The Cinema Audio Society Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing Motion Picture – Live Action was presented to the sound mixing team from Dunkirk – Mark Weingarten CAS, Gregg Landaker, Gary Rizzo CAS, Alan Meyerson CAS, Thomas J. O’Connell and Scott Curtis.
The presenters of the award were production sound mixer, Willie Burton, and Bryan Fogel, director of the documentary Icarus, which covers the Russian Olympic doping scandals that over the course of decades cheated thousands of athletes out of medals. In the most political commentary of the event, Fogel pointed out that although the film focuses on sports, “It’s ultimately a microcosm of a conspiracy that is far greater than sports. It is a keyhole into understanding the lengths to which Russia is willing to go to meddle in international affairs, including our own democracy.”
Top honors for Motion Picture – Animated went to Coco and the sound mixing team of Vince Caro, Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Joel Iwataki and Blake Collins. The team of Lee Smith, David E. Fluhr CAS, Warren Shaw, Derek Lee, Chris Navarro CAS and Ryan Maguire won the CAS Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing Motion Picture – Documentary for Jane.
Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages.
Held in the Bunker Hill Ballroom of the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza, the CAS show was hosted by comedian Michael Kosta who received laughs and applause when he commented, “I was thinking about your jobs. You guys have unbelievably tough jobs and you’re so underappreciated doing that job! That’s bullshit! It is! You guys have these jobs where the better you are, the more the average audience member really has no idea it really happened.”
President Mark Ulana, CAS, saluted the achievements of the past, present and future of audio professionals, stating, “We can stand proud that one of the oldest art forms in cinema eternally blossoms with dynamic creativity. We are always seeking new ways to tell these stories through the medium of sound.”
Celebrating her professional contributions, re-recording mixer Anna Behlmer was honored with the CAS Career Achievement Award. Behlmer’s award was presented by re-recording mixer Chris Jenkins CAS, director Niki Caro and producer Paula Wagner. Behlmer is the first woman to receive the CAS Career Achievement Honor.
Jenkins talked about how highly unusual it was to find women working in the sound industry when he first created the mixing training program at Todd-A-O that Behlmer joined. “We couldn’t have been more pleased with Anna, and we were impressed with her work. Her greatest gift has always been her beautiful laugh and her complete comfort in her artistry. She’s fearlessly opened the door for women embracing technology in the entertainment business. We’re in a time of major change and I’m proud to recognize and call my friend Anna one of the most important figures in the landscape of our change.”
Wagner also commented on Behlmer being a trailblazer for women in the industry. When she first met the mixer, Wagner was “thrilled to see there was another woman in the room.” She credited Behlmer for her interest in sound, revealing, “I have become a sound addict, thanks to you.”
“For me it’s always about the people,” Behlmer admitted in her acceptance of the honor. “There is no greater compliment than to be acknowledged by your peers.”
Joe Wright (Darkest Hour) received the CAS Filmmaker Award in a presentation that included remarks by production sound mixer Craig Berkey, CAS, and director Edgar Wright (Baby Driver).
Introducing the director, Berkey, who has worked with Wright for the last ten years said, “Joe knows what we do and why we do it. I’m not talking about the technical aspect of our work, but he understands the powerful tool sound can be in the filmmaking process. Joe knows that one right sound, or lack of sound at the right moment, can change the feeling or intent of a scene. Sound can affect us without us being conscious of it.”
Oscar-nominated actor, Gary Oldman, unable to personally attend the ceremony because of the flu, sent his congratulations via a letter that Berkley read: “You adeptly illicit emotion and nuance by shaping scenes filled with precision of language, poetry of the heart, and an incorporation of your lovely, but somewhat and sometimes zany sense of humor. Your understanding of film, theater, drama, music and sound creates an optical and acoustic vision that thrills audiences and abstains from the doldrums of the usual pumped up staccato of ordinary play by play.”
In accepting his honor, Wright related his background as the son of puppeteers; the audio epiphany he experienced listening to David Lynch’s off camera sound in Blue Velvet; and an art schoolteacher who introduced him to the use of sound in storytelling. “Instead of a camera, Peter would take a Nagra with him on holiday and come back and play us his holiday recordings,” shared Wright. “When we couldn’t afford to process film stock, we’d make whole films in sound, cut on mag on a Steinbeck, playing against clear leader or scratched emulsion. Those films expressed what we all know in this room. Sometimes sound is more powerful than image.”
