with the orchestra
53:41
because I
guess Don could do that kind
53:43
of thing
and it was it was remarkable it
53:47
was
really remarkable is so lucky to be
53:48
there
don't can do whatever he wants I
53:50
would
have thought yeah hey Yankee I
53:53
just want
to go back on something you
53:54
said a
second ago that I'm interested to
53:55
to sort
of follow up the you were
53:58
talking
about how I'm directors seemed
54:00
or
directors have a signature sound not
54:03
just for
one movie but sort of a
54:05
direction
an audio direction they follow
54:07
in in a
bunch of movies is that what you
54:09
were
saying well it's not a signature
54:12
sound so
much it's just a style of
54:13
filmmaking and I started derivative of
54:17
that is
the style of the soundtrack
54:19
although
in Nolan's case and some you
54:23
know
great filmmakers their sound
54:24
impacts
their film and their picture and
54:27
their
everything else as much as those
54:29
things
impact sound but he you know if
54:33
you'd
listened to the last sort of six
54:35
films
that he's done really after the
54:38
second
Batman picture he did there's
54:41
been a
definite sort of this is the
54:43
direction
I'm going with my sound and
54:45
the
integration of those two things and
54:48
the
balance of those two you know sound
54:51
effects
music and dialogue the balance
54:53
of those
things he's definitely chosen a
54:55
path with
that which you know some
54:57
people
here and around the world I'm
55:00
sure have
have sort of not agreed with
55:02
it but
it's just the way he chooses to
55:06
make his
films and in the case of
55:07
Dunkirk
in particular I think it was it
55:11
was just
animate to go you know
55:15
so what
sort of things might that entail
55:17
is that a
certain way that you treat
55:20
sound
effect or you treat dialogue or or
55:22
you know
in a bit finer detail without
55:25
getting
too technical what sort of
55:26
things
would would he be looking at um
55:28
there's
certain things that he's done
55:32
which you
know Hollywood has a there's a
55:35
star here
which is in it you know it
55:38
starts
from the script and so you're
55:40
your
number one thing when you're
55:42
working
on a film for the most part
55:45
you're
always gonna want to hear the
55:47
dialogue
and at a filmmakers risk
55:50
well they
ignore that rule or at a
55:53
filmmaker
you know they're going to have
55:54
they're
going to get some pushback from
55:55
someone
if if someone in the process of
55:59
finishing
the film says I can't hear
56:01
those
lines and he has got got close to
56:05
the
threshold of acceptance and possibly
56:08
over that
threshold do you guys remember
56:11
there was
a character in one of the
56:12
Batman
films called Bane made by care
56:15
buying a
play by character named Tom
56:17
Hardy the
echoes man Tom Hardy do you
56:20
guys
remember that yeah yes definitely
56:22
sorry
that name popped in the head when
56:24
you
mention that beam yeah right he has
56:27
a mask on
his head and his dialogue was
56:29
was quite
difficult to hear in some of
56:32
the
mixing and the pre dubs I remember
56:34
there was
some back-and-forth and I
56:37
wasn't at
Warner Brothers at the time
56:38
but I
remember hearing about it in the
56:40
community
that there was Connor and they
56:42
might
have it being press about it you
56:44
know back
and forth between the studio
56:45
and the
filmmakers about well we can't
56:47
hear him
we want to hear him do we avoid
56:49
him do we
you know get him in that you
56:52
know if
he men to do some more how do we
56:54
change
that do we use the production
56:56
track do
we not you know there's a lot
56:58
of back
and forth about that and he was
57:01
he wanted
to push the boundaries of that
57:03
and and
push that sort of Hollywood
57:06
style of
you know what you don't have to
57:08
hear
every line so that's one of the
57:10
things
that he has chosen to do and he
57:13
does that
you know he did that with the
57:14
at least
I heard he did it with
57:17
interstellar there was some once again
57:19
some
press and some stuff in the in the
57:22
film
community here in LA about how the
57:25
music
might be too loud in interstellar
57:27
and
people sort of saying
57:29
it was
and some people saying it wasn't
57:31
and all
that sort of thing
57:32
that's
just derivative again if him
57:35
wanting
to push those boundaries and say
57:36
I'm going
in a different direction this
57:38
is this
is not I'm not gonna make that
57:41
so I'm
gonna make this film this is the
57:43
