- 2 days ago
Morrow received a best sound mixing nomination for his work on 'A Star is Born.' The film is nominated for eight Academy Awards.
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00:00Hey everyone, you're watching meet your nominee and today's special guest is Steve Morrow. How are you?
00:05And now I have to call you two-time Oscar nominee Steve Morrow. Congratulations. Thank you very much. Thank you so much for being here
00:11Obviously, we're here to talk about all things A Star is Born. Yes, sir
00:14But before we jump into that you were just at the Oscar nominee luncheon. Can you tell us about that and how that was for you?
00:19Yeah, I mean we went to the luncheon
00:21Luckily as our second time so we kind of got to know what it was all about
00:25But we had a great time there just kind of mingling with the with your other nominees
00:29and your own sound team
00:31And you know Bradley and Lady Gaga and Sam Elliott were there so we just got to really enjoy that moment together
00:38As a as a team I think the movie itself
00:41Became like a family family affair to make the film and so you know it was like a it was like a
00:48Family reunion. It was really nice. Who I guess on this award season
00:52Have you looked forward to I guess meeting the most maybe someone you haven't met yet or someone you met and just
00:57It's it really stood out for you
00:59Well, I mean honestly like you know everybody who's there
01:03That makes those movies are just incredible filmmakers and
01:08I've been lucky enough through my career to be able to work side by side with actors so
01:13Yeah, I think I think just in general
01:15It's a nice way to to meet all the other filmmakers and all the other artists that you just watch Regina King and
01:23You know and it's just it's one of those things where you get to have that fun
01:28It's it is like a I mean see experience of the celebration yeah
01:32Yeah, I mean the luncheon is basically anybody who's there is a nominee or a friend of a nominee and
01:39And so it's more just like a community getting together to celebrate you know because in that moment, you know
01:45Everybody is there as a winner because we all got nominated and because the films are
01:50Received well and appreciated now you're nominated for a sound mixing for a star is born what were I guess the earlier conversations?
01:57Before joining the project and kind of what Bradley was looking for and yeah, I mean we the first conversation I had with them was at his house
02:06Yeah, we were talking about the process of making the film that
02:11You know Lady Gaga wanted to sing everything live and that he wanted it to attempt to sing everything live as well
02:17And I think it's one of those challenges that you know on the technical side is just incredibly difficult to do
02:24And so it was kind of how do we accomplish this in the way that's going to serve the film better the image can be grainy
02:32It can be you know lens flares and it's a film that everything relies on the sound yeah exactly as a concert film
02:38So we decided to record you know do the the instrumental instrumentation in and playback in their earwigs
02:47Yeah
02:49Original thought was we would play it out loud and record it like a concert and have the vocals live
02:55but then we quickly you know Warner Brothers and
02:59Bradley and Gaga and we all decided that you know this music is going to leak you know a year and a half in advance you know
03:06Because these aren't these aren't just actors creating something this is Lady Gaga one of the biggest pop stars in the world
03:11So she's going to have all these new songs and people are going to want to hear them so how do we protect that and there was no leak, right?
03:17And there was no leak. Yeah, that's well
03:19Yeah, so we put it all in their ears and when you're on when you're on set with them
03:22They're basically singing acapella into a microphone
03:26That's not amplified to the crowd and the crowds are able to cheer and get excited, but they're not really hearing
03:31the songs and so it was that process of capturing all that but keeping it really quiet on set and
03:38And then expanding it in post-production, which is what the the post mixers did and really put you in that concept
03:45Can you go walk us through I guess that some other specific scenes that I guess had some challenges there? Yeah, I mean, you know
03:51When you're talking about you know like Sam Elliott's performance, you know his voice is very deep and
03:58rumbly and so you have to you know
04:01You have to make sure that you're recording that in a way that that for one, you know
04:05um doesn't take away from his character from his acting, but also allows the audience to get in that
04:13mindset of him, you know, and so
04:16the scene where they're where where he's dropping Jack off after picking him up from
04:23Rehab, you know and Bradley opens the door and says this is you know, you're the you were my idol
04:29My dad and shuts the door and well that was shot, you know, the whole crews in the back of the truck
04:35Being driven down Mulholland and we pull into the driveway and the scene continues
04:41He gets out shuts the door and we back up and we take off and so that's you know the film you know the cameraman the camera operators
04:48I'm in the back, you know
04:50Just trying to mix this real intimate scene as they're driving through talking about the band that they could have had they didn't have
04:54So those are all challenges in the movie that but you know, you don't want to interfere in the acting
05:01On the technical side, you just want to let it happen and be prepared for it
05:05With I guess the idea of sound and obviously sound mixing and part of the story of a stars one is Bradley's character
05:11Loses his hearing with more kind of the decisions made to capture that
05:15You know the easiest way to record live vocals is to put you know in ears in like they were at most major concerts
05:21But his band Jack's band is so old-school that they don't do that, you know, so you could never see that in the movie
05:28And that's also the reason why he's losing his hearing is just because he's blasting at his entire career
05:33And so those were the challenges to make sure that you know
05:37Story-wise, you know, they're wearing pieces that you don't see but
05:42But yeah, I mean that was that whole scene of him like here. You got to wear these
05:45You know, no chance as an audience member. What were some of your favorite scenes and I guess work on the film worth worth some of your favorite scenes?
