The New York Times published an interesting interview with actor and director, James Franco, in which he discusses his Cannes directorial debut, As I Lay Dying as well as his creative collaborations in all areas of art. There is an interesting mention of editor Curtiss Clayton and the work he's done on Franco's film Child of God. Wildfire is excited to be part of this collaboration as well, providing post facilities and mix for this exciting and challenging film.
After completing a major overhaul of its two largest dubbing stages,Wildfire Post-Production Studios in Los Angeles has become the first film and TV production facility in Southern California to offer Meyer Sound’s cutting-edge EXP® cinema loudspeakers in a large mixing environment.
The top-to-bottom refurbishing project—which also included new 288-channel Harrison MPC digital consoles for each stage—had stretched out across more than a year, primarily because steady bookings allowed little down time for rewiring and re-equipping. However, after everything was in place, regular clientele quickly noted the difference.
“We had mixed ‘Rampart’ [forthcoming release with Woody Harrelson and Sigourney Weaver] on our old system,” notes Leslie Shatz, veteran film mixer and co-owner of Wildfire. “Then we came back later and remixed it on the new Meyer EXP system. The director, editor, post supervisor, and music supervisor were immediately aware of a quantum improvement in sound quality, all without being told we had made the change.”
Both rooms are equipped with Acheron® screen channel loudspeakers, HMS-10cinema surround loudspeakers, and X-800 subwoofers. The Galileo® loudspeaker management systems can be programmed to provide a 7.1, 5.1 or, if required, up to a 13.1 surround mixing environment.
According to Chris David, Wildfire’s other co-owner and fellow mixing luminary, louder program material clearly reveals the qualitative difference. “I was very impressed by the ability of the Meyer systems to handle very loud program smoothly,” he observes, “and by the clear articulation of the subwoofers. We mixed ‘Immortals’on the system, a film with some serious action scenes in the last reel. I was struck by the clarity in the low frequencies and the total lack of high-frequency distortion even at very high levels.”
The drastic improvement in clarity was also evident to Brian Slack, chief engineer. “When mixing dialog and music, you hear absolutely everything,” he comments. “It’s totally transparent. It’s so much more realistic, yet it also translates well to other stages.”
Another notable project mixed using the new Meyer Sound EXP monitoring systems was “Boss,” a new cable TV miniseries starring Kelsey Grammer.
Wildfire Post-Production Studios provides a full range of services to the film and television production industry, including sound mixing, sound editorial, ADR and Foley, digital intermediates, digital effects, and transfers.
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEW MOTION PICTURE IMMORTALS IS THE FIRST TO BE MIXED IN 3D SOUND IOSONO and Wildfire Post Production Studios are proud to announce completion of the first 3D cinema sound mix for a Hollywood motion picture, Tarsem Singh's “Immortals” from Relativity Media. Los Angeles, USA / Erfurt, Germany. November 09, 2011: “Immortals” is the first motion picture to be mixed in IOSONO’s 3D audio format. Its striking visuals will now be complemented by an amazing 3D sound experience. Objects fly overhead, swords and gods race across the skies with the superb 3D imagery. Creating the IOSONO version was completed within 5 days at Wildfire Post Production Studios in Los Angeles with veteran re-recording engineers, Leslie Shatz and Brian Slack. This included setup of a custom portable speaker system, an IOSONO Spatial Audio Workstation, and some training for Leslie and the support staff at Wildfire. “Everyone at Wildfire was really excited by the sonic results and how easy mixing decisions were to make,” Leslie Shatz states. “Integration into the North Stage was fast and simple especially using the new Harrison MPC4-D console with its 32 channel buss structure.” Olaf Stepputat, CEO of IOSONO was present during the mixing process and remarks: “The movie sounds incredible and we’re proud that IOSONO realized the first Hollywood movie in 3D audio, as the sound adds so much to the movie experience.” Using the set of five 8-track stems as the source audio with some careful editing on the stage along with a few isolated source elements provided enough separation of the audio events to create the fantastic “object-based” mix that will be rendered real-time by the IOSONO processor installed in cinemas. IOSONO and Wildfire were supported enthusiastically by Relativity Media, the film's director, Tarsem Singh, and by Harrison Consoles. “Immortals”, an adventurous movie playing in ancient Greece, opens November 11th everywhere. To find more about the 3D audio mix for “Immortals”, visit www.iosono-sound.com/immortals. About IOSONO IOSONO is an innovative provider of 3D audio solutions for cinemas, themed entertainment locations and mixing stages as well as for live events of any kind. Based in Erfurt, Germany, since its foundation in 2004, IOSONO has quickly become the technology leader in the area of 3D Audio. Visit www.iosono-sound.com for more information. About Wildfire Post Production Studios Wildfire Post Production Studios is based in Los Angeles. A word class post production facility with a boutique feel, Wildfire offers a creative space for filmmakers and streamlined post services, from editorial suites, visual effects, ADR, sound design and mixing—all at one location. Visit www.wildfirepost.com for more information. Press contact IOSONO: Katja Lehmann Junior Marketing Manager phone: +49 (0) 361 / 51143 674 email: katja.lehmann@iosono-sound.com
Press contact Wildfire: Zoë Bower Director of Business Development phone: 323 951 1700 email: zoebower@wildfirepost.com