choice I
choose to make it's funny thank
57:45
you for
encapsulating that really helps
57:47
to
understand that I was gonna say
57:48
though
that was my takeaway from
57:49
interstellar was I actually came out of
57:51
a theater
joint that music was loud I
57:55
want to
know what you you've worked on I
57:58
mean the
elephant story is fantastic so
58:00
it's
clearly something that you're proud
58:02
of but
what's another great example of
58:04
something
you've had a lot of your
58:05
fingers
all over that we should check
58:08
out I
don't know that depends on what
58:14
sort of
songs you you want you can look
58:15
at my
IMDB make it easy for you mate
58:19
I've got
one of your old promos on a DAT
58:21
here at
the back of the studio you want
58:23
have
y'all triple in promos I'll just
58:24
drag that
out we'll play anymore storage
58:34
somewhere
I'm in the same boat I got a
58:36
whole I
got a whole bunch of debt
58:37
sitting
in the back of the room that I
58:38
haven't
touched in probably 15 years so
58:41
be
interesting to see if they go in the
58:42
debt
player or not I've heard the dads
58:44
don't
last that long actually I probably
58:47
don't
yeah yeah well yes microwaving
58:51
well
that's all we used to do with the
58:54
absolutely seconds one run
58:57
that's it
dub yeah get it or lose like
59:00
there's a
couple films that I've worked
59:02
on that
you know I mean I've worked on a
59:04
lot of
like the elephant film the
59:05
documentary I don't think they've been
59:07
released
worldwide it's certainly played
59:10
you know
the president he President
59:12
Obama saw
it and made some changes I
59:15
think
based on that and a lot of other
59:17
input he
was getting at the time to
59:19
import of
illegal ivory into this
59:22
country
you know that documentaries
59:25
played
for a lot of world leaders and at
59:28
the UN
and various other places because
59:30
the
filmmakers a journalist and she
59:32
really
she made the film to affect
59:34
change
she didn't make the film to make
59:36
you know
to have a big audience so I'm
59:40
proud of
that film because of what it
59:43
I'm also
proud of it because of the
59:45
collaboration and the fact that from an
59:47
experience I got to go and you know work
59:50
with five
African elephants for a day
59:52
and walk
under them and record them an
59:56
incredible experience I've worked on
59:59
some
films that would have been released
60:01
in
Australia that I think are really
60:04
good
tracks but I wasn't necessarily the
60:06
lead
sound guy on them I worked on a
60:09
film
called unbroken which was actually
60:12
filmed in
Australia and there to really
60:16
receive
Lina yeah yeah I can't say I've
60:19
but
George is saying he has yeah Wow I
60:22
liked it
a lot because it was only made
60:26
a couple
of years ago and it was made
60:28
for a
reasonable-sized studio budget but
60:32
it's not
a film about men in tights and
60:36
I was
just thankful to be on a
60:39
production that was to me the sort of
60:42
epitome
of a big Hollywood blockbuster
60:45
without
being about superheroes you know
60:49
kind of a
classic canvas for a large
60:51
picture
and I think the sound on that
60:55
film is
great not because I was involved
60:57
I was
only a small part of it but um but
61:00
it's a
great track because the director
61:02
shows and
the picture editors and
61:04
everyone
else they chose not to have a
61:06
lot of
score in the film which to me
61:09
opens it
up a lot more for opportunities
61:11
to sound
to help tell the story and it's
61:14
also the
sort of story where you
61:15
wouldn't
want a lot of score so it's a
61:18
really
great sound picture I know I
61:21
worked on
a picture called Patriots Day
61:23
a couple
of about 18 months ago which is
61:26
about the
Boston Marathon bombing here
61:29
it's it's
got like it's got a really
61:32
good cast
and it's a really great i-ight
61:36
when you
often when you work on a film
61:38
particularly a bigger production as a
61:40
sound
person you don't get to see it in
61:42
its
entirety if you're part of the
61:44
editorial
and editorial crew it's just
61:47
the way
it comes together and also with
61:50
a picture
like that with that filmmaker
61:53
you know
you guys are probably a little
61:57
action
workflow in other words you have
62:00
a script
and you have everything kind of
62:02
like
Robbo when you're doing an advert
62:04
of a TV
advertisement they generally
62:06
give you
a lock cut right yeah that's it
62:08
right
well that doesn't happen in
62:10
