From Price of Kings director Richard Symons.
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A President's dry mouth tells you just as much (perhaps more) as what he's saying. Getting that sound to be heard over the noise of a helicopter taking off on the screen has taken us from Los Angeles, to Pinewood and finally London - but it was in Los Angeles at Bob Clearmountain's studio that the sound of 'The Price of Kings' documentary film really took a turn and finally came together.
From left to right, Brandon Duncan, Bob Clearmountain of Mix This and Richard Symons of Spirit Level Film with Bassam Abu Sharif looking on (no doubt in horror at what we're doing to his voice)
Bob had never mixed a documentary film; his background reads like a who's who of the music industry (check out the astonishing 47 pages of his discography), but that's why we wanted him. As the music from composers Stuart Briner and Tom McFarland came in we realised it was much more than background padding, and needed to be woven through the films. To do that and still hear the faltering dryness in a Presidential voice needed someone used to mixing vocals in with the music without losing any clarity.
If Bob looks a little scared, that's because Bassam's not someone you'd want to upset... he's the guy who trained Carlos the Jackal
For gear-heads only: Apogee converters were used from beginning to end of the audio chain as well as Sennheiser HD650 headphones across the multiple locations, for reference.
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