05:53well, the I
05:55Mean honestly shallow is is an incredible scene
05:59that was yeah, I mean that was just like you know
06:03Your mind was blown being on set and it's not even you know that the work that went into
06:09uh choreographing that you know because the when she gets out of that
06:14limo under underground and she's walking up to the concert we did that all in one shot all the way up the stairs to the concert
06:21Um, and then we did the reverse where we're pulling her through the tunnel and that's how they could edit back and forth
06:26But that is a challenge on its own to move, you know to walk actors talking for
06:31You know over a football field under underground just to get up to the concert where the concert still happening
06:36I mean essentially that is the moment where is she going to become the star or
06:42Not and so that's the pivotal scene if it's just a shot of lady gaga singing bradley still
06:48Off-camera singing into his mic at full force and vice versa. That's just him singing. She's singing off camera full force
06:56and so they really
06:58You know lent themselves to to a better performance by being there for each other
07:02And that's kind of that that whole story is
07:04That is the movie. Did you have a favorite song from the film or?
07:08Well, I mean there's an inside joke on the movie so black eyes was the first song in the film
07:16Okay, so that's the opening of the movie. Okay. It's black eyes and when we were filming uh the our first music day was coachella the main stage
07:24and
07:25We were running through a bunch of songs and black eyes hadn't been written yet and
07:29you know while we're waiting for in between setups or or just you know doing different hair and makeup things
07:35Bradley's up there with the band and
07:37It's a good opportunity to just get more footage more. You know kind of um
07:41You'll you'll end up using it as a montage
07:44And so he yells out okay, Steve black eyes and we just kind of look on our computer
07:49We're like black eyes. What song is black eyes looking at everybody?
07:53Who's involved in music order music?
07:55Hey, what's black eyes?
07:56What's like Bradley? What's black eyes? He went oh, yeah, we haven't recorded it yet. Never mind
08:01And so from that moment forward
08:03You know they gave it to us three days later because they recorded it and from that moment forward
08:07We always had it ready
08:08That's so funny
08:09And he would call it out just randomly would be in you know
08:12We'd be at his house and he's a black eyes and we just hit it and he
08:15It was it was a good inside joke
08:17That was so that's my favorite song in that sense of the the family aspect of making that movie, but I think um
08:26Shallow and always remember us this way are the two that that just break my heart each time
08:32What were what were the onset days like and hours that the hours weren't bad?
08:36I mean we we worked hours, but in the sound department
08:40Anytime there was a concert we would have a three-hour pre-call to set up us and props
08:44um we would set up for three hours get the stage ready get everything sound checked and then
08:50Rehearsal would come and we kind of rehearse and then once those concerts were done if we film a concert all day
08:55And then we wrapped right after that be a two-hour tear down to put it all back
08:59um so the hours for the sound and and prop department and and other departments involved in that were were long, but
09:06um it was your normal 12-hour you know nice days you know beyond that you know now you were also nominated for la la land and
09:14La la land is obviously a musical and like you mentioned the stars one is this concert film
09:19What were the biggest differences and where did you see similarities?