filmmaking anymore yeah on that on
62:14
Patriot's
Day we had 11 reels of film so
62:17
eleven
two thousand four hundred and
62:20
forty
minutes of film and we were
62:23
getting
two new cuts on each reel every
62:28
well Wow
and we were already in pre dubs
62:32
and
finals so we were conforming twice a
62:35
day to
every real upwards of three four
62:39
thousand
tracks of sound every day all
62:42
day long
so when you're in that
62:45
environment you don't often get to see
62:47
the
picture you know play out
62:50
and so
that film I was surprised at how
62:53
much I
enjoyed watching it you know six
62:55
or eight
months after it was released I
62:57
sat down
no I watched it and I was like
63:00
oh
actually is it actually really good -
63:02
yeah yeah
do you think that's happening
63:05
because
technology allows that to happen
63:08
and so
since the technology allows it to
63:11
happen
they're more prone to do it
63:12
that's
absolutely one of the factors
63:14
yeah
people you know produce you know
63:17
producers
studio executives you know
63:20
anyone
who's in part of the
63:21
decision-making process they know that
63:23
we have
all these great tools and we can
63:25
do you
know really amazing things with
63:28
them and
the fact that you you can only
63:32
cut a 35
mil print once you know and no
63:35
one's
working in 35 mil anymore so these
63:38
days you
can make as many cuts as you
63:39
want and
you can just keep cutting you
63:42
know and
yeah and there's absolutely for
63:46
filmmakers that make the choices and
63:48
executives no one else to make the
63:50
choice to
not make decisions that is an
63:53
option
that they can now do you know
63:56
yeah it's
funny I was talking with
63:58
Richard
lush who lives in Sydney now
64:00
he's one
of the Beatles engineers he
64:02
moved
here back in the early 70s to set
64:04
up EMI
Sydney and we were talking to him
64:07
a couple
of years back and just going
64:10
through a
few things and he talked
64:11
about
commitment and he mentioned
64:13
working
on the soundtrack for the Sydney
64:15
Olympics
in 2000 and because he was in
64:18
recording
with the engineer using
64:20
ProTools
and one of the questions was do
64:23
you want
to do another take on that yep
64:25
we're
doing it to go give me another
64:26
take so
did another take and then the
64:28
engineer
turn around and said do you
64:30
want me
to keep the other one and he
64:31
said well
if I wanted you to keep the
64:32
other one
I wouldn't have asked for a
64:34
new one
it's all about commitment cuz
64:38
you just
end up in the end with like 35
64:40
types of
everything and you don't even
64:42
know you
just you lost completely lost
64:44
that's
all I think that's an issue you
64:46
finding
you finding that David that
64:48
that's an
issue of people not willing to
64:49
commit oh
yeah but it's only an issue if
64:53
the
production chooses to make it an
64:55
issue in
other words as soon as you
64:58
change
the scope like let's say an
65:01
advertiser comes to you robber and says
65:03
here's
our ad you know we're gonna give
65:05
you I
don't know whatever it cost for
65:07
you to
work on an advertisement and and
65:11
then you
you do the work and maybe it
65:13
takes a
day or two or whatever and then
65:15
they come
to you and they go okay well
65:18
here's
another cut we want you to do all
65:20
that work
again but do it on another cut
65:22
well now
of course you're putting more
65:24
time into
the production and if they
65:26
don't
also come to you and say well we
65:28
should
give you more money because
65:29
you're
going to spend more time on it
65:30
then that
becomes an issue right you got
65:33
to pay
the rents like everyone else
65:35
so you
know film is the same if if they
65:38
you know
like on the on the Patriots Day
65:42
film so I
don't know what the sound
65:44
budget
was it was hundreds and hundreds
65:46
and
hundreds of thousands of dollars
65:47
probably
a couple million dollars and
65:49
you know
they just had to keep spending
65:52
money
because their filmmaker and their
65:53
picture
editor and you know the director
65:56
they kept
making changes to the cut now
65:59
that's
only a problem if they then say
66:01
we're not
going to spend any more money
66:02
because
then you're like okay well I
66:05
guess
just in the tracks to the states
66:07
that are
out of sync and you'll have to
66:09
figure it
out there but usually what
66:12
happens
is you know someone's gonna be
66:14
pretty
unhappy in that situation I don't
66:17
