Culver City, CA (October 7, 2022)—The audio pros behind Bullet Train, The Woman King, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and Billy Joel: Live From Yankee Stadium and more shared their insights last week as part of the Mix Expert Panel Series at the ninth annual Mix Presents Sound for Film & Television, held at Host Partner Sony Pictures Studios, Culver City, Calif.
“These panels always fill the room, and I think it’s because we set them up from the beginning as a means for creatives to talk to creatives,” says Tom Kenny, co-editor of Mix and moderator of this year’s Expert Panel Series. “The audience gets a true insider’s look at what’s going on in high-end sound for picture, from specific techniques used in a particular film, to the rapid changes in workflow and the emergence of a new breed of studio. I’m so grateful to these panelists. They work hard, and they still want to come out on a Saturday and talk to others, to pass on their knowledge.”
The Mix Expert Panel Series followed Opening Remarks and A Keynote Conversation: Sound Changes, held in the legendary Cary Grant Theater.
SOUND EDITING: The Interplay of Sound Design and Music
While the initial decisions regarding a soundtrack typically take place in the script reading and the picture edit, the combination of the music and effects edits will always reveal a much fuller, richer and more integrated sound experience, especially in an immersive audio environment, where space is no longer at a premium. Here, Tom Kenny moderates a discussion with supervising sound editors Becky Sullivan (The Woman King), Mark Stoeckinger (Bullet Train), Robert Stambler (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) and Danika Wikke (Only Murders in the Building).
SOUND MIXING: 10 Years of Immersive Re-Recording
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since Disney, Pixar and Dolby launched the Atmos format at the El Capitan Theater with the release of Brave (amid competition from Auro 3D and DTS:X). It was the Wild West, with re-recording mixers exploring the creative possibilities of the new formats while at the same time figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of objects and beds. Does dialog travel, or does it stay in the center? How far up and back can you go with an orchestral score? Can you go too far with bullet-bys? Here, moderator Tom Kenny talks to re-recording mixers Tony Lamberti (The Woman King), Gregory King (Physical, Easter Sunday), Tim Hoogenakker (13: The Musical, Meltdown: Three Mile Island), and Mathew Waters (Father of the Bride, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent).
SOUND TECHNOLOGY: The Versatile, Mid-Sized, Multipurpose Mix Room
Nothing beats hearing playback of an immersive mix in a theatrical-sized re-recording stage. But with the accelerated demand from streaming services and the early realization that immersive audio translates well both up (into larger environments) and down (into the home environment), fewer and fewer will be built. It’s the mid-sized, versatile immersive studio—one that is able to handle sound design, editorial, premixing, TV mixing, documentaries, and even big feature films—that is taking over the audio post-production community. Here, Tom Kenny sits down with studio designers Peter Grueneisen (nonzero\architecture) and Bruce Black (MediaRooms Technology), studio owner and mixer Tom Davis (SeisMic Sound) and Lane Burch (Executive Director, Post Sound Services Engineering, Sony Pictures Studios).
