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Whenever I
look back over my film career, one of the first thoughts that come
into my mind is how lucky it was for me that John Mitchell was the
sound-recordist on From Russia With Love. I’d had my
first break as sound-effects editor on Dr. No, which was a
huge challenge for someone with limited previous experience, but I
could tell from the script of
From Russia
With Love
that it was going to be a far steeper hill to climb and I would have
to rely heavily on the expertise of the recordist.
For those who
are unfamiliar with the post-production procedures carried out in
the editing room, I should explain that the job of the sound editor
is to reject and replace any of the original soundtrack which, for
technical or artistic reasons, is considered unusable for the final
movie. In the case of location pictures with a high number of action
sequences this could amount to as much as fifty or sixty per cent,
with scenes involving boats, trains, planes, battles and gun fights
etc. and scenes where dialogue is drowned by heavy background being
instant candidates for replacement. Building the track back again
from scratch can be a long and intricate procedure, with all the
various elements having to be produced or recorded separately in
readiness to be mixed together to create the final track.
Fortunately as
I’ve said, John Mitchell was assigned to From Russia With Love,
and apart from being a brilliant technical recordist he understood
all the problems facing the sound editor and was always prepared to
go the extra mile. Every spare moment on location was spent making
clean recordings of backgrounds, atmospheres, machines, vehicles and
any props that might be useful at a later date. He wouldn’t hesitate
to forego a lunch break or an evening in the bar if an opportunity
for a precious recording showed itself. He knew only too well that
these clean, authentic tracks would be invaluable to the sound
editor back home, and save hours of research when the time came for
the original track to be discarded. Also, whenever he knew that
certain lines of dialogue had been obscured, he would seek the first
opportunity to take the actor aside to record a wildtrack in the
hope that it could be fitted in sync at a later date. It was typical
of him that when the time came to shoot the Fairey Marine boat chase
in From Russia With Love, he persuaded the producers to dress
him up as one of the chasing villains, so that out of view of the
audience he could manipulate the controls of his recorder. He was a
truly professional and dedicated technician and I valued his
experience immensely. I sometimes think the session we shared
together recording helicopter tracks for the chase sequence in
From Russia With Love was the most successful of all the
sessions I took part in throughout six Bond Movies. When we teamed
up again on Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice, I knew
my problems would be over. True to form, we would steal onto the set
of Fort Knox and the volcano in the lunch break, eager to record the
echoes and anything else that moved.
I’m relieved to
say that after an absence of many years, John and I met again
recently at a remembrance event for Peter Hunt, the editor of the
first five Bond films. I feel it was meant to be. It was a chance to
talk about old times. Little did we realise then that it was also a
chance to say goodbye. I shall remember him with great admiration
and affection. If you’re listening John, ... “thanks a million Mate!” |