know how
much more time yeah but I
66:19
to get
one more and this might be a
66:20
quickie
but I see you do a lot of
66:22
television what is the real difference
66:26
these
days now in what you do between
66:29
working
for television versus for a
66:31
future I
don't really approach it any
66:35
differently it's still storytelling with
66:38
sound
happened it's still the same I
66:41
mean
obviously the budgets are a little
66:43
different
and the schedules are very
66:44
different
you know budget is budget and
66:47
you know
the creative resources that
66:49
come out
of that are affected by those
66:51
two
things as in as they are in every
66:55
so you
know TV here in America has done
67:00
certain
way and it's very difficult to
67:03
get them
to change that way of doing it
67:07
but
within that way of doing at their
67:09
structure
and reliability and
67:11
consistency which is sometimes a welcome
67:15
change
from features because features
67:18
are
absolutely derivative of the
67:21
filmmakers personality to an extent and
67:24
if they
are a personality that wants to
67:26
keep
cutting their film right up to the
67:28
print
master then that's going to sort
67:31
of create
a certain environment and the
67:34
budget
and the number of people involved
67:37
and the
amount of time you spend on it
67:39
is is
going to change as a result
67:41
whereas
television they don't really do
67:45
that
although in the last couple of
67:46
years
even that has changed you know the
67:50
consistency of television because with
67:52
these
Netflix shows you know shows you
67:56
could
have been delivered to networking
67:57
networks
type networks you know you guys
68:01
probably
seen this when you turn on
68:03
Netflix
and you go to watch you know a
68:05
Netflix
series you can watch the entire
68:08
series in
one sitting if you want oh
68:11
yeah I
know yeah it's not like it's not
68:14
like
regular television ways you know
68:16
episode 1
this week in episode 2 will be
68:19
available
next week and so as a result
68:23
like I
did a series for Amazon a couple
68:26
of years
ago which is a similar to a
68:27
Netflix
delivery they deliver as in the
68:30
production delivers to the
68:32
giulio
and subsequently the studio - the
68:34
network
they deliver the entire series
68:36
on one
day so right so you can imagine
68:40
is like
an eight-hour movie right so
68:48
you're
delivering instead of one hour
68:49
every
week you're delivering ten hours
68:52
in one
day or in one week now
68:55
usually a
smart production will try and
68:58
schedule
that so that they are turning
69:00
out one
hour every week but going back
69:03
to your
question earlier guys if if no
69:06
one makes
a decision you could have ten
69:09
unlocked
episodes three days from
69:12
delivery
yeah like that right yeah so
69:17
that just
think differences is schedule
69:19
and you
know the way they structure
69:22
their
productions do you think because
69:24
the
budgets over the years have got
69:26
bigger
and there's two different genres
69:29
now it's
independent films and there's
69:30
you know
big production studio films do
69:34
you find
there's more fear involved in
69:37
the big
studios I'm not sure if I'm
69:43
really
qualified to answer that question
69:45
I mean I
you know like the head of a
69:47
studio
would be someone who could answer
69:49
that
maybe and someone with a sort of a
69:51
perspective on it on the history of
69:53
filmmaking hi I think what is important
69:57
this is
just me being the guy that reads
69:59
a lot of
stuff about you know like when
70:02
I worked
in radio one of the reasons I
70:04
left
radio and chose to go and do
70:05
something
else well the main reason was
70:07
I wanted
to challenge myself creatively
70:09
the
number two of maybe the third reason
70:12
why was I
had been reading a lot of you
70:15
know the
Financial Times and and I read
70:18
a lot of
different perspectives on
70:21
business
and the marketplace
70:23
and I
could see that the radio
70:26
advertising the pie was getting called
70:28
the radio
section of the advertising pie
70:31
was
getting smaller even in the short
70:33
you know
eight nine years that I work in
70:35
radio
every time they put up that that
70:38
pie chart
which showed you know print
70:40
television newspapers outdoor radio is
70:45
here and
I was like well this can't be
70:46
good for
my job one day they're going to
70:49
get rid
of my job because no one's going
70:52
you know
yeah right radios radios it's a
70:55
