Frame by Frame - Post New York Alliance

FXF0601 INNOVATIONS IN POST -- THE NEXT FRONTIER with GEMINI MAN’s TIM SQUYRES, DEREK SCHWEICKART, JEN LANE and ANDREW LEVEN

As movie-going audiences choose more often to view their entertainment  on the smaller screens of home theaters, tablets and phones, movies like GEMINI MAN  directed by Ang Lee and shot in 4K resolution, at 120 frames per second, for 3-D projection are intentionally built to create a hyper real immersive experience that will incentivize audiences to experience films on a big screen in a large theater with a crowd and participate in  vital communal catharsis.

 

For the filmmakers, the choice to work in this format was on almost every level a technological experiment. For the post-production team especially, the format became a valuable testing ground for every aspect of media exchange along the pipeline.

 

In this episode, I sat down with GEMINI MAN’s Picture editor, Tim Squyres, 3D Digital Intermediate Supervisor,Derek  Schweithart , First Assistant Editor, Andrew Leven and Associate Producer and Post-Production Supervisor, Jennifer Lane to talk about  why this pioneering format required that they construct their own mobile lab to process the media and how they believe the format ultimately supports better storytelling. 

 

 

Frame By Frame is presented by Post New York Alliance because it’s how you finish that counts.

 

This episode marks the beginning of a new series exploring innovations in post-production and the vanguard film professionals in New York that are  leading the way.

FXF0504 THE FAREWELL with MICHAEL TAYLOR, MATT FRIEDMAN, ALEX WESTON and GENE PARK

Lulu Wang's breakout hit THE FAREWELL is a story about a young Chinese-American woman and her family who travel to China to say goodbye to her grandmother without letting her know that she is dying.

In this episode NY-based picture editor Michael Taylor, sound editor and re-recording mixer Gene Park and composer Alex Weston and LA-based picture editor, Matt Friedman talk about the surprises they encountered in the process in crafting this award-winning independent feature.

FXF0106-7 THE SOUND ONE ERA: THE END / REBIRTH

In 2012, Sound One, possibly the most successful post-production facility in New York City’s history, closed its doors after 44 years of business. What caused the demise of Sound One is a point of contention between the clients, former owners, founders and staff, who hold multiple theories about why it failed financially. Some blame a distant holding company in Denver who some say were out of touch with the needs of the local community in New york and undermined the business practices which required creative and financial flexibility to maintain its base of both established and up and coming filmmakers. Others cite a long process of chipping away at the character of Sound One over a period of time during which the company was bought and sold five times to various entities.

Here former staff and clients explain in their words, how the end of Sound one came to be and how in the wake of its undeniable force created new pools of talent and multiple post-production facilities in New York, all of them strengthened by the work ethic and familial bonds of developed at Sound One.

Frame By Frame is a podcast series hosted by editor Isabel Sadurni, that introduces you to the most influential, respected and accomplished cinema post-production professionals working in New York today. Through intimate, informal discussions between collaborators about post-production craft, aesthetics, process and technique, we’ll recognize and celebrate the iconic films and people that have made New York film history as well as those contemporaries who continue to make important contributions to the art of filmmaking. In conversations anchored by the film editor, we’ll share the stories that define New York as an essential ongoing capital of the global film industry.

FXF0106-6 THE SOUND ONE ERA: LEADING THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION.

The dawn of the digital era marked a major pivot point in post-production technology that left some behind in analog while others charged fearlessly into a brave new world. Sound One led the post-production digital revolution, testing software, and equipment for the film industry before Hollywood, to ensure a smooth transition into the Digital Age. In this episode, former Sound One staff and clients discuss navigating the technological changes from analog to digital in the film and television sound editing medium in the late 80’s and 90’s.

FXF0106-5 THE SOUND ONE ERA : THE FOLEY ARTIST

Elisha Birnbaum, the co-founder of Sound One, is considered one of the best NY foley artists of his generation. His stage looked like a suburban garage or basement or attic with various surfaces on the floor and, shelves filled with props used to create sounds. You would often meet Elisha walking around the hallways of Sound One in cut off jean shorts, and women's high heels,  which he wore when foleying the sound of women's footsteps. Here, staff and clients retell stories of working with Elisha and others at Sound One in recognizing the creative genius behind Elisha’s work and the role of the foley artist.

From 1968 to 2012, Sound One grew from a solo operation to becoming the most successful post-production sound and editing facility on the East Coast. At its apex, Sound One inhabited five floors of the famed Brill Building housed 150 edit suites and over 300 clients and staff at its apex and commanded 85% of post-production business in New York. As its reputation grew, it became the go-to post-production home for such filmmakers as Sidney Lumet, Arthur Penn, George Roy Hill, Jonathan Demme, Woody Allen, and Martin Scorsese and through its constant support of independents, helped launch the careers of  filmmakers like the Alan Pakula, Spike Lee, The Coen Brothers, M. Night Shyamalan, Michael Moore, Ken Burns and countless post-production professionals and helped post-produce some of cinemas most influential works.

Frame By Frame is a podcast series hosted by editor Isabel Sadurni, that introduces you to the most influential, respected and accomplished cinema post-production professionals working in New York today. Through intimate, informal discussions between collaborators about post-production craft, aesthetics, process and technique, we’ll recognize and celebrate the iconic films and people that have made New York film history as well as those contemporaries who continue to make important contributions to the art of filmmaking. In conversations anchored by the film editor, we’ll share the stories that define New York as an essential ongoing capital of the global film industry.

FXF0106-04 THE SOUND ONE ERA: A DAY IN THE HALLWAYS

Walking down the hallways and riding the elevators of Sound One’s Brill Building at 1619 Broadway at 49th St could instantly offer exposure to the major leagues of the New York film industry. At the very best, it could offer an introduction towards working with some of the most important, upcoming and established filmmakers, actors and musicians working in the New York at the time. In this segment, former staff and clients of the Sound One community share stories of walking down the hallways and riding the elevators at Sound One, depicting how and why Sound One came to represent the center of the New York film universe.

From 1968 to 2012, Sound One grew from a solo operation to becoming the most successful post-production sound and editing facility on the East Coast. At its apex, Sound One inhabited five floors of the famed Brill Building housed 150 edit suites and over 300 clients and staff at its apex and commanded 85% of post-production business in New York. As its reputation grew, it became the go to post-production home for such filmmakers as Sidney Lumet, Arthur Penn, George Roy Hill, Jonathan Demme, Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese and through its constant support of independents, helped launch the careers of  filmmakers like the Alan Pakula, Spike Lee, The Coen Brothers, M. Night Shyamalan, Michael Moore, Ken Burns and countless post-production professionals and helped post-produce some of cinemas most influential works.

FXF0106-3 THE SOUND ONE ERA: TRIBUTE TO BILL NISSELSON AND SYBIL BROWN

Bill Nisselson was often described as the heart of Sound One. As managing Director from 1979-2001, Bill, alongside co-founder Elisha Birnbaum, set the tone of interaction, organized the deals and orchestrated the cross-traffic of post-production work between staff and clients which at its apex commanded 6 floors in the Brill Building and took in over 85% of the post-production film business in New York.

Not far from Bill’s office Sybil Brown, the receptionist from 1985-2005, offered a warm welcome, fresh flowers and the uncanny ability to locate people by phone in crucial moments and also stood as essential to the heartbeat of the Sound One experience. 

In this episode, staff and clients remember their interactions with Bill Nisselson, and Sybil Brown and share their stories about how both Bill and Sybil played a dominant role not only in shaping the working environment of  Sound One, but also in shaping peoples lives.

FXF0106-2 THE SOUND ONE ERA: FAMILY

In the late 1960’s and early 70’s, years before Sound One had established itself as one of the most successful and highly respected sound facilities on the East Coast, it was a solo operation. Elisha Birnbaum, a sound editor and foley artist who had recently emigrated from Israel, worked with a small team but quickly developed a reputation for creating a highly productive, family atmosphere filled with astonishing creativity, quality product and quick turnaround time that attracted both the established and uninitiated to work at his studio. 

At its apex of productivity Sound One would take in 85% of all post-production work in New York City and would help launch the careers of both post production professionals and filmmakers like The Coen Brothers, Spike Lee, Alan Pakula, Michael Moore and Ken Burns among others.  Here staff and clients share stories about the personal bonds and animal spirit that helped define the dynamics at work at Sound and how they created what has come to be known as the Sound One Family.

From 1968 to 2012, Sound One grew from a solo operation to becoming the most successful post-production sound and editing facility on the East Coast. At its apex, Sound One inhabited five floors of the famed Brill Building housed 150 edit suites and over 300 clients and staff at its apex and commanded 85% of post-production business in New York. As its reputation grew, it became the go to post-production home for such filmmakers as Sidney Lumet, Arthur Penn, George Roy Hill, Jonathan Demme, Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese and through its constant support of independents, helped launch the careers of  filmmakers like the Alan Pakula, Spike Lee, The Coen Brothers, M. Night Shyamalan, Michael Moore, Ken Burns and countless post-production professionals and helped post-produce some of cinemas most influential works.

FXF0106-1 THE SOUND ONE ERA: THE BEGINNING

From 1968 to 2012, Sound One grew from a solo operation run by Elisha Birnbaum a foley artist and sound editor recent emigrated from Israel to become the most successful post-production sound and editing facility on the East Coast. Inhabiting seven floors of the famed Brill Building and commanding at least 85% of post-production business in New York, Sound One housed 150 edit suites and over 300 clients and staff at its apex. As its reputation grew, it became the go-to post-production home for such filmmakers as Sidney Lumet, Arthur Penn, George Roy Hill, Jonathan Demme, Woody Allen, and Martin Scorsese and through its constant support of independents, helped launch the careers of  filmmakers like the Alan Pakula, Spike Lee, The Coen Brothers, M. Night Shyamalan, Michael Moore and Ken Burns and countless post-production professionals generating some of cinemas most important films. 

The Beginning tells the story of how Sound One answered a need for local sound stages in the early 1970's  New York film industry and redefined the post-production community in the process.

We welcome your comments and suggestions -- write us atframebyframe@postnewyork.org or share your comments via iTunes

FXF0105 ANGELO CORRAO, ALEX HALPERN on LET'S GET LOST and NINE GOOD TEETH

Post Factory(now SIM) Founder, Alex Halpern and Picture Editor Angelo Corrao talk about their collaboration on Nine Good Teeth  as well as Angelo’s work on Bruce Weber’s Let’s Get Lost and their experiences coming up in the 1980's New York film scene and developing early relationships with filmmakers like The Coen Brothers.