Commercial Integrator February 2022 - 40

FINAL THOUGHTS
Shure Helps Bring
'West Side Story'
to Glorious Life
ON THE EVENING OF DEC. 15, I had the
opportunity to join Shure at IPIC Fulton Market
in New York City for a screening of " West Side
Story. " Following the screening, a Q&A with
Tod A. Maitland, sound mixer for the film, took
place. During the movie, the audience watched
with rapt attention, transported by the ill-fated
love story of Tony and María, and enjoying the
flawless audio capture that Shure technology
achieved. After the applause died down,
Shure's Dan Hoeye initiated a discussion with
Maitland that spanned everything from whether
the actors sang live, to how he ensured voice
volumes matched actors' proximity to the
camera, to what it was like to work with Steven
Spielberg, the famed director of the film.
Maitland revealed that, for " West Side
Story, " the filmmakers opted for a mix of live
vocals - vocals captured during the filming of
the scene - and playback vocals, a term that
refers to studio-captured audio that is played
back while the filming occurs. For smaller,
more intimate sequences like the wedding
scene, actors like Ansel Elgort and Rachel
Zegler sang " One Hand, One Heart " live. To
achieve the correct voice volume for the scene
blocking and camera location, Maitland and
his team used a combination of boom mics and
wireless mics to capture audio. The team chose
Shure Axient Digital.
During the Q&A, Maitland acknowledged
that actors usually hate wearing mic packs.
One common complaint is that batteries can
become hot; another is that wireless mics can
be difficult to conceal and otherwise place
properly. Maitland described Axient Digital,
however, as being lightweight, durable and
resistant to heat. Ergonomically designed, the
transmitters are rounded on the edges. That
makes them more actor-friendly. What's more,
according to Maitland, the Shure mics delivered
such an " open " sound that they could be
positioned closer to the actors' mouths.
For other scenes, such as the early, gymnas
ium-set dance sequence that featured both
the Jets and the Sharks, the vocals you hear in
the film are prerecorded. During the filming
of the scene, the actors danced live as the
music played back throughout the New York
City-based movie set. Given the ubiquitous
audio playback, it was nearly impossible for the
filmmakers to capture any ambient sound that
the actors generated. So, Maitland explained
during the Q&A, the actors repeated the entire
scene later - with no audio playback - just
to capture the ambient sound for the scene.
For that, they were equipped with about 50
wireless headsets and earpieces. Shure's PSM
in-ear personal monitors were the technology
of choice for " West Side Story. "
Asked for further insight on why Shure won
out over other options, Maitland cited the RF
nightmare that New York City is. He praised
Wireless Workbench (WWB) device-management
and frequency-coordination software and
how helpful it was. WWB finds usable frequencies
and facilitates seamless changeover when
a frequency is no longer usable.
Maitland, who has worked on 11 music-based
films, also underscored his ethos in approaching
sound mixing and design for productions like
" West Side Story " - namely, to make them
sound as live as possible and to make them
seem real. For this production, with the legendary
Steven Spielberg at the helm, Shure was just
the ticket to achieving those objectives.
Maitland explicitly praised the professionalism
of a Spielberg set. He said, " When you
work on a film like this, it's not about fun: It's
about professionalism. And this was the most
professional film I've worked on. "
Kudos all around to the " West Side Story "
team! They've definitely created something
that's worth going to the movies for.
Dan Ferrisi, Editor-in-Chief
dan.ferrisi@emeraldx.com
@danferrisiedit
Commercial Integrator, (USPS 005-160) (ISSN 2165-9850), Vol.12 No. 2, is published monthly by Emerald X, LLC., 100 Broadway, 14th
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Integrator, interviewing industry
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The December 20 episode featured the
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