Production Sound on Postmarked – Half Way Mark

Just completed day 6 of the filming of Postmarked. Production Sound Mixing on a sound stage has been quite the experience for me. The cast of this movie are simply amazing and have really brought this movie to life! Our crew is a mix of tenured professionals and student interns, and the level of professionalism from everyone has been exceptional!

The Production Sound cart that I built for the movie is not exactly what I envisioned, however its working out quite nicely. I employ Lectrosonics wireless for all cast with Sanken Cos-11D lavs.

Because this film is also part of the academic structure at the ASU Film School, it was requested that I feed separate mixes to several different locations, so that everyone can be aware and observe the movie for learning purposes. I decided on the Sound Craft Expression Si One Mixer, and recording Production Sound tracks into my Sound Devices 664, as well as using Boom Recorder as a back-up “second system”. The Sound Craft mixer is equipped with a Dante option card and along with the Dante Virtual Sound Card software, I am able to plug in one ethernet cable to interface to the laptop. The versatility of the Sound Craft mixer allows me to create separate mixes for Video Village, Comtek feeds and a Pre/Post Fade mix to both Boom Recorder and the Sound Devices 664.

We are syncing time code to the Arri Alexa and a Canon C500 with a Zaxcom TRX900CL and ERX2TCD. Each camera gets a mono scratch track and synced time code.

My boom operator, Peter, is an intern who was assigned to me. He is swinging one of my 12ft Loon Boom Poles with the Schoeps CMIT-5U Shotgun Mic. Peter has been a quick study and learning very quickly just how difficult of a job that a Boom Operator has, especially on a 360 degree set with 2 cameras.

The film is set in a warehouse so while having a boom is always necessary, mixing the boom with the isolated lavs really creates a feel for that cavernous space you would expect to hear in a warehouse.

This week was also special because we were visited by Ron Hunting, the writer of Postmarked. Ron is suffering from ALS so for him to make an appearance on set to see the progress and meet the crew was very exciting for everyone.