On Sunday, February 22, Award-winning star of stage and screen Neil Patrick Harris hosted the 87th Academy Awards. This year’s Oscars ceremony was held at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and was televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m., ET/4 p.m., PT. The Oscar presentation was also televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
Mix magazine congratulates the winners for Sound Editing and Sound Mixing.
BEST SOUND EDITING 2015
American Sniper
Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
The award for Best Sound Editing has undergone name changes over the years. Once called Best Sound Effects, later Sound Effects Editing and Sound Editing, the award has even been handed out as a Special Achievement Award when not enough nominees made the ballot. Whatever you call it, it typically goes to the Supervising Sound Editor.
This is the seventh Academy Award nomination for Alan Robert Murray, and the fifth Academy Award nomination for Bub Asman.
Murray and Asman have worked together for a while now, and they share a long history with director Clint Eastwood, bringing home a Best Sound Oscar in 2006 for Letters From Iwo Jima (which was mixed by Gregg Rudloff and John Reitz, who were also nominated for American Sniper). The fabric of war—the sounds of battle and the “spareness” of the isolation—are familiar territory for this sound crew, and you will feel the tension in the track more in the quiet moments than you will in the firefights. That’s hard to do, and this team does it well.
Studio: Warner Bros.
Director: Clint Eastwood
Re-Recording Mixers: John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff
Production Sound: Walt Martin
Sound Editorial: Jason King, sound effects editor; Roland N. Thai, sound effects editor; John T. Cucci, Foley artist; Dan O’Connell, Foley artist; Michael Dressel, supervising Foley editor; James Ashwill, Foley mixer; Blake Collins, Foley mixer; John Guentner, Foley mixer; Christopher Flick, Foley editor; Katy Wood, supervising ADR/dialog editor; David V. Butler, dialog editor; Hunter Berk, ADR recordist; Thomas J. O’Connell, ADR mixer; Jason Oliver, ADR mixer; Curt Schulkey, ADR editor; Bill Higley, ADR mixer; Kevin Murray, assistant sound editor
Music By: Joseph S. DeBeasi, Clint Eastwood
Music Editor: Derek Somaru
Score Recorded and Mixed By: Robert Fernandez
Murray was previously nominated for:Flags Of Our Fathers(2006)—Nominee, Sound Editing; Letters From Iwo Jima(2006)—Winner, Sound Editing; Space Cowboys(2000)—Nominee, Sound Editing; Eraser (1996)—Nominee, Sound Effects Editing; Lethal Weapon 2(1989)—Nominee, Sound Effects Editing; Ladyhawke(1985)—Nominee, Sound Effects Editing.
This is the fifth Academy Award nomination for Bub Asman. He was previously nominated for:Flags Of Our Fathers(2006)—Nominee, Sound Editing; Letters From Iwo Jima(2006)—Winner, Sound Editing; Space Cowboys(2000)—Nominee, Sound Editing; Eraser(1996)—Nominee, Sound Effects Editing.
Watch the trailer for American Sniper and find more information.
Whiplash
BEST SOUND MIXING 2015
Whiplash
Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley
The award for Best Sound Mixing, which recognizes achievement for the blend of music, effects and dialog, is awarded each year to the re-recording mixers and production mixer on a motion picture.
These are the first Academy Award nominations for Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley.
It’s more and more common these days for an experienced supervising sound editor or sound designer to also follow the tracks and be a re-recording mixer on the same film, but it’s rare to see a team do it. Craig Mann and Ben Wilkins shared supervisor and mix duties on this sleeper hit (as they have on a couple of other films), and they worked with a relatively small crew out of Technicolor. But this is one of those tracks that gets attention because it’s so real. In the real world. With drums and sound pressure and transients and crispness. It’s not easy to do drama that includes a live-music back story in film production or post. A superb job all around.
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Director: Damien Chazelle
Re-Recording Mixers: Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins
Production Sound: Thomas Curley
Supervising Sound Editors: Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins
Sound Editorial: Lauren Hadaway, sound editor; Alicia Hadaway, Foley artist; Dawn Lunsford, Foley artist; Scott Curtis, Foley mixer; Joe Schiff, dialog editor; Judith Getz, ADR mixer
Music By: Justin Hurwitz
Music Supervisor: Andy Ross
Music Editor: Richard Henderson
Score Recorded and Mixed By: Michael Aarvold
Watch the trailer for Whiplash and find more information.
View the full list of the 87th Academy Award Winners and Nominees for the 2015 Oscars.
Read Mix Presents Sound For Film, February 2015: Your Guide to Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing.