|
Legitimizing Validation
posted by AT on 04.14.06
SPF production meetings as of late have been focused almost solely on the finishing elements of revisions. Our tallest task, the audio mix, is consuming an abundance of our time and energy.
To put it in perspective, when I mix a song at the recording studio, that is to say when all the various separate pieces of instrumentation are blended to complement one another and give the song its final "shape," the process can take anywhere from one hour to three days. Now that's mixing a four-minute song. revisions is about 90 minutes, and like a song there are multiple levels of audio that require the very finest of aural consideration. If an environmental background track is too loud it can drown out the main dialogue track. If a song or piece of score is augmenting a scene and weaving in and out of words it needs to have inconspicuous fades drawn around them so as to get the point across but still maintain pacing. And perhaps our most trial-and-error mix occupant is cross-fading audio from multiple takes; all sounds need to "flow" in order to maintain continuity throughout the sequence and, ultimately, the film itself.
A couple of weeks ago we inserted the first rendered version of the final credits. For the majority of its long production run, revisions work, for the core production team, has been about routinely pushing forward, getting "the next thing" done, and looking ahead. Though I can't speak for the other guys' reactions, I paused briefly to acknowledge the smile on my face when I first saw those credits roll. There was something about their presence that represented some sort of legitimizing validation to me--like all the work has been worth it.
Indeed we still have to press forward with these final production bits to whip revisions into finality. I'm hoping that when some of you out there reading this have the opportunity to see it you'll crack one of those slight smiles like I did.
Previous Entry: Music Part 2
Next Entry: Verbal Addendums
View the news archives >>
|
