Audio Post — The Sonic Worlds
of Space Jam: A New Legacy

By Patrick Birk

This summer, Warner Bros. resurrected the beloved Space Jam franchise for the 21st century with the Malcolm D. Lee-directed Space Jam: A New Legacy. In addition to Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and other classic Looney Tunes characters, it stars LeBron James and Don Cheadle.

Set to release on Blu-ray and DVD next month, this Space Jam iteration tells the story of a fictionalized James, who is trying to rescue his son from the clutches of Cheadle’s Al G. Rhythm, the villain of Warner’s “Server-verse.” To do this, he must play a digitized game of basketball alongside the Looney Tunes gang.

Bringing this universe to life sonically was no small task, but veteran re-recording mixer Tim LeBlanc, who worked out of Warner Bros. Sound’s Stage 9, was up to it. We recently caught up with LeBlanc, whose past credits include Aquaman, Godzilla and The Tomorrow War. He walks us through his workflow on the film.

Space Jam moves between the real world, the game world and the cartoon world. How did the mix change from world to world?
We have LeBron’s home, and that’s mixed like a normal dialogue scene in a house. Then there’s the Server-verse, which is the Don Cheadle side of the wall. There are some pretty complex treatments to differentiate between worlds, especially when a new one is introduced. But some of that treatment dials back as you get into the new world.

Then there is the Looney Tunes world, where we first meet Bugs Bunny, and that has more of a traditional, cartoony, throwback, simple, comedic cartoon effect and treatment. But there are, of course, transitions between the two to make it all feel seamless.

Read More >

Goodbye Kansas on 180
VFX Shots for BBC’s Vigil

Xencelabs Introduces Small
and Portable Pro Tablet

Séamus MacCormaic Named EVP and MD of Streamland UK

Harbor LA Adds Zara Park as Director of Picture Post

Rideview Opens For Car Visualization Services

PXO London to Launch New Virtual Production Studio