Connections

M&E Journal: Going Remote

What once was difficult and unknown is now necessary … and maybe not so difficult after all. The production world, like everything and everyone else, has been turned upside down by COVID-19.

We’re all finding workarounds and embracing technology like never before to be able to continue to do what we love: bring storytelling into homes and hearts.

Keywords Studio’s The Sound Lab in Burbank, Calif. is a studio that offers post-production sound services to the media and entertainment industry, and on one recent project — the drama mini-series “Mrs. America” for FX and Hulu, starring Cate Blanchett, (which received 10 Emmy nominations) — sound supervisor and sound designer Scott Martin Gershin experienced a slew of challenges while providing dialogue, ADR, foley, sound design and the final mix.

Set in the 1970s, “Mrs. America” tells the story of the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and the opposition to that movement led by conservative women’s leader Phyllis Schlafly (played by Blanchett).

When Gershin first started to wrap his head around the project, in mid-2019, he knew that creating the sound of groups and crowds, varying in size from small, home parties and sing-alongs to huge crowds of chanting women at the 1977 National Women’s Convention in Houston and the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach, was going to be a big job.

It turned out to be an even bigger challenge when he discovered that there are no commercially available sound libraries of exclusively women’s voices. So, with the help of Patty Connolly, Mark Sussman and Erin Myles from The Loop Squad in Los Angeles, they put together a carefully crafted Walla group.

Detailed research went into assembling the group to assure that regional accents were delivered accurately and that discussions were appropriate to the time and place.

The Walla group ranged in size from 8 to 18 women and the sessions were recorded on the ADR stage at ToddAO. “I placed the actors in different areas in the room, with microphones in front of them and behind them. I also utilised different styles of microphone techniques,” Gershin said. “I had people facing the wall and at times walking around the room, because I was recording not only their voice but the spatiality of their voice. When I did that five or six times it began simulating the sound of hundreds and hundreds of people.”

FINISHING A PROJECT DURING A PANDEMIC

Things were going great and Gershin’s team had only the final episode left to record. Then on March 19, before the final recording date, word came down from city leaders that Los Angeles would be placed under “safer at home” orders due to the spread of coronavirus.

So many questions swirled through Gershin’s head, among them: how will I finish recording the Walla group for the final episode? How will we mix if we all can’t be in the same room together?   How will the clients approve the mix?   How will my crew and I work if we have to move out of our facility and into home set-ups?  They needed to find a way for most of the crew to work remotely, while still including everyone in the creative process, and fast. “We only had a day or two to react and quickly come up with solutions.” He decided to have all the actors record themselves in their closets at home.

“I ended up using Zoom to direct the sessions. The actors then sent me their recordings which I edited and manipulated to fit in different scenes. I tried to recreate a variety of acoustic environments, which were a significant component in the creation of the crowds. Since I couldn’t record at ToddAO due to the safer at home orders, I had to use a little audio smoke and mirrors to pull it off and make it sound like the rest of the series. ”For the mix, Gershin ended up using Streambox HD, which sent real-time live feeds from the mix stage to everyone’s home. “Throughout both the editorial and mix process, I had to keep modifying and creating new workflows — sometimes daily — to make it all work, to keep our high level of quality and make our air dates.”

It worked. Gershin was able to keep the right level of quality across all episodes and they got through the mix and approvals — and to air — on time.

“I thought I would hate working from home. I’m a social creature and I love collaborating and feeding off of each other’s energy and creativity. I wasn’t sure how this would work, but now that we have made the transition to working from home, I’m finding I can be more efficient on some levels. The technology works and some of my crew that had long commutes are really enjoying the extra time in their lives.”

BENEFITS … AND DRAWBACKS

Gershin added that being able to step in and out of the work environment while working at home, has some positive aspects … and some not so much. “The workflows have changed. Sometimes I feel like I’m always working,” Gershin said. “However, being able to have calls with Asia in the late evening or Europe in the early morning, and I’m already in my studio with all my gear at my disposal, is convenient and I feel it has elevated our workflow to a new level.”

They will be back in the studio eventually, but Gershin is feeling confident that he now has more tools in his tool belt to work with crew that don’t necessarily need to be down the hall.

Instead they’re just a Zoom call away.

* By Debbie Gonzalez, Senior Producer, The Sound Lab at Keywords Studios

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