Stand Sound

Burning Palms at the Arclight!

Captain Sheldon — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:36:29 +0000

Log: January 13, 2010 – it’s finally time. The last leg of the journey. The Burning Palms premiere is hours away and I’m up in the projection booth with the engineer checking the 6 track digital tape. Peering down from the booth at one of Arclight’s Hollywood theaters, the first images of Burning Palms appear on the screen. I’m with the director and we smile with awe and appreciation as there at last is the gleaming finished product. This state of the art theater is a great room for the upcoming screening, the images in brilliant detail and the sound translating beautifully from the mix room. And in another few hours, to a packed house, Chris Landon, expresses his appreciation to his dedicated actors and crew, the lights dim and we get to see how the film plays in a packed room. Burning Palms is quite a ride from light to dark moods and the audience loved its unique offerings. When the lights returned, the SRO only gave the director a rousing ovation and Burning Palms is now ready for the world to enjoy. -Chris Sheldon

Reel Footsteps

Captain Sheldon — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 03:52:10 +0000

It was for one of the Polish Brothers’ magical movies, Northfork. The film takes place in rural Montana. The weathered old homes captured on film during the production seemed to me important sonic characters in the film’s soundtrack. But how to make those sounds feel legit in post-production? Well, I took my field recording gear and drove up to Bodi, California, one of America’s most enduring ghost towns. I was granted access to some of the older houses and recorded all the footsteps that are heard whenever the characters are moving about. It was a unique sonic experience and rarely done in Hollywood. I am very proud of the way those authentic sounds feel within the layering of that moody masterpiece.

– Chris Sheldon

3 Beeps to Asia

Captain Sheldon — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:07:32 +0000

As production dialogue and ADR Supervisor for Jackie Chan and Jet Li’s Forbidden Kingdom, I traveled all over the world’s largest continent pursuing actors for their ADR lines so we could complete the film. My asssignment took me to film facilities in exotic locales such as Shanghai, Hong Kong and Kobe and Osaka, Japan. At most of these studios, the American system of 3 rhythmic beeps used to cue the actors had not been introduced. The talent would simply look at the screen and react to the moving picture. When I spent a little time with the engineers and actors, and got all of them comfortable with hearing the sound of 3 rhythmic beeps to cue the actor’s dialogue, the system was embraced and I carried my beeps all over the far corners of the world until The Forbidden Kingdom was complete. I have to say, it was one great journey and I cherished the experience to share movie making with a wholly different culture than Hollywood – Chris Sheldon

Sounds Too Scary for the MPAA

Captain Sheldon — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 01:37:51 +0000

It was when the wave of Friday 13th and Nightmare On Elm Street pictures were all the rage. I was Supervising one of the Jason flicks. I can recall designing the sound material for a strikingly visceral scene. The moments of shock required a full compliment of bone chilling FX, so I went to the laboratory and concocted a sonic feast for the depraved and debauched. We mixed them loud to the delight of the Director. And all seemed well. But then the studio screened the pictures for the MPAA. I remember getting copious notes back from the board demanding that we lower, reduce and on one reel eliminate some of the grisly sounds that made the moments so acutely scary. With a little give and take we got around our sonic X rating, and we finally got the ratings board to sign off on some hallmark audio horror. – Chris Sheldon

The New Standard

Brigitte — Tue, 05 May 2009 09:01:26 +0000

As we board 2010, I am excited about my involvement in Stand Sound. They’re trying something that the industry has never properly embraced, and I for one think it’s overdue. As a Sound Supervisor, I have so often confronted the audio problems of production far too late in the process. It is my interest to offer the highest quality audio to the Director. And that means getting onboard as soon as possible, if schedule permits when preproduction begins. It means establishing and often recommending a production recordist who will passionately apply his skills to ensuring the clearest and cleanest possible recordings. The Stand Sound paradigm also allows me to be a part of the production process, to visit the locations and gather sophisticated 6 track and 2 track field recordings for ambiances, effects and design elements. The company philosophy of “hearing your budget on screen” permits me to have a meaningful dialogue with the production recordist and send key sound effects to the picture editor as the scenes are built back in the cutting room. And this involvement affords the Director the proper time to get to know what the Soundtrack of the movie will feel like. Too often in Hollywood, the sound team works far apart from the filmmaker and the vision is compromised by the factory process that customarily applies to this stage of the process. No Director should be a stranger to his soundtrack and by my getting involved early and often, the time spent with the Director guarantees a much more cohesive finished product. I can STAND behind this approach and look forward to evolving a Sound package like the one I’ve described that I believe will become the norm offered to contemporary filmmakers. Stay tuned and keep your ears perked. – Chris Sheldon