FEATURES Why We Mix?? . 10 Peter Damski & fellow workers tell their stories The Office . 14 Thoughts on failure at... High-Definition Cameras. 18 How they have changed the way we work on sets 8 DEPARTMENTS President’s Letter . 4 CAS members called upon to multi-task 14 From the Editors . 6 Technically Speaking . 8 Treat yourself to a better recording environment Been There Done That . 20 CAS members check in The Lighter Side . 29 10 18 CAS QUARTERLY SUMMER 2007 3 Serving a large group of your peers as a volunteer on a new dues structure for the upcoming year. In making this can be a consuming task at times and I am thank- decision, we took into account all of the increased costs nec- ful to everyone for all of their time and efforts. essary to keep our CAS functioning to everyone’s satisfaction. Every one of your elected executives and Board We have also made the commitment to continue with our Pay members, [including the former Presidents who Pal access to assist our membership in meeting their respon- now hold seats on the Board to lend their expert- sibilities. ise to the mix], maintain their active roles in The CAS Board is dedicated to the advancement of sound their own jobs, yet respond when called upon to through knowledge and education. We had to reschedule our lead the Cinema Audio Society. These responsi- “What Happened to My Mix” seminar until October. We bilities can at times stretch the boundaries of want to thank all of the members and guests that did RSVP. people’s experience and knowledge. We know that the rescheduling will help us to ensure that the Multi-tasking is one of those easily tossed around phrases seminar will offer insight into that very important topic. that are used as a catch-all by many people. The dictionary The Board has started planning our own 44th Annual CAS defines it as: “multi-tasking” [noun] the simultaneous man- Awards which will be held at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel agement of two or more distinct tasks by a computer. on Saturday, February 16, 2008. Although we would not be considered ‘computers’ by any The Board of Directors is working toward expanding the stretch of the imagination, the way we often work has been CAS screening privileges as we approach awards season. described as multi-tasking. Hearty congratulations to all of the current Emmy nominees, THE PRESIDENT’S LETTER Throughout our daily work assignments, we are called upon and we wish all of you the best of luck as the ceremony gets to manage two or more distinct tasks at a time. Whether we closer. are working in post-production or in production, the time will We hope you like what we do for you and continue to earn come when we will be called upon to manage two distinct tasks your respect, simultaneously. As our technology progresses many routine job functions Regards, become condensed and then we are asked to take on another job duty and all of a sudden we find ourselves having to ‘multi-task’ our way through the day. The Board of the CAS has had to deal with many issues, tasks, and responsibilities for Edward L. Moskowitz, CAS you, our members. This term the Board reached a consensus [email protected] To educate and inform the general public and the motion picture and television industry that effective sound is achieved by a creative, artistic and tech- CINEMA AUDIO SOCIETY nical blending of diverse sound elements. To pro- MISSION STATEMENT vide the motion picture and television industry with a progressive society of master craftsmen spe- cialized in the art of creative cinematic sound recording. To advance the specialized field of cin- ematic sound recording by exchange of ideas, methods, and information. To advance the art of auditory appreciation, and to philanthropically support those causes dedicated to the sense of hearing. To institute and maintain high standards of conduct and craftsmanship among our mem- bers. To aid the motion picture and television industry in the selection and training of qualified personnel in the unique field of cinematic sound recording. To achieve for our members deserved recognition as major contributors to the field of motion picture and television entertainment. 