Margarita Mix Archives - postPerspective

Troy Smith is a colorist at FotoKem’s Margarita Mix Hollywood. He calls it “a unique facility because it has a boutique feel with the resources and support of a large facility.”

In 2011, Margarita Mix built out the video side of its business offering online editorial and color grading, in addition to audio mixing, recording and sound design. The company works on commercial, episodic television, streaming and documentaries.

First Alaskans

Let’s find out more from Colorist Society International member Smith, whose background is in online editing…

As a colorist, what would surprise people the most about what falls under that title?
We sometimes do things that usually fall under VFX work.

Would you say your job evolved at all beyond color?
Our role is always evolving. My background is in online editing, and that is a huge advantage when working in Resolve. Sometimes we are asked to do VFX work, blurring or painting out unwanted objects. For some of my shows, I also do the online editing and final exports.

What are some recent projects you’ve worked on?
Life Below Zero: First Alaskans, Port Protection, The Shop: Uninterrupted and The Shop: Lineup.

The Shop

Can you describe a challenging scene from one of them?
Images captured from GoPros and DJI drone cameras can be challenging. Sometimes they are set up properly in one location but then get moved to another location, where the setup is not optimal.

For example, a GoPro can be attached to a boat early in the morning, and as the day goes on, the lighting changes and the location of the boat changes. In one shot the camera could have the sun to its back, and in the next shot, the same camera could be facing the sun.

How do you prefer to work with the DP/director?
I prefer to work with the DP/director in person. When that is not feasible, we have a few remote options available.

How do you prefer the DP or director to describe the look they want? Physical examples? Film to emulate, etc.?
Stills work the best because we can import them and put the images side by side to get the same feel.

Port Protection

Any suggestions for getting the most out of a project from a color perspective?
We get the best results when we do a pre-color session before the episode or when the season starts. For example, when we first started First Alaskans, we discussed with the showrunner how they wanted the show to look, and they sent over a couple of scenes to establish that. Then they came in for an in-person review and finalized the look of the show.

For The Shop, the client sends over a couple minutes of the show, and I set the color for approval before working on the entire episode.

How does your process change when working on a film versus episodics versus commercials, etc.?
The biggest difference is time. We will spend more time per shot on the commercials, and there are usually more people who collaborate and approve the color.

First Alaskans

What systems do you work on?
Nucoda Film Master, Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve and Avid Symphony.

What’s your favorite part of color grading?
My favorite part of color grading is coming up with a look or style. It can be challenging because I can set a look for one shot, but what about all the other shots? Can that look be easily carried over to the entire show or scene? When setting a look, I choose a couple of shots and audition several looks before settling down on one that can be applied through the whole show.

Do you have a least favorite? If so, what?
Time is my least favorite part of color grading. I get wrapped up in my work because I enjoy it so much, and the time goes by too quickly.

How early on did you know this would be your path?
I went to high school in Ohio, and knew I wanted to work in Hollywood. After college at DePauw University, I moved to Los Angeles and worked as a runner for a post company. I would stay late after my shifts to learn from others. I kept walking through the doors that opened to me. I became an assistant editor, online editor and then colorist. The more I learned about color grading, the more I liked it.

The Shop

If you didn’t have this job, what would you be doing instead?
I would prefer to be a full-time dad. The rewards are amazing, but the pay is awful. In fact, it costs a lot of money to be a dad, so if I didn’t have my job as a colorist, I would probably be a Flame artist.

What is the project that you are most proud of?
I had a lot of fun working on Top Gear America. On every episode, we were coming up with a new look or style for the “action film” segment of the show. To this day, I still use some of those looks in other projects.

Where do you find inspiration?
I like watching movie trailers for inspiration.

Is there a film or show that sticks out to you as an example of great color?
I think a great color grade is one that you don’t notice. Even if the show has a heavily stylized look, if the look feels part of the world and doesn’t take away from the story, it’s great color.

Troy Smith

Any tips or tricks you would like to offer up?
Never stop learning. Be willing to spend time and even money on color grading courses to get better.

Can you name some technology you can’t live without?
My Tektronix scope, specifically the Double Diamond display, which is my favorite tool for color grading. I’m also madly in love with my Sony X300 reference monitor.

