On any franchise it gets tough to “keep it fresh” when it comes to sound. On the fourth installment of Walt Disney Pictures’ Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, three-time winner and nine-time Golden Reel Nominee, supervising sound editor Shannon Mills puts it like this, “We wanted to come up with a fresh... »

Getting real chimp vocalizations was quite a task according to 12-time Golden Reel Nominee Chuck Michael and eight-time Golden Reel nominee John Larsen, supervising sound editors on director Rupert Wyatt's Rise of the Planet of the Apes from 20th Century Fox Film Corporation. "Right away, places like zoos removed themselves from the equation because... »

In a sound effects-heavy movie, clarity is key to a successful mix, according to the re-recording mixer on Paramount Pictures’ Transformers: Dark of the Moon, 14-time Oscar nominee Greg Russell. As Russell tells it, “Definition, detail and a great dynamic range are absolutely essential to focusing an audience on what you want them to... »

In apparent response to Apple’s recent release of Final Cut Pro X, Avid hosted their “Committed To The Professional” event in the Steven J Ross Theater on the Warner Bros. lot, July 13. »

Director Don McGlynn, of the new documentary on Gospel music, Rejoice and Shout, is known for biographical documentaries Louis Prima: The Wildest and Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog ,among many others. When Eamonn Bowles of Magnolia Pictures asked him to make a documentary on Gospel music, just when the director himself was considering... »

The Motion Picture Sound Editors held their 58th annual Golden Reel Awards at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, Feb. 20. »

Comedian and entertainment journalist Sam Rubin hosted the 47th Cinema Audio Society Awards Show at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, downtown L.A., Feb. 19 . Keeping it light, Rubin drew parallels between the aging athletes of the NBA that were also at the Biltmore that night, and the members of CAS. He also swore that... »

Many filmmakers would consider “Popcorn Movie” a derogatory term, but our industry is founded on them. Essential to a good “Popcorn Movie” is nonstop action and total immersion in the realism of the story. This definition describes the Oscar-nominated, Unstoppable, directed by veteran filmmaker Tony Scott. Supervising sound editor Mark P. Stoeckinger had a... »

In Mao’s Last Dancer, the film version of Chinese ballet dancer Cunxin Li’s autobiography, composer Christopher Gordon’s taps the spirit of Chinese music and incorporates it into the classical music of the ballet. »

The Social Network’s first-time film composer Trent Reznor was both relieved and disappointed that director David Fincher asked for a synth-based, as opposed to an orchestral score for the movie. From all his years with Nine Inch Nails, Reznor was obviously more comfortable with the former, but had been looking forward to expanding his... »