THE SOUND MIXERS

Perhaps the fourth time will be the charm for the sound mixing team of Anna Behlmer and Andy Nelson, nominated for their work on Terrence Malick’s “The Thin Red Line.” Nelson is also up this year for “Saving Private Ryan.”

Behlmer, who is the first and only woman to be nominated in this category, began working in film vaults, working her way up to a loader and recordist. Her first film as a mixer was “Married to It.”

The British-born Nelson got his start at the BBC and began mixing films for Nicolas Roeg and Ken Russell. His big break was doing Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket.”

Behlmer and Nelson share their nomination with Paul Brincat, who was the production mixer.

Describe your jobs

Nelson: I deal with the dialogue and music. My first job is to go through all the dialogue tracks and clean them up and make them as clear and audible as possible. Then I spend time sorting out the music. At the point we introduce the music and the dialogue and the sound effects together, that is really the final take.

Behlmer: I deal with effects. I go through the long process of pre-dubbing, which is basically taking the material that the editors have provided and assembling them into some usable form. [The sound editor] would come in with 48 tracks of birds and bugs and sounds like that. I would put birds on one group of pre-dubs and bugs on another group of pre-dubs in case someone says, “I hate that bird,” I wouldn’t have to lose the bugs. I would separate the American guns from the Japanese guns and those would be on separate tracks, and I would separate background guns from foreground guns.

How did you become involved in this movie?

Behlmer: Our association came with Billy Weber, who is the picture editor. He and Terry had worked together before, and Terry had been so out of touch with the industry for so long, he pretty much depended on Billy to put together the sound team.

Nelson: I was involved pretty early on in the film. Terry Malick and I would go into the cutting room quite often, a long time before we started to do the sound mix, just so I could see the film with him and get used to his style. I loved being included quite early because it allowed me to get inside his head from a very early point.

What scene best demonstrates what you do?

Behlmer: I really like the taking of the stronghold. There are all the American guns and Japanese guns and various explosions. It is a good action sequence. It sounds great.

Nelson: I don’t have any particular scene. I love the opening of the movie. It starts off with a couple of soldiers who are on an island. They are basically just living with the island people, and then suddenly you are thrown into a mad sort of chaos. What we were able to do with the sound is to give it this sense of tranquillity and beauty and able to force it quickly into the horrors of the approaching war.

What was the biggest challenge?

Nelson: To bring to life what Terrence had hoped would come to life. He is such a wonderful man and such a great director to work with. He would talk in metaphors and explain things so that you really could understand what he meant, but it wouldn’t necessarily be in a physical way. It would be more of a spiritual sense. Then it was really up to us to try and turn that into something we could present on the screen. The soundtrack had to have this overflowing feel, plus I think there were times when it had to have a trance-like quality. There were times when you were almost hypnotized by the sound.

Behlmer: I think [the challenge] was just staying on top of the changes. It was a challenge for the editors and for us. We would be mixing a reel and Billy or Terry would say, “Well, don’t spend too much time on this sequence because it’s out.”

What is your most favorite part of the job? Your least favorite?

Behlmer: My favorite part is the collaboration and interaction with everybody. When you work on a big project like this and when you are all there seven days a week, 15 hours a day, you are all eating dinner together--the camaraderie is so great that it’s fun.

My least favorite is obviously the long hours. But I really love what I do. Sometimes I guess it can be really stressful, but even then everybody kind of gets off on a little stress. It kind of brings out the best in you.

Nelson: My favorite part is working with the director. When I sit next to the director and we discuss the scene and I put it all together for them. It is that tight collaboration that is wonderful about the job.

My least favorite is that the schedules are pretty tight. The budgets on these movies are big, and the pressure to get things finished in a timely fashion and delivered out to the cinemas is intense at times. But I wouldn’t swap it for anything.

Whom would you call your role model or inspiration?

Behlmer: Yes, I worked for a mixer, Gary Bourgeois. I worked for him as a recordist for about six years and he encouraged me. He went to management for me. There aren’t many women doing this. It’s a tough opportunity to get, and I don’t know how many women want it because of the hours. It’s hard for anybody to break into this kind of work. It’s about getting chances, and about people giving you chances.

What will an Oscar mean for your career?

Behlmer: The nomination means just as much to your career, the fact that you are not just a flash in the pan. It’s a sign of consistency, the consistent quality of your work.

What is your next project together?

Nelson: “Angela’s Ashes” for Alan Parker.