A Chat with
Larson Sound Center's
John Asman
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John began his career as a production sound mixer and sound effects editor before moving into re-recording mixing at the former Glen Glenn Sound. There, he earned three Emmy Awards and 25 nominations for mixing shows such as 'Hill Street Blues' and 'Cagney & Lacey'.
In 1987, when the Larson Sound Center opened, John was named vice president of development for the company's LarTec Systems division. An accomplished computer programmer by that time, he was responsible for writing the software for the LarTec ADR/Foley system and LarTec Audio Edit Pro. After the division and its products were acquired by Martin Audio in 1996, John moved back into mixing, earning another Emmy that same year for the sound mixing of the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie 'Harvest of Fire'. He also held onto some of his programming responsibilities, and recently engineered a significant upgrade of the machine control systems currently used in Larson's mixing studios and editing suites.
John recently answered a series of questions on the challenges he faces today.
How did you get involved in the technical side of the business?
I actually studied business in college and worked for IBM as a software engineer before becoming a sound mixer. I have a brother who is a feature film sound editor and another brother who is a cameraman. We owned a film production company and, like many people in our industry, learned by doing. The challenges of converting from posting sound on film to editing and mixing electronically were fascinating to me, and I brought the perspective of hands-on experience to the process.
Now that you're back to mixing full time, how involved are you in programming?
I still have a desk in our engineering office and work there when I'm not on the dubbing stage. Technology is a moving target, which means there are always updates to do for current systems.
What are some of your current mixing projects?
This season I've been mixing three one-hour drama series for Paramount: 'Seven Days', 'The Sentinel' and the syndicated series 'Viper'. I've also mixed several made-for-television movies, the feature film 'The Perfect Game' and Universal's animated feature 'American Tail IV'. Upcoming projects include the Universal animated feature 'Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein', several drama pilots and several MOWs.
Those all sound like action shows.
They are. I'd love to have another "talking heads" series. I'd feel like I was on vacation! Action series are primarily shot on location, so the tracks are often noisy because of production circumstances. The dialogue can be tough to dig out, especially when weaving it around music and heavy sound effects scenes with car chases and gunfights.
Have there been any particularly difficult dialogue challenges you've faced recently?
The most challenging dialogue I've had to contend with lately was for the feature 'The Perfect Game'. It's a film about youth baseball and was shot almost 100% on location out in the Santa Clarita area. We had to contend not only with standard set noise, but also with traffic and crowd scenes at the ball parks. It's a wonderful film. The producers were great to work with, but the challenge in the dialogue mixing was that it involved a lot of kids and the frequency range of their voices is very narrow. It was difficult to mix dynamically, but the producers were very happy with the outcome, as was I.
What direction do you feel the industry is headed?
If you mean creatively, that's a political football. If you mean technically, we're rapidly moving toward an all-digital realm. At the Larson Sound Center, we're in the fortunate position of having been on the leading edge of the electronic editing and mixing process. We exclusively incorporated audiotape technology into our facility when we opened 12 years ago, and soon began utilizing digital sampling systems in sound editing, as well as digital audio workstations. Later, we were one of the beta test sites for Tascam's DA-88 digital tape machines.
Initially, like many new technologies, digital sound processing and recording were very expensive. Reliability was a problem early on, too, and in the attempt to increase efficiency it often created as many problems as it solved. There were also problems with data storage, file sharing and standardization of formats. A few other facilities in town took the leap into the all-digital world before us and ended up on the "bleeding edge."
How did you avoid that?
For years we were able to use a hybrid of analog and digital technology and select the best tools for the job. Our facility primarily does post sound for television series and movies, and the sound quality we've produced has been far better than could be broadcast. However, digital technology has gone through several metamorphoses and has finally arrived on a practical level.
How has it affected the mixing process?
We've recently replaced the digital audio workstations we've used for the past several years and installed new Soundscape systems in our sound editing rooms and on our mixing stages. They are all networked with fiber optic lines. We're now able to mix sound sources - sound effects, dialogue, ADR, Foley and music - directly from the Soundscapes. Mixing consoles now incorporate digital signal routing, which will eventually eliminate patching.
Is digital sound finally here as a delivery standard?
Not yet, but if HDTV actually becomes a reality it will be. And, with DVD looking like it is going to become a consumer standard, there is a tremendous amount of interest in delivering mixes in the 5.1 format.
So what's the most important dynamic on a mixing stage?
Without a doubt it's the people. Any facility can buy the equipment, but we've proven through the years that we can make it work better than most. There's an old cliché that still rings true: "It's not the car, it's the driver." Hopefully, clients continue to work with us because our sound supervisors, editors and mixers take pride in their work. I know I do.
Reprinted from
The Motion Picture Editors Guild Newsletter
Vol. 20, No. 3 - May/June1999
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