The first Edward J. Greene Award for the Advancement of Sound was presented to Tomlinson Holman, CAS, creator of THX, by Sam Greene, Jeff Wexler, CAS and director Andrew Davis. George Lucas and John Singleton sent special video messages congratulating Tom. “In our modern culture, innovations leap forward at breakneck speed. The authors of new technology are less celebrated,” stated Davis. “Whether they know his name or not, virtually everyone in the developed world has been effected by Tom’s ingenuity, dedication and true professionalism.”
The Sound Mixing team of Black Mirror: USS Callister took top honors for Television Movie or Mini-Series. Television-One Hour honors went to Game of Thrones: Beyond the Wall, while Silicon Valley, Episode 9 ‘Holli-Con’ won the award for Television Series-Half Hour. Rolling Stone: Stories from the Edge! won for Television Non-Fiction, Variety or Music Series or Specials.
Xiang Li, a student at Chapman University, Orange, California, was awarded the CAS Student Recognition Award and presented with a check for $2500. IMAX and Avid Technology sponsored the award.
The CAS Outstanding Product Awards for 2017 were presented to Sound Devices for their Mix Pre-10T Recorder for Production, and iZotope for their RX 6 Advanced for Post-Production.
Celebrity presenters included Diane Warren (Oscar-nominated songwriter), Jaleel White (Family Matters, Sonic the Hedgehog), Larry Thomas (Seinfeld), Emma Kenney (Shameless, Roseanne), Donavan W. Carter (Ballers), Pollyanna McIntosh (The Walking Dead).
54th Annual CAS Awards Winners
MOTION PICTURE–LIVE ACTION
Dunkirk
Production Mixer – Mark Weingarten, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Gregg Landaker
Re-recording Mixer – Gary Rizzo, CAS
Scoring Mixer – Alan Meyerson, CAS
ADR Mixer – Thomas J. O’Connell
Foley Mixer – Scott Curtis
MOTION PICTURE–ANIMATED
Coco
Original Dialogue Mixer – Vince Caro
Re-recording Mixer – Christopher Boyes
Re-recording Mixer – Michael Semanick
Scoring Mixer – Joel Iwataki
Foley Mixer – Blake Collins
MOTION PICTURE–DOCUMENTARY
Jane
Production Mixer – Lee Smith
Re-recording Mixer – David E. Fluhr, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Warren Shaw
Scoring Mixer – Derek Lee
ADR Mixer – Chris Navarro, CAS
Foley Mixer – Ryan Maguire
TELEVISION MOVIE or MINI-SERIES
Black Mirror: USS Callister
Production Mixer – John Rodda, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Tim Cavagin
Re-recording Mixer – Dafydd Archard
Re-recording Mixer – William Miller
ADR Mixer – Nick Baldock
Foley Mixer – Sophia Hardman
TELEVISION SERIES–1 HOUR
Game of Thrones: Beyond the Wall
Production Mixer – Ronan Hill, CAS
Production Mixer – Richard Dyer, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Onnalee Blank, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Mathew Waters, CAS
Foley Mixer – Brett Voss, CAS
TELEVISION SERIES –1/2 HOUR
Silicon Valley: Episode 9 ‘Hooli-Con’
Production Mixer – Benjamin A. Patrick, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Elmo Ponsdomenech
Re-recording Mixer – Todd Beckett
TELEVISION NON-FICTION, VARIETY or MUSIC SERIES or SPECIALS
Rolling Stone: Stories from the Edge
Production Mixer – David Hocs
Production Mixer – Tom Tierney
Re-Recording Mixer – Tom Fleischman, CAS
OUTSTANDING PRODUCT–PRODUCTION
Mix Pre- 10T Recorder
Manufacturer: Sound Devices
OUTSTANDING PRODUCT–POST-PRODUCTION
RX 6 Advanced
Manufacturer: iZotope, Inc.
STUDENT RECOGNITION AWARD
Xiang Li, Chapman University – Orange, CA
