The Cinema Audio Society (CAS), together with the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) and Association of Motion Picture Sound (AMPS), is launching the next step in their Sound Credit Initiative.
The organizations behind the Sound Credit Initiative have been overwhelmed by the private emails supporting this initiative. They determined that an online petition where sound professionals, colleagues, and friends can show their support should be the next step in this recognition process.
CAS president Karol Urban explained, “From production through post-production, sound professionals contribute to creative storytelling and the elevation of the audience’s experience. This initiative allows filmmakers and studios to recognize their sound department’s importance in a film’s overall success.”
AMPS chair Rob Walker commented, “Sound teams create 50% of a movie and win awards for their creative contribution, but they are positioned far down the list of credits. This initiative is a move towards representative credits. It’s time to give fair credit where it is due”.
And MPSE president Mark Lanza added, “While there is a technical aspect to sound for film, the overwhelming majority of what sound people do is creative. Sound is visceral. It tells the audience where we are, focuses the audience on what we want them to feel, and leads them through an elaborate illusion. The people creating these works are amazing artists and should be addressed as such.”
The petition can be found here.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More