broadcasting medium it's not a creative
70:58
sound
medium at least that's not the
71:01
core
business you know as part of the
71:03
business
you deliver creative sound but
71:05
it's not
the business you're in the
71:07
business
you're in is selling media time
71:09
or air
time so if your air time budget
71:12
is
reducing then obviously everything
71:13
else in
the station's going to get
71:14
reduced
as well because they can't
71:16
handle
the overhead so when you look at
71:19
major
studios and films it's kind of the
71:22
same
thing in addition to you know we've
71:26
had
massive market consolidation with
71:27
radio
station ownership not only in
71:29
Australia
but around the world it's the
71:31
same
thing with major studios
71:32
I mean
Disney is just about to buy Fox
71:35
who would
have thought that would happen
71:37
but it
looks like it might happen you
71:39
know so
when you look at the
71:43
consolidation of major movie studios the
71:46
only
thing that drives that is the
71:50
ability
for the marketplace to be able
71:52
to
capitalize it and the only market
71:53
place
that can capitalize those sort of
71:55
takeovers
is the stock market and what
71:57
if the
stock market want they want 12 15
72:01
13
percent year-over-year growth you
72:04
don't get
that kind of consistent growth
72:07
out of
the movie business it's a very
72:09
very
up-and-down you know hot and cold
72:11
business
one of the ways that the
72:14
studio's
choose to minimize their risk
72:16
is by
making movies that are derivative
72:19
or
sequels of movies they've already
72:21
made
before because when they put the
72:23
business
model for a movie together they
72:24
say okay
you know Batman one made one
72:27
hundred
million dollars say well Batman
72:30
2 if even
if we make it with you know 30
72:33
50
percent of the production value we're
72:36
still
going to get 70% of that audience
72:37
so we can
guarantee ourselves seventy
72:39
million
dollars return based on 100
72:42
million
we made last time so we know
72:44
roughly
so there's a reasonably
72:46
consistent business model versus an
72:48
inconsistent business model which is a
72:50
risky
movie with a script that and
72:53
characters and story that the audience
72:55
is never
seen before and it's quite
72:58
business
for a major movie studio sir
73:01
Maya in
my humble opinion I think the
73:04
thing
that drives the big movies and
73:07
they're
sort of consistent theme if you
73:09
like or
whatever however you phrased it
73:12
it's more
who owns the studio's and what
73:16
does that
mean for their business and
73:18
how does
you know what ROI are those
73:21
equity
investors looking for so we're
73:24
basically
saying thank goodness that
73:25
George
Lucas didn't try and pitch Star
73:27
Wars in
2018 right yeah yeah I know the
73:33
studio
that would timing Star Wars was a
73:35
hard
movie to make it was incredibly
73:38
difficult
and groundbreaking it was
73:41
groundbreaking but it was also really
73:43
really
hard for him he it took him a
73:45
long time
to make that picture and it
73:49
was a
very difficult picture to make and
73:51
I think
there were some executives of
73:52
Fox that
really took a risk on him as a
73:56
filmmaker
and obviously paid off for
73:58
them and
paid off for him to be time
74:02
that was
1975 when they dream let that
74:05
film but
even back then it was a risky
74:10
yeah oh
yeah absolutely but that was I
74:13
mean he
basically sold sold his soul to
74:16
the devil
to get it through in the first
74:17
place
right I know I know he he did a
74:21
good deal
on the merchandise that was
74:25
the deal
don't pay me to make the movie
74:27
but I
want the merchandise rights I
74:29
could be
wrong on that something like
74:30
that yeah
that's what I seem to remember
74:32
reading
yeah but it's the same with
74:35
music
though I mean music in the 60s
74:37
through
the 70s probably into the 80s
74:40
and maybe
early 90s the overhead
74:42
companies
were happy to invest that you
74:44
know the
first album may not fire the
74:45
second
one may not go third one may not
74:47
but the
fourth one could hmm and they
74:50
would
invest in the future they wouldn't
74:52
just
invest in that you know one single
74:54
on
Spotify which is basically it now
74:56
yeah
that's right well look at John
74:58
Mellencamp we wouldn't have John
74:59
Mellencamp if it wasn't for um what was
75:01
his
second record company that picked
75:03
him up
can I remember all others
75:05
was it
one us yeah whoever it was I mean
75:06
he will
