|
Between them, sound mixers Bob Beemer, Gary Bourgeois, Scott Millan, and Gregg Rudloff have credits on approximately 300 top Hollywood pictures. Having started their careers when sound was analog and tracks were limited to what could be hung on the dubbing stage, they have witnessed a digital revolution. Now, consoles are computerized and automated, and ninety tracks of background and thirty tracks of dialogue are not uncommon. Computer workstations on the dubbing stage are standard, and gone is the linear process of filmmaking. “When I started, the director, the picture editor, and the sound editor were on the stage the entire time from pre-dubbing through the final mix,” says second-generation mixer Gregg Rudloff. “Now, everything’s happening at the same time, but everybody can’t be everywhere at once.” That means that alternate versions have to be prepared and presented, so the filmmaker’s options remain open longer throughout the process.
Technological change has had other effects, as well. Not too long
ago, mixers worked in three-person teams: a dialogue mixer,
a music mixer, and a sound
effects mixer. Occasionally, there would be a fourth person, an apprentice,
who was learning
the craft. Now, 95% are Technology has also compressed schedules, while at the same time, raising expectations in terms of what can be done. “As an example, in pre-dubbing dialogue, the expectation used to be to do one reel (1,000 feet) a day,” explains Scott Millan. “Now, it’s to do double reels a day, literally, twice as much.” However, because more possibilities now exist to finesse the sound, the process can actually take longer. “Technology doesn’t necessarily make the work go faster, but it may give you more options,” says Millan. The upside of the technology boom is that movies sound better than ever before. “We’re able to clean things up so much better that even our temp mixes are generally six tracks, full stereo surround mixes,” says Bob Beemer. “Older movies can sound rough in comparison.” Since mixers are usually working all the time, most learn new technology on the job. Mixers swap information with each other, and eagerly learn new tricks from their colleagues. “Fortunately, not everything changes at once. Usually, you’re learning one or two new things at a time,” says Rudloff. Still, technology does take its toll. “Every time there’s a leap, a whole new section of people gets hired, because the older ones just can’t deal with it,” says Beemer. “I imagine that will happen to all of us some day.”
People skills, however, are almost more important than technical
skills. Since sound is subjective, mixers must be able to communicate
effectively
with filmmakers.
Gary Bourgeois believes in being self-educated and enriching one’s creative
vocabulary by seeing plays, In fact, it’s the lack of people skills that can derail a career. “When you have to deal with filmmakers on a creative level, as well as a personal and political level, it’s another arena that can be overwhelming,” notes Millan. “There’s a lot of pressure, and when someone new fails, it’s terrible, because everyone knows.”
“The skill of managing disagreements on stage can be as important as actually Beemer stresses the importance of preparation and flexibility. “You have to be able to come up with new ideas at a moment’s notice, and if you’re worried about your material because it’s not prepared well, you can’t do that as well,” he maintains. Since mixing is very collaborative, a critical lesson to learn is to be able to pour your heart and soul into an idea, and then let it go at a moment’s notice and move on to something else. “You can’t take it personally,” says Rudloff. “Tossing things out is part of the process and part of the creativity.” Since mixers work on teams, the job is much like a dance, in which you have to be in tune with what your partner is doing on his or her side of the console. “There’s a lot of intensive concentration required. Sometimes, when you’re working with someone new, you may fumble around together, because you don’t know each other’s styles, or the way they work, because there’s always a different way to do something,” says Rudloff. “The longer you work with somebody, the more you’ve discussed how to approach things, and you can sense when somebody is going to take off with the music or pull back,” adds Bourgeois. “The smoother, the better.” There is no single career path to becoming a mixer, and training or apprenticeship programs simply do not exist. Rudloff, whose father was also a mixer, got his start as a loader on a dubbing stage. He moved up to recordist, then worked in transfer for several years. Beemer went to film school, and one of his first jobs after graduation was in the sound department. He worked as a recordist for 10 years, and had the opportunity to observe and help other mixers, which is how he learned. Millan began his career at a television station in Los Angeles, where he covered everything from camera to postproduction. A succession of jobs led him into mixing music, and he eventually established himself as a dialogue and music mixer. Bourgeois’ background is as a drummer and a musician. In his native Canada, he got his first job at a production company that made industrials and commercials. Today, the lack of B-pictures, which was a vital training ground for up-and-coming talent, is making it difficult for people to establish themselves. “There are either A-pictures or D-pictures, either very expensive or no money at all, and that shortchanges everybody,” says Bourgeois. Coupled with that is the lack of time and schedule constraints, which makes training someone difficult. “You don’t have time to sit and explain what you’re doing or why, because you have to accomplish a certain amount of work each day,” explains Millan. Still, talent and desire will always make an impression. “When I was trying to learn and grow, jobs were hard to find then, too,” says Millan. “But if you show interest, if you show desire, people notice that.” So what does the future hold? Having more and more workstations on the dubbing stage is a clear trend. It’s even possible that the skill of editing sound and mixing sound would become merged at some point. “They are two very different disciplines, but now that Pro Tools is interacting with consoles, technology is bringing them closer together,” says Beemer. Since picture is already being changed up to the last minute, even sometimes during the final mix, expect to see picture-editing stations on stage, as well. “That would allow changes to become much more fluid,” says Millan. But the biggest change could come with full-fledged digital cinema. “If you no longer have to produce prints for distribution, and you are sending the picture via satellite to your local exhibitor, you could conceivably still mix up until show time,” says Millan. “A whole range of possibilities would then open up, such as adding a song by a popular singing artist after the movie has been released or providing alternate endings or ‘new material’ to refresh a film still in theaters. Without that deadline to finish, film-making could go on and on, leaving mixers ‘with larger ulcers and less hair.’ ” In the end, the goal is to have a sound track serve the story so well that the audience doesn’t even notice it. Smoothness, clarity and dynamics - the full range of sound - are all important. “If you can make a whisper intelligible, then in the following scene make a scream have power but not hurt, that’s a good mix,” says Bourgeois. Sound changes the emotional experience of a picture tremendously. “You can manipulate the audience with what you’re doing, push emotions one way or another, help with transitions, even deceive the audience,” says Rudloff. Nothing compares to a filmmaker who has, from the very beginning, conceived of how he or she wants the film to sound. “Sometimes, we’re fixing things in postproduction,” says Millan. “But, when a filmmaker has thought the whole process through, it’s very rewarding because you can be even more creative.” Despite the long hours, the tight schedules, the politics and budgetary issues, it’s a very satisfying job. “Things come together very quickly in our realm, and the product becomes very polished,” says Beemer. “It’s very creative.” Rudloff has been working with his partners, John Reitz and Dave Campbell, for over 20 years as one of the last remaining three-person mixing teams. “Getting to collaborate with people who share the same passion, taking ideas from people’s brains and translating it to the screen gives me enormous satisfaction,” says Rudloff. “Sometimes you can work on a film that’s really special, but the experience and the people are perhaps not as fulfilling; sometimes it’s the other way around,” says Millan. “When both things happen and line up at the same time, that is what keeps you going.” Bourgeois saw his first mixing console at the age of 19, through a friend who was working in the sound department of a postproduction firm. “Everything I’ve done has been to study this and practice it,” says Bourgeous. “I love it. I love going to work every day.” |
