How the ‘Maestro’ Sound Team Used 22 Microphones to Capture the Party Scene
variety.comJazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Oscar-nominated sound mixer Steve Morrow has recorded quite a few party scenes in his career, in movies such as “Don’t Worry Darling,” “The Prom” and “Babylon.” When it came to Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro,” Morrow had to figure out how to capture the sound in a prominent party scene that takes place at the Bernstein family apartment in the Dakota Building in New York.
It’s a key moment that transitions the film from black and white to 1970s color, anchored by Carey Mulligan’s Felicia smoking a cigarette, staring out the window at Central Park while a bustling party surrounds her.
Morrow knew how the film would transition visually, but his team was tasked with capturing sound from both Felicia’s and Lenny’s (Cooper) circles. “We filmed it at the same time,” explains Morrow. “I’m listening to both parties happening and trying to understand who’s saying what and when.” The idea was influenced by a film he had previously worked on, Jason Reitman’s 2018 thriller “The Front Runner.” Cooper had seen the film, which also featured a busy party scene, and asked Morrow how he had pulled it off.
So Morrow mic’d everyone up and told them to talk. The idea was for the scene to feel like a real party. “If you don’t talk over the next person, you’re not going to hear yourself, and they can’t hear you,” says Morrow. “There are overlaps everywhere.
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