Chris' career started in 2002 in Australia where he shadowed veteran sound supervisor & re-recording mixer, Roger Savage, on films like House of Flying Daggers and Jet Li's Hero, at the premiere post facility in Melbourne: Soundfirm. He worked his way up for 20 years there making a name for himself on films like Ethan Hawke's Predestination, China's Mega-blockbuster Red Cliff, even working on James Cameron's Deepsea Challenge 3D. 

​​

Since his move to the states he's worked on Russo Brother's The Gray Man, Slamdance Audience Award Winner The Civil Dead, and Netflix' Extraction II.

 

He won't ever brag but he's won 2 MPSE Golden Reel awards, one AACTA award, and 9 Australian Screen Sound Guild awards. ​​​

​

​Chris is much more interested in talking about your movie but here's a little more about him:

​​

Q/A

​​

What drew you to sound? Was it a specific moment, a movie?

 

I was always a sound nerd. Tinkering with gear, building my own speakers (growing up, we could never afford the good stuff), and specifically seeking out movies at local Dolby/DTS cinemas. 

 

I was always interested in how the quality/experience could be better. In mid-90s Australia, sound experiences at home were either low-fi or computer bleeps and bloops. Laserdisc players were very rare, but I saved up my money to buy one second hand. They had the best sound reproduction until DVD arrived.

 

Looking back, I was obsessed with sound but I didn’t realize it; in pre-internet high school I researched how Dolby Pro Logic worked and wired my parent's regular (non-surround) home stereo to have a surround speaker. I dragged my family across town to see Jurassic Park when it opened in the new and only digital sound cinema in Melbourne. Seeing that film on the big screen in digital sound as a young teen - It was life changing. 

​

​

 

How did you get your education and experience?

 

I was always interested in music, but not necessarily as a musician. I played in bands but more enjoyed listening to thematic music with lots of layers and textures. My close cousin had a band and needed a good recording engineer. He convinced me to take a sound recording and production course at RMIT in Melbourne. 

 

I completed the course primarily to learn about music recording & mixing. The course included film sound post production. I didn’t even know what a dub stage was, but the moment I stepped foot in one I was hooked. 

 

My education began in earnest when I started working full time at Soundfirm Melbourne. Under the deft ear of Roger Savage and his world class team, I learnt not only the fundamentals of the craft, but all the soft skills needed to become a true professional in the field. I enjoyed 20 years of working there before deciding to make the big move from Australia to the USA. 

 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

What's your favorite show you worked on or moment while mixing?

 

I have had the privilege of working with so many talented directors on hundreds of amazing projects. In addition to film makers, I’ve also been fortunate enough to work with some top tier sound teams. 

 

A favorite for the sci-fi fan in me was Predestination.The basic set piece of the film is a conversation in a bar, but it’s so much more! The sound had to be grounded yet fantastical. The film’s story spans many decades. It was really fun to create the world and build the story in both dramatic and subtle ways. In particular, there's a scene where Sarah Snook’s character has a conversation with a younger version of themself after undergoing gender transition. Sarah did an amazing job on the day with her performance, and we helped it along in the mix with very subtle pitch bending (up for the feminine lines, down for the masculine). Not an overall pitch change, but riding the pitch depending on the word/syllable. The end result was great, and you really got a sense of two different people having a conversation. 

​​

​​​

​​​

What is your key focus and why are you so passionate about it?

​

Mixing. I love everything about it. Technical, creative & collaborative, guiding and refining the soundtrack with the director as they experience the finished film for the first time. 

 

The mixing process is extremely subjective. A simple fader move on the music while ducking the FX or adding reverb to a passage of dialogue can shift emotion and focus, create tension or punctuate a story point. There are infinite shapes the mix can take, depending on so many factors. 

 

Every film maker I work with offers a fresh perspective, folding into my ever-evolving creative toolset.  

​​

​

 

If you could be any character in any movie who would you be? Quick. Go!

 

Yikes! Um, maybe Ripley from Alien. She loves pets, dislikes large murderous bugs (I'm from Australia), always knows what’s best for the team and has a complex relationship with technology.