4 SUMMER 2007 CAS QUARTERLY The dog days of summer are coming to a close and many of us are back to work for the fall season to come. At the CAS, we have been busy planning the CAS Awards for January 2008, and we are working on setting up some great seminars. The summer edition is usually our lightest in content but we think we have some inter- esting features to share. In the Ben Patrick, CAS article “Thoughts on Failure at The Office,” he discusses the OFFICERS daily challenges that confront the sound crew on the hit Edward L. Moskowitz, President comedy. Paul Vik Marshall, CAS shares some tips on David Bondelevitch, Vice President working on high-definition productions in “High- Peter R. Damski, Secretary Definition Cameras and How They Have Changed the R.D. Floyd, Treasurer Way We Work on Sets.” Finally, co-editor Peter BOARD OF DIRECTORS Damski, CAS shares a little insight into why we do what Agamemnon Andrianos Chris Elam FROM THE EDITORS... we do in “Why We Mix??” Our regular columns include a piece from G. John Brydon ‘Beau’ Baker Ed Greene Garrett, CAS on acoustical treatments in his “Technically Speaking” column. Richard Branca Melissa Hofmann The “Been There, Done That” and “Lighter Side” columns are bursting at the James Coburn IV Sherry Klein seams with the largest number of submissions ever. John Coffey Michael Minkler Co-editor David Bondelevitch, CAS, MPSE has decided to move on and we Greg Watkins are in search of a new co-editor for the CAS Quarterly. This is a labor of love and completely voluntary. We are seeking an individual who comes from the post- ALTERNATES production disciplines. It is not necessary for this individual to live in Southern Joe Foglia Ken S. Polk California. Duties include sharing the writing tasks and editing but most impor- Paul Marshall Bob Bronow tantly, the desire to come up with items of interest for the post-production com- munity. If you have any interest in joining the editorial team of the CAS OFFICE MANAGER Robin Damski Quarterly, please contact us at [email protected]. We wish to thank Bondelevitch for the many hours he has contributed to the cause. He will EDITORS: continue to assist with the editorial duties until a suitable replacement can be David Bondelevitch found. Peter Damski We hope you continue to find the CAS Quarterly entertaining and informative. Please feel free to contact us with any story ideas or comments on past articles. PUBLISHER: We’d love to hear from you. IngleDodd Publishing 11661 San Vicente Blvd., Ste. 709 Your co-editors, Los Angeles, CA 90049 QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS: Cinema Audio Society 827 Hollywood Way #632 Burbank, CA 91505 Peter Damski, CAS and David Bondelevitch, CAS, MPSE Phone: 818.752.8624 Fax: 818.752.8624 Email Active [email protected] Liam Lockhart Website www.cinemaaudiosociety.org Michael Krikorian Alex Lamm ADVERTISING: Tara A. Paul Dan Dodd Charles E. Slemaker 310.207.4410 x 229 Harry Snodgrass Email: [email protected] Richard B. Larimore Mark Linden ©2007 by the Cinema Audio Society. All rights reserved. CAS®, Cinema Student Audio Society®, and Dedicated to the Sheraton Toyota advancement of Sound® are all trademarks of the Cinema Audio Society and may not be used without permission. 6 SUMMER 2007 CAS QUARTERLY Treat Yourself to a Better Recording Environment by G. John Garrett, CAS We’ve all been on locations where we’d love to throw the person The lowly furniture pad has become the sound mixer’s friend, who chose the location out the window. That may improve some so much that they’re often called “sound blankets,” which is a aspects of the shoot, but not the sound. Obviously engaging the misnomer. Actual sound blankets are purpose-built, often with location person early on to point out problems will help. dense vinyl or even lead as an inner layer, for studios and sound Turning off machinery, telephones, noisy HVAC and the like stages. Anyway, there are a few things you can do with these often takes coordination with local building maintenance, and inexpensive solutions. the sooner someone can determine where the switches/break- Stand where the mic will be and listen. Make some noise and ers/necessary people are, the better. On dramatic films there is note what you hear. If you can tell where major reflections are often the possibility of coordinating with the production coming from, you know where to start putting absorption. Wdesigner and set department for help in a couple of areas. With interviews, for instance, I often put one or more furnie Carpeting and rugs on the floor are helpful as reflection-stop- pads on the floor behind the subject, especially in studios. This pers that can be in the shot. keeps sounds reflected Sound studios are built for from the walls to the great sound. They often have floor (and then to the a “live” end and a “dead” end, mic, which is pointed at the acoustics are tunable, the floor behind the sub- there are few if any parallel ject) at bay. My next step surfaces, the floor and walls The lowly furniture pad has is to hang furnies out of are isolated from the rest of shot. For that I have two the world. What kinds of become the sound mixer’s favorite methods.