CBS had him in the end but yeah
75:08
he was
written off basically
75:11
yeah yeah
CVS and they also Springsteen
75:14
he was
another one that was you know if
75:17
the
record companies to ditched him on
75:18
the first
two albums I would have been
75:21
now
listen see we can't let you go we
75:23
can't
wrapped up this interview without
75:24
getting a
bit geeky here talk us through
75:27
talk us
through your favorite gear your
75:30
favorite
favorite plugins yeah maybe
75:32
some
favorite workflows if you've got
75:34
any or
just give us some geek gear you
75:37
know I'm
actually I had some really cool
75:40
geeky
stuff which I just I literally
75:43
sold it
all about a year ago you know I
75:46
had
outboard rack that I would bring two
75:49
duds and
bring two mixes but really in
75:51
the last
five years a lot of it's a lot
75:54
of the
the technology in the box has
75:56
gotten a
lot better I mean I've been
75:57
mixing in
the box for a long time not as
76:00
long as
some but but a long time and you
76:04
know I
don't have it number one I kind
76:07
of don't
like audio guys saying hey this
76:09
tool is
really good this plug-in is
76:10
really
cool because then everyone goes
76:12
and uses
it and then thinks that they
76:13
can get
the sound yes may or may not
76:16
yeah you
know being well known for and I
76:19
don't
think you know that the number one
76:22
thing is
always your ears and second to
76:26
that or
maybe primary to that is the
76:28
monitoring environment I was down in
76:30
Perth at
the end of last year and I did
76:33
a talk
for the Australian screen sound
76:35
guild and
someone asked me roughly the
76:37
same
question although it was quantified
76:39
in terms
of what's your favorite film
76:41
mixing
console my response was and it's
76:44
the same
for plugins and it's the same
76:46
for I
mean I have to work in Pro Tools
76:49
because
the entire industries on it now
76:51
but but
in terms of like consoles and
76:55
plugins
and also stuff you know I don't
76:58
have a
religion in terms of those things
77:00
to me the
most important thing is with
77:03
what room
am I going to be in when I'm
77:05
making
decisions with my director I have
77:07
my
favorite rooms at every studio here
77:10
and I
will only work in those rooms at
77:13
those
studios and because I can rather
77:17
you're
saying yeah I can trust the
77:19
translation of those rooms to a
77:21
theatrical environment or to a home
77:24
so let me
take I did that that's an
77:26
exact
inverse or the the mirror image of
77:29
what I
tell all the voice actors you
77:32
know when
they say what's the mic and
77:34
I'm like
there's a mic get the room
77:37
right you
know it's the exact it's the
77:40
same
thing the room has to be right and
77:42
the voice
to go to go with the room and
77:44
then I'm
just performing to number one
77:47
in the in
the in the the room or the
77:51
environment is secondary but number one
77:53
is
performance if you can't get the
77:54
right
performance then good luck tracks
77:56
I mean
you'll never get the sound right
77:57
you'll
never get it to sound good enough
77:59
for the
client if the performance
78:01
doesn't
work well your poly sense heard
78:03
is that
what you're saying raisi
78:08
that that
two weeks of ADR down in
78:11
jakarta
and we're working some pretty
78:12
kind of
not-so-great ADR facilities cuz
78:16
chica
jakarta is not a big filmmaking
78:18
community
and yet we got really really
78:20
good
performances and as a result the
78:24
filmmaker
loved everything that happened
78:26
in his
track you know once we go back to
78:28
LA and
mixed it and you know there was a
78:30
little
bit of oh gee this isn't a
78:33
beautiful
recording but that didn't
78:34
matter
the performance was there it's
78:36
funny I
heard it quote from a recording
78:38
engineer
and the question was asked
78:41
again
what's you know what you fight
78:42
what what
do you use you know what
78:44
microphones do you use what preamps do
78:46
you use
what desk views and he said I
78:48
use
whatever's there yeah that the truth
78:51
yeah I'm
kind of I've worked on Harrison
78:55
you
phonics obviously avid I did makes
79:01
I did I
did a re-recording course at
79:04
afters
here well Jesus back when there
79:08
was first
to end when you did that yeah
79:10
and and
they had a beautiful old
79:11
Harrison
12 in the in the room and man I
79:14
mean I
you know I haven't worked on a
79:16
lot of
big consoles like that probably
79:18
one or
two but wow that was a sweet ride
