Well, dear readers, sometimes they’re easy and sometimes they’re not. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, sometimes they’re easy and sometimes they’re not. I don’t think there’s anyone who can turn around a CD project faster than I, but sometimes you just come up against a corker. We transferred (at great expense) the two-inch 16-track tapes for a very short score that we knew we’d be coupling with a longer score by the same composer. This transfer happened in mid-May and it then went to our very own John Adams to be mixed. But the paperwork was very sketchy and it was driving him a little batty trying to figure out what was what. I finally got the cue sheets for the film and was able to pinpoint what was used therein. And we also got all the mono mixdowns of all the cues recorded. So, we had all the slated cues, plus some ones that were harder to identify, but once I’d figured out the mysteries of the cue sheet, John was able to mix everything, knowing which of the cues were used in the film and which were potential bonus tracks. I also had him download the film’s actual soundtrack into the computer. In certain cases, we knew the cue number of what was used in the film but there might be three takes, all slightly different and/or revised in some way. So, we’d have to compare the three takes to the film soundtrack, where the cues were mixed very low and were very hard to hear. I chose all the takes on those handful of cues, but realized I’d chosen wrong in only one instance and that was easy to fix once I figured out what was what. This all took about a month and John was fried and still confused. Then he got busy and this just kept sliding further and further away and the further it got the more difficult he thought it was going to be.
But I finally figured out the exact sequence (I have all the cues on the computer here) and what bonus material we’d use – there were a lot of alternates but they were all basically the same with just tiny changes, so I chose the best of them – we also included several cues meant for the film but not used. In the end, the film itself really has only about fifteen minutes of original music, which is all I wanted on the CD – none of the short little source music cues, most of which were classical and not even the ones the composer recorded – they ended up needle-dropping those brief sequences. So, with the bonus material there’s about twenty-seven minutes of music. And wonderful music it is. So, last night, I went to John’s to finesse the mixes of only the tracks we were using – he actually had mixed every take of every cue, just in case. One anomaly I found was that the listed cue used for the film (accompanied by its take number) had a ragged ending – so, we had to do what they did in the film – we found another take with an ending that was smooth and replaced the ragged ending. That they don’t notate on the cue sheets and it’s why things get complicated. We finally finished after a couple of hours, and then I just had John check the mixes against the music in the film, one final time. It was all there and accounted for, even though in the film they’d sometimes cut the cue in half or come in late or finish early – that’s pretty much par for the course in film. But as we were listening to the end credits I suddenly heard bells in the film soundtrack where there were none on ours. So, we began to hunt for the mysteriously missing bells. They were not there on the take that was noted on the cue sheet, the early part of which was absolutely the correct take. So, I had him play every variation of that cue (all slated with the proper number and then the various take numbers and/or revised number) and still no bells. So, we just gave up, but as he was laying down the last of the bonus tracks, which had been an “extra” thing on one of the tapes, another variation on the final two film cues, way in the background of that bonus track – bells. I had him isolate every track and we found them and obviously the film mixers had cut in that second half of the final end cue without it being noted on the cue sheet. None of the other takes had it, but thankfully we solved The Curious Case of the Missing Bells, and now the final cue plays exactly as it does in the film. Whew!
Happily, the second score that goes with it was much easier – it was already mixed and so all I had to do was figure out the sequence. That took only a few hours as opposed to four months. But everything will be to the mastering guy by the morning and hopefully he can now knock the master out, and the packaging is all ready for the return next week of the fellow who has to approve it and one other he’s been sitting on for three weeks now. Once those are approved, we move on to two others and then everything for the rest of the year will be done.
Prior to that, I got nine hours of sleep, had some telephonic calls about various and sundried projects, and then I had some bacon and eggs, toast and tomatoes for my main meal of the day. I basically knew in advance that there was no time for a jog. After lunch, I did some banking and then I picked up a package and came back home. I then did work on the computer until it was time to begin our first Kritzerland rehearsal. We had four of our five cast members – the fifth comes today, while our guest star comes on Friday. First up was Shannon Warne – she hasn’t been with us for at least six months, I think and it’s lovely to have her back. She’s only doing two songs in the show, so she ran Dancing All the Time first and then the beautiful Stop Time from Big. After Shannon, it was Ashley Fox Linton – this is her first show with us (she was supposed to be in our Meredith Willson show but had a conflict). She ran her three numbers – she’s got the wordiest songs in the show, but while she doesn’t quite have all the words down, she was very prepared and in great voice – first up was Crossword Puzzle, then The Bear, The Tiger, The Hamster and The Mole, and finally The Story Goes On. Then Will Collyer arrived and ran his two solos – I Want to Go Home from Big (which he did here in LA), and If I Sing. Then the helper came by and she, Will and John Boswell ran their trio – I decided to give the helper a slot, just because she’s such a great helper. The trio, which is probably now my favorite thing in our show, is She Loves Me Not. It’s just beautiful and they’re all great doing it.
After that, Heather Lee arrived – Heather is replacing Sally Mayes, who got some TV thing and couldn’t come. Heather is great and a total pro and she’s also got very wordy songs, but is already doing great. First was Miss Byrd, next was Autumn, and finally it was You Want to Be My Friend. It was such a pleasure to just sit and listen to all that great music sung by such terrific singers. Then Guy Haines ran his one song, Her Laughter in My Life, which he introduced on the first Unsung Musicals album.
After finessing the mix, I stopped at Gelson’s and got some melon balls and low calorie cheese and that was my snack when I got home. I also had an e-mail from David Shire, saying how sad he was that he couldn’t make it out to see the show. He’s going to write something for me to read to our audience – we’re up to about eighty people now, so only twenty seats left.
Today, I shall definitely jog, I shall not eat anything but the remaining melon balls because I’ll be dining in a Mexican restaurant and want to save all my calories for that. I’ll also hopefully pick up some packages, I’ll hopefully have a couple of good telephonic calls, and I’ll prepare for our new release announcement in the morning. Then I’ll be dining and seeing Smokey Joe’s Café – a show I have neither seen nor heard.
Tomorrow we announce the new CD, hopefully I’ll print out a LOT of orders, and I have a lot of other stuff to do, some of which will depend on the telephonic call I’m expecting regarding the potential upcoming project. Friday is our second rehearsal, Saturday I hope to relax, Sunday is our stumble-through and Monday is sound check and show time.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, hopefully pick up some packages, do work on the computer, hopefully have some good telephonic calls and then dine and see a show. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, thankful to have solved The Curious Case of the Missing Bells.