What do you do to de-stress from it all?
I like to exercise early in the morning. It really gets my blood flowing, and I feel more energized. Reading my bible and journaling help calm my mind.

By Randi Altman

Margarita Mix, one of Los Angeles’ long-standing audio and video post facilities, has taken on virtual reality with the addition of 360-degree sound rooms at their facilities in Santa Monica and Hollywood. This Fotokem company now offers sound design, mix and final print masters for VR video and remixing current spots for a full-surround environment.

Workflows for VR are new and developing every day — there is no real standard. So creatives are figuring it out as they go, but they can also learn from those who were early to the party, like Margarita Mix. They recently worked on a full-length VR concert film with the band Eagles of Death Metal and director/producer Art Haynie of Big Monkey Films. The band’s 2015 tour came to an abrupt end after playing the Bataclan concert hall during last year’s terrorist attacks in Paris. The film is expected to be available online and via apps shortly.

Eagles of Death Metal film.

We reached out to Margarita Mix’s senior technical engineer, Pat Stoltz, to talk about his experience and see how the studio is tackling this growing segment of the industry.

Why was now the right time to open VR-dedicated suites?
VR/AR is an exciting emerging market and online streaming is a perfect delivery format, but VR pre-production, production and post is in its infancy. We are bringing sound design, editorial and mixing expertise to the next level based on our long history of industry-recognized work, and elevating audio for VR from a gaming platform to one suitable for the cinematic and advertising realms where VR content production is exploding.

What is the biggest difference between traditional audio post and audio post for VR?
Traditional cinematic audio has always played a very important part in support of the visuals. Sound effects, Foley, background ambiance, dialog and music clarity to set the mood have aided in pulling the viewer into the story. With VR and AR you are not just pulled into the story, you are in the story! Having the ability to accurately recreate the audio of the filmed environment through higher order ambisonics, or object-based mixing, is crucial. Audio does not only play an important part in support of the visuals, but is now a director’s tool to help draw the viewer’s gaze to what he or she wants the audience to experience. Audio for VR is a critical component of storytelling that needs to be considered early in the production process.

What is the question you asked the most from clients in terms of sound for VR?
Surprisingly none! VR/AR is so new that directors and producers are just figuring things out as they go. On a traditional production set, you have audio mixers and boom operators capturing audio on set. On a VR/AR set, there is no hiding. No boom operators or audio mixers can be visible capturing high-quality audio of the performance.

Some productions have relied on the onboard camera microphones. Unfortunately, in most cases, this turns out to be completely unusable. When the client gets all the way to the audio post, there is a realization that hidden wireless mics on all the actors would have yielded a better result. In VR especially, we recommend starting the sound consultation in pre-production, so that we can offer advice and guide decisions for the best quality product.

What question should clients ask before embarking on VR?
They should ask what they want the viewer to get out of the experience. In VR, no two people are going to walk away with the same viewing experience. We recommend staying focused on the major points that they would like the viewer to walk away with. They should then expand that to answer: What do I have to do in VR to drive that point home, not only mentally, but drawing their gaze for visual support? Based on the genre of the project, considerations should be made to “physically” pull the audience in the direction to tell the story best. It could be through visual stepping stones, narration or audio pre-cues, etc.

What tools are you using on VR projects?
Because this is a nascent field, new tools are becoming available by the day, and we assess and use the best option for achieving the highest quality. To properly address this question, we ask: Where is your project going to be viewed? If the content is going to be distributed via a general Web streaming site, then it will need to be delivered in that audio file format.

There are numerous companies writing plug-ins that are quite good to deliver these formats. If you will be delivering to a Dolby VR (object-based preparatory format) supported site, such as Jaunt, then you will need to generate the proper audio file for that platform. Facebook (higher order ambisonics) requires even a different format. We are currently working in all these formats, as well as working closely with leaders in VR sound to create and test new workflows and guide developments in this new frontier.

What’s the one thing you think everyone should know about working and viewing VR?
As we go through life, we each have our own experiences or what we choose to experience. Our frame of reference directs our focus on things that are most interesting to us. Putting on VR goggles, the individual becomes the director. The wonderful thing about VR is now you can take that individual anywhere they want to go… both in this world and out of it. Directors and producers should think about how much can be packed into a story to draw people into the endless ways they perceive their world.