79:20
that's
for sure yeah yeah we got the
79:22
forgotten
EQ that's a great River EQ in
79:26
it yeah
that's right and speaking of
79:28
which I
remember you used to have a
79:30
pultec EQ
do you still add that no I
79:33
sold out
when I left Australia
79:35
you fool
yeah it was beautiful eyes just
79:40
just to
fill you in ice to freelance
79:41
when
rains he had his business I
79:43
I quit
radio not long after rains he and
79:45
he used
to get me into come and do some
79:46
work for
him at night and man I used to
79:49
love that
thing that was gorgeous
79:52
my head
like I said I had up until
79:55
recently
in my dialogue chain here and
79:58
some
hardware a hardware rack with you
80:00
know some
needs I had like six Neve
80:03
units and
just some really cool
80:07
expensive
it was like a fifty thousand
80:09
dollar
rack and one of the things that
80:12
made me
change is working in Atmos you
80:15
can't be
locked to a dialog chain that's
80:19
limited
in the number of channels which
80:21
surely a
expensive rack will limit you
80:25
when
you're mixing in at most and if you
80:28
guys know
what that noise is
80:30
that's
the Dolby nine twelve channel
80:33
surround
system is a delivery it's a
80:38
delivery
medium but also a number of
80:42
channels
in Mendota Commons but
80:43
basically
it's up to 128 channels of
80:46
sound as
opposed to traditional film or
80:49
traditional in the last 15 20 years as
80:52
being
either 5.1 or 7.1 sound there's
80:57
many many
more channels and a great
80:59
example
of an at mas mix and what people
81:01
do with
them is the movie gravity that
81:03
film had
you know had dialogue coming
81:06
off the
screen and going around behind
81:08
you if
you don't have a dialogue chain
81:12
that is
able to be multiplied many times
81:14
over then
you can't do that kind of
81:17
movement
with a soundtrack try doing
81:20
that on a
panel so I've mentioned the
81:26
Harrison
12 I I picture that I don't
81:29
know if
I've ever seen one but isn't
81:30
that one
of those quite large format
81:32
yeah
consoles that are in the remix yeah
81:34
that's
right say the course I was
81:36
talking
about was a remix in course at
81:38
the and
afters is the Australian film
81:40
television and radio school and I took
81:45
mostly
because I wanted to learn about
81:48
Jesus
late 90s people just when they
81:50
were
talking about you know
81:52
surround-sound starting to hit TV and
81:53
all that
sort of stuff so that's that's
81:55
why I
took myself off to do that course
81:56
but yeah
they had this beautiful big old
81:58
Harrison
12 and the mixing stage that
82:00
the film
television and radio school was
82:02
a
pleasure to work with that's for sure
82:03
where do
you like to go see a film
82:05
because
you like the way the speaking of
82:07
rooms
other than playing a back of film
82:09
in your
favorite room at Warner Brothers
82:11
where do
you like to go in LA where you
82:13
really
like the sound in the theatre
82:15
when I'm
in LA I my wife and I are to go
82:18
if when
we go out to a film we are to go
82:21
to a
screening at the studio's because
82:23
we know
they've all all their rooms if
82:25
they're
doing a screening have been you
82:27
know
proper their projection is is
82:29
correct
of course if not then our second
82:35
because
once again they generally have
82:37
projection pretty well sorted out but
82:41
lightly
we just finished building a
82:43
little
home theater slash sound design
82:46
room in
our house we've got a sacred
82:49
structure
at the back of our property
82:51
and I we
put our little home theater
82:53
thing in
there so lightly we'd be
82:54
watching
films in there because it just
82:55
you know
I did all the acoustic design
82:57
on that
and it's it's close enough
82:59
and it's
certainly better than the most
83:01
kind of
home environments so it's
83:03
lightly
been good enough for us
83:06
this is
why movie theatres ladies and
83:08
gentlemen
have to have giant reclining
83:10
electric
seats and all sorts of other
83:12
gimmicks
trying to get you to show up
83:14
because
we're building these home
83:16
theaters
that sound and look the
83:18
sounding
and look incredible and that's
83:21
why he
sent me a photo studio you should
83:23
say it's
very nice in fact I might throw
83:25
it up in
the show notes if that's okay
83:26
with you
rain Z ah just give us the
83:28
address
David Bowie around there like
83:32
three
blocks and Warner Brothers I'm
83:35
lucky I
get to walk good thing about
83:38
watching