09:22Well, I think I think in la la land, you know, it was a 50 50 you know 50 percent of the time
09:27I mean almost everything that emma stone sings in that movie is live that we recorded on set
09:32Um, but she's not holding a microphone. She's not singing into a microphone
09:36So we had to have you know fine unique ways of of miking her and recording her
09:40Um, whereas the stars born is a hundred percent, you know
09:45live recorded, but
09:46Um, it was slightly different because they all sang into the microphones and I think
09:51I think the main difference is the mixing in post for a stars born, you know, we really wanted to give
09:59The audience the perspective that they're right there on stage
10:02And in our film that the idea bradley's idea really was that I want the camera to be the audience
10:08I don't want that perspective. So if i'm closer to the drum kit, I want to hear the drum kit
10:11You know, if i'm closer to the bass guitar, that's what I would hear on stage
10:15That's how you know rock stars hear it
10:18And that's for me. I think that's such a unique way to hear the film
10:23Because you get that perspective that I don't know how many people really have that perspective
10:28You know to be a rock star on stage with it with band
10:32And I think that's what this movie gives and I think the audiences pick up on it in a in a subtle way going
10:37This is something different that I haven't felt before and I'm not sure why
10:41You know you told me that I'm just like processing my head of like that
10:44Yeah, yeah, it's like when you hear the guy hitting sticks, you know at the beginning of that one song
10:48It's you're close on that and so why wouldn't you hear that like more and then you wouldn't hear it as much as soon as you go away
10:53So it's I think that's it's kind of repeating life, but sometimes we get you know
11:00Distracted in that process in making a movie and not really remembering that and Bradley really
11:06Had his vision in that in that sound, you know
11:09We can only provide as much material as we can give them from the production side of it
11:13But in post-production, you know
11:15He was the leader in that and in the post mixers really listened and really fine-tuned what he was trying to get across
11:21Because in his mind he knew exactly how that film should sound
11:25And it was it was all their hard work to get it there, you know, I mean everybody involved
11:30um
11:31And I know that they would be on a stage listening to the song and go
11:35There's something threw me out of that because I wasn't looking at the film. I wasn't listening to it
11:39I was thinking about a grocery list, so let's step back and figure out why
11:44That threw me out real quick because you just never want to lose the audience in the theater
11:49Now for Bradley, what was your experience with him as a first-time director?
11:54Did you see things that kind of you were impressed by with him being a first time director?
11:58Oh, I mean from from day one, you know his vision on the movie
12:02He's kind of an unstoppable force when when you're talking about a guy that kind of does everything, you know comes up
12:09I mean look the black guy's uh song the opening of the movie wasn't scripted
12:13You know, it was the shot that we went out and did on a weekend at a real concert venue
12:17For 10 minutes and that became the opening of the movie because he looked at it and decided this is better than what we have written
12:24And it was his ability to be agile on set and to really find those moments
12:29That was incredible, but the I mean he's I don't think I know anybody who works harder
12:34You know when we were filming the movie
12:36You know you would get an email, you know at 3 in the morning with an idea if in the next morning 6 a.m. Call and you're like 3 a.m. Like
12:44This guy definitely doesn't sleep, but I mean he he lived that movie and he
12:48He was so prepared and had the vision for
12:52You know what you know, Matty Labateek and him would set up shots and and the perspective of the camera just to make sure that
13:00You know
13:01The audience was going to be as invested as as we all were
13:05Um
13:06So yeah, I think I think to his credit
13:09He was able to pull all those performances out of all those actors
13:13Um and get that movie and and have you feel real and have you feel all those characters that
13:19You know, I mean if you think about it that movie could have gone either way
13:23It could have been
13:24You know panned as the worst movie in the world or as great as it is now and it's like to his credit
13:29He got it to that place
13:31What was I guess the stars born a family's reaction to him being snubbed in the best directing category?
13:36I think when Bradley got
13:38Didn't get the best director. We were all kind of shocked
13:41You know my wife and I woke up to watch the nominations and also
13:45You know best editing was one of those things where I thought was kind of locked
13:48I think a lot of people thought
13:50For director he was locked especially after getting to
13:53DGA nominated best director
13:56And best first time director I think I think that was a little bit of a head scratcher, but
14:01You know
14:01We know as the film crew who worked with him how great he is
14:05And I think you know sometimes he may make it seem too easy because it comes so natural to him
14:11But he really does work hard at that craft and making sure that he understands what the audience wants and needs and
14:18And and he fulfills it so I think
14:21There's something with the academy where like when actors transition to directing they I don't know what it is, but it's a weird thing
14:27Yeah, you know, but he'll have more movies and that that that skill set will be
14:32Honed and and you know perfected and and showing off again. I mean he's not
14:37He's not a one-and-done director. I think he's I think he's got a long career
14:40So do you think you'll work with him again hopefully or yeah, yeah, I mean that's that's the goal is there a plan?
