Q & A with Ian Voigt, Production Sound Mixer
Ian Voigt is a production sound mixer with two films out within the space of a month. A Good Day to Die Hard and Song for Marion.
Ian a member of AMPS and represented by McKinney McCartney management. He is also a member of thecallsheet.co.uk
We asked him about his most recent work, two very different films. Starting with A Good Day to Die Hard.
A Good Day to Die Hard (released 14th February 2013)
John McClane is back in a Good Day to Die Hard. What can you tell us about the story and are you a fan of the original?
Jack, John’s son in the movie, is in jail in Moscow and John is going to get his boy come hell or high water. Along the way we meet a baddie played by Sebastian Koch and Julia Singer, the girl in the film.
I am a fan of the original film, which was very raw and original, but I think that AGDTDH will be the best Die Hard ever made. John Moore the director is great and has a wonderful eye for action.
I have been lucky to have worked on 4 films with John
There are explosions, chases and weapons. Is action unpredictable to record and mix?
It is but using a combination of dynamic and condenser microphone in the right places we achieved great sound effects
Can you radio mic a man in a vest?
Luckily we did not have that scenario on a couple of big dialogue scenes in a T Shirt, which is pretty easy to mic
You filmed all the action in Moscow, how did you find the city to film in?
We filmed most of the film in Budapest Hungary with a plate unit in Moscow .We did pickups in London –Pinewood and there was a couple of days shooting in LA which I could not do due to prior commitments
You have two films out at the same time; can you tell us about Song for Marion?
Song for Marion I enjoyed a lot as it was smaller and sound was important to the piece. Paul the director was very patient as recording live can be tricky. Great performances from all the cast. Great fun to do
Producer Ken Marshall described Gemma Arterton as “so likeable in this film it's disgusting”, did you enjoy working with her and Terence Stamp?
Ken is right, Gemma was and is an absolute diamond to work with and a very nice lady to boot
Terence was hard work at first but to give him credit once I assured him that he would do no ADR if we could put radios on him he was fine. He did a fantastic live concert piece at the end of the film which was amazing
The film features a full choir, often in rehearsal. What are the challenges of recording that volume of people?
As always on a small budget Sound do not get the time and resources we should but I decided to keep everything simple. We had choir members with earpieces to keep tempo with a click track with the conductor out of shot. Most of the choir pieces were in a rehearsal scenario so we would place overheads out of shot to keep continuity of sound and let them sing their hearts out which they did.
The whole choir (amateurs) were amazing to work with. Boy we had a laugh!
Song for Marion (released 22nd February 2013)
Since those films you’ve worked on Kick Ass 2 and One Chance – both are due out later this year, what are you able to tell us about those projects?
A friend of mine (Simon Hayes) asked me to do the Toronto part of Kick Ass 2 as he was on something, which would overlap. We went straight from Budapest to Toronto and were shooting within a week. It was ok, long hours; I had shot with Aaron (Kick Ass) years ago when he played Charlie Chaplin in Shanghai Knights in Prague.
After Toronto I went straight on to do One Chance, the story of Paul Potts the Welshman who won the very first Britain’s Got Talent starring James Corden and Alexandra Roach who were delightful and funny to work with. Another musical piece but mainly pre records
Going back to the beginning of your career, how did decide the sound department was for you?
I was a bit wild when I was young and my brother in law gave me a chance to be a tape op in a recording studio and it went from there.
What has been the most challenging job you’ve ever faced and what has been your most memorable moment at work?
I think the hardest film I have ever done is my first film with John Moore called Behind Enemy Lines shot in Slovakia, very tough film but I loved it and the sound track I thought was great
If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be?
Better training for younger crew and Producers who make sure that the Sound Department is not under-crewed and under-funded.
What do you do to relax?
Play golf
Is there anyone you would like to work with that you haven’t already?
Oh yes all of them !
Members of thecallsheet can see Ian's profile here, Ian Voigt. Ian is a member of AMPS and is represented by McKinney McCartney
thecallsheet.co.uk is a members only network for professionals working in Film and TV in the UK. With over 2,000 members and a database of over 40,000 productions, people and companies, we make it easy to find the best in the industry.