films though at home there's
83:40
some
films you don't want to watch it
83:42
hug like
like a comedy is far more you
83:46
know like
a movie like The Hangover it's
83:48
far more
enjoyable watching in a movie
83:50
oh yeah
environment audience because
83:52
part of
that process of enjoying the
83:56
picture
is is hearing other people enjoy
83:58
the
picture absolutely oh yeah
84:00
I first
comedy I remember seeing the
84:02
theater
where it really was like oh my
84:04
gosh
listen to the audience was there's
84:06
there's
something about Mary
84:07
yes out
there movie I mean they really
84:11
pushed
boundaries of taste and
84:13
everything and the audience like Ajay
84:15
drowned
out the dialog like a third of
84:17
the movie
have you guys seen a film
84:26
it's
Heath Ledger before Heath Ledger
84:28
was a big
Hollywood guy oh yes yes yes
84:38
it's very
black comedy and watch I
84:42
I must
mean five times in the cinema
84:44
probably
because it's a great film and
84:46
also
because watching it with an
84:47
audience
it's just great yeah George
84:50
jump
online and find it and and have a
84:51
look it's
an awesome movie yeah yeah
84:53
Brian I
am looking Ryan Brown plays that
84:56
perfect
gangster yes Bergen gangsters
84:59
great
right Brian basically plays black
85:01
Brian
Brown he's um that's his signature
85:03
role I
reckon dear you know even Netflix
85:10
online
auto plays with audio aid website
85:14
yeah and
a guy that you guys know Rick
85:19
Carter is
in that picture and Rick he's
85:22
a great
voiceover guy yeah there's a few
85:24
people
pop up in that there's another
85:25
great
film actually in that sort of
85:26
genre
that was done here in Australia
85:28
and that
was getting squared and they've
85:31
yeah they
that's great there's a there's
85:34
a great
scene it's Richard Roxburgh
85:37
plays
this sort of heroin addicts and
85:40
there's
the best scene of him it he's
85:43
running
down the street in that you know
85:44
he's got
the tight foot he shorts on and
85:46
would you
would call flip-flops George
85:48
we call
them thongs and they seem being
85:51
chased in
a pair of thongs running down
85:54
the
street and the sound of someone
85:56
running
in thongs is so unique and it's
85:58
fantastic
you got to see it well listen
86:03
Rosie
this has been awesome I thank you
86:04
so much
for your time we've probably
86:05
held you
up way more way longer than you
86:07
thought
we would but um it's been
86:09
awesome
to talk to you thanks for your
86:10
no
worries guys it's been fun thank you
86:13
I had a
case of career Envy that's mine
86:16
yep yes I
can understand that
86:20
absolutely the guy to hang out it with
86:24
yes
George stay you've got your I've got
86:27
your
chance a nice guy to show the way
86:31
get me
shelter yeah yeah no I'd love to
86:35
do that
job any day of the week
86:37
yeah but
the trouble is if you
86:38
disappeared for two days mmm let's write
86:41
it down a
rabbit hole yeah you'd never
86:44
emerge
you know be gone gone for good
86:47
what's
said in blood in in the hangover
86:50
what is
Bangkok's got him it's in that
86:52
case it's
Hollywood's got him yes that's
86:54
right
yeah well there you go they goes
86:58
another
show hopefully we've been
87:00
slightly
informative hopefully something
87:03
in there
somewhere surely for someone
87:05
yeah I'm
still I'm still amazed about
87:08
Red
October yes how they the audio when
87:11
they had
to do it or plant all the
87:12
microphones that is insane he's crazy
87:15
fly live
mixing a movie of that standing
87:19
yeah just
one mistake they'll take you
87:21
outside
and shoot you no pressure no
87:24
pressure
and let's face it Sean Connery
87:27
is
licensed to kill so you know and and
87:31
licensed
to wear a week and have a
87:32
really
bad Russian accent ooh Polaski
87:38
yeah so
there you go Oh what what so
87:44
it's
definite I'm sure you're just
87:45
trying to
end the dang show and I have
87:47
to add
something but I was a moment to
87:51
to as I
was reading recording hacks
87:55
earlier
up popped an ad and I clicked on
87:58
it and
it's for antelope audio tying up
88:01
the the
emulating microphone thing or
88:04
modeling
mic they have their own it's
88:05
called
the edge and it seems to go with
88:09
that same
sphere audio design where it's
88:11
got
stereo output it has to capsule
88:14
output
uses a five pin XLR and then goes
88:19
on out
and goes into their own system
88:23
and
beyond that I don't know anything
88:25
about it
because I just discovered it