14:46Yeah, we he's he's got a couple films in the in the works that we've talked about doing so
14:52You know nothing solid you know, you're never there until you're there, so
14:54A few fun questions. We're asking all the nominees of these are all been fun. Yeah, oh good good
15:01A few more fun questions. We're asking all the nominees this year
15:04uh, who which nominee do you want to sit next to at the oscars if you get to pick your seat?
15:08Well, we don't get to pick our seat. Well, don't give me the option
15:13I mean honestly, I think if we had the option, you know sitting with your family your film family would just be
15:19Just be the end-all. Yeah, I mean I know that that's good
15:22Besides them. Okay besides them. All right
15:25Let's see. I mean
15:27Mahershala Ali, you know killed it in in green book
15:31You know that would be a fun conversation to have
15:34Trying to think I mean spike lee would be great to sit next to I mean he that's his first nomination, which is incredible
15:40Um, I think there are a lot of great artists. I think I think any nominee you sit next to has
15:46Would have great stories and have really interesting things to talk about so I think
15:50You know, but yeah, I mean I would want to sit with my own
15:53You know group because we all know each other so well, of course
15:56Yeah, if you could uh sum up this award season three words, what would they be?
16:01Sum up this year's oscars
16:03In three words three words would be hard, but just a diversity in talent
16:09How about that because I think I think there's so many films that are worth
16:14Seeing this year and that all have their own perspective and they're all have their own
16:19you know
16:22Direction in that in that in the world, you know that is is a positive step forward
16:26What are you looking forward to most about the actual show?
16:30Well, I think it's great that
16:33All five songs are going to be sung, but I do think it's important that all the nominees get to
16:38Perform the song because originally it was going to be two
16:41And and I think gaga and bradley said no if we're if not everybody gets that chance
16:46Then we're not doing going to do it
16:48And so the academy said okay. Well, let's do 90 seconds of each song then
16:53and so that's I think you know
16:55It's a testament to it's it's not a competition. It's more like just a celebration
16:59I think that that's kind of the fun bar. That's awesome. I didn't know that story. Yeah
17:02That's great. And also not having a host
17:05You like that? Well, I mean I'm gonna we're gonna find out
17:09It'll be interesting. I think people need like some guidance. I think it's really tough
17:13Yeah, especially people watching at home. I think yeah, but maybe they'll just draw a number
17:17They didn't call me. I could have hosted
17:18You should have hosted. You're doing a great job
17:20What surprises do you think we will see that night of the show?
17:23I mean if La La Land gets nominated for best picture again, that's gonna be a surprise
17:29It's I mean that might not happen
17:32Uh, what are the surprises?
17:37I mean that happened the last time we were there
17:40What was that like for you guys? Did you? I mean, you know, I think
17:45You know, I don't know. We were kind of
17:48It was kind of a delightful experience. Was it a bummer at the Lionsgate party then?
17:51Well, yeah, I mean it's it's it's a bummer for everybody involved in that sense because you know
17:56As amazing as all those movies are it's like
17:59You know, do you feel good? Do you feel bad?
18:02Like nobody can all of a sudden feel good because it was like oh, but that was stolen
18:06You know and a lot of story was like oh
18:08La La Land won for a second, but you know
18:10They could have been the fourth film picked
18:11I mean, we don't know that it just happened to be the
18:14Oh, the wrong card
18:15Yeah, I never thought of it like that
18:17Yeah, it's like oh La La Land almost won
18:19But we don't know that you know, but but I think it was more or less a fun
18:25A fun experience to know that you're part of Oscar history in that moment that a card was wrong read wrong
18:31So you know, but a bummer for everybody, but at the same time the Oscars are a celebration of the arts
18:35Yeah, and when you go
18:3880% of the people there are going to lose so it's not like
18:41That's not life or death. You know, it's more just fun
18:44Well, best of luck to you on Oscars night
18:47You can check out stars born. It's still in theaters. Yep. Thank you so much for being here and congratulations again
18:51Thank you very much
19:01You
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