Veteran re-recording mixer and supervising sound editor George Foulgham has a rich history in creating soundscapes for documentaries. In fact, before starting his own studio, GF Soundscapes, this year, he ran the feature documentary audio department at London-based post production house Molinare for almost 20 years.

Foulgham — who has a BAFTA win and a number of nominations under his belt, and who worked on the 2008 Oscar-winning feature documentary Man On Wire — recently won an AMPS award for Excellence in Sound for a Feature Film. That award was for his work on the Oliver Murray documentary Ronnie’s, which chronicled the life of saxophonist Ronnie Scott and his world-famous jazz club. “From the outset, the premise was to let the cinema audience experience the full richness of the acts that performed in the tiny, smoke-filled Soho jazz club co-founded by Ronnie Scott as if they were actually there,” says Foulgham of his work on the film, adding, “It was great fun to update the extraordinary but mono-recorded archive of some of the world’s musical greats into cinematic, emotionally immediate performances.”

L-R: George Foulgham and Orlando von Einsiedel

Let’s find out more from Foulgham…

Your latest project, Convergence: Courage in a Crisis, had you working once more with Oscar-winning director Orlando von Einsiedel (The White Helmets). Is the working dynamic different with him than with other directors?
Working with O is great, particularly because he’s very clear about what he wants. He has a sense of humor and won’t put up with any BS. I’ve worked with him on some very emotionally charged productions, and I think we’ve built an atmosphere of honesty and creative trust — although we don’t always agree!

Directors need to feel that their project is in safe hands, be comfortable enough in the mixer’s judgment to trust his creative instinct, and confident that their own thoughts and suggestions will always be taken seriously.

Were there any particularly challenging scenes? How did you overcome them?
Audio post on Convergence was tricky. It was filmed at the height of the first wave of the pandemic by some very brave people around the world on a variety of devices, including cameras with on-board mics but also smartphones. This meant the sound quality was extremely variable. However, frank discussion, exchanges of views, preparation, experimentation, humor and cooperation from the production team smoothed the passage through the audio post process.

What software does GF Soundscapes use?
We use Avid Pro Tools Ultimate and an ever-growing list of plugins.

Does your workflow change depending on the director?
My preference is always for full cooperation between the GFS audio team, the composer and production from the earliest possible stage. Largely because of timeframes and commitments, the director tends to come in to listen to the first mix “review” and make mix notes, which we then address. This is then refined over a number of further mix reviews.

This system works for the majority of directors. With Alex Gibney’s tight London schedule (on Citizen K), we had a full review of his two-hour project in one rather intense session. He went on to review again in NYC. Then, based on further feedback, we tweaked again in London prior to full delivery.

Man on Wire is often cited as one of the seminal pieces of documentary filmmaking. Was there a moment during post when you realized that project was special?
With the information that it was “just interviews with music,” my then-post producer gave me the edit very close to lock so I could assess what work needed to be done for audio post budgetary reasons. Ten minutes into the viewing, I was completely won over. I found it special, but would others?

However, when I mixed in the wonderful music over the scene of Philippe taking his first steps on the wire between the twin towers, I had a profound sense of, “Yes, this is really something.”

How do you manage a director’s expectations with reality and what can really be done?
Obviously, the audio post team does everything it can to fulfil a director’s expectations. A lot can be achieved through preparation — from looking at and discussing the initial treatment through the sound-spotting session on the final edit and then beyond that to the mix reviews.

How do you take criticism?
As long as it’s constructive criticism and I can understand the reasoning behind it, then that’s all good. I advise certain paths, but I do like to be as inclusive as possible in the preparation and construction of a mix, as it’s usually during that time that you can shape ideas.

How early did you know this would be your path?
I started in the industry at 18, and by the time I was in my mid-20s, I was mixing for TV. At that point I succumbed — this was my career choice.

What do you do to de-stress from it all?
I train for Masters Olympic Weightlifting competitions — not that I’m particularly good! I was introduced to it in my early 50s at CrossFit, and it has really helped to get involved in something completely unconnected to the film industry.

You have mentored others over your career, many of whom are now mixing top docs, such as Three Identical Strangers and Pele. What is the number one piece of advice that you would give someone starting out in audio mixing?
I like to think I’m in a position to share what I’ve learned, and I am still learning! As soon as I feel my mentees are ready, I will guide them into mixing music or trying their hand at dialogue.

There does come a tipping point when we both feel that they should move on and take a project under their own wing. I advise them to allow their emotional energy — not their technical energy — move the faders, and to listen…