In this report Playback looks at the state of the union for editors, getting the opinion of tried and true talent on creativity, technology and where do they go from here? (See story this page.) We also talked to a couple of the growing shops, Productions Modulations (below) and Solar Audio (p. 32) to see how they’re functioning in a growing and changing field. And last but not least, we profile three up-and-comers who are making names for themselves early in the game. (See pages 24, 25 and 28.)

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With talent and the enviable position of working with a widely recognized name in sound, Dave McCallum has been able to apply the best of both the worlds of Canadian and u.s.-based filmmaking to a burgeoning career.

McCallum has been working at Jane Tattersall Sound in Toronto for three years, bringing a film background, traditional editing experience and a desire to grow with the Canadian film market to the job of sound effects editor.

During his academic career studying film at Queen’s University, McCallum earned his earliest editing credits on student- and professor-directed short films and a feature-length documentary. The initial projects provided the basics; editing for picture and sound was done on a Steenbeck and a Moviola bench.

After graduation, a now sound-centered McCallum was accepted into the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television’s apprenticeship program which he parlayed into a gig with Tattersall. McCallum had sought out sound diva Jane Tattersall, who at the time was working on a Rhombus Media performance special which lacked the budget for an assistant.

He was brought on to the project, the award-winning September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill, and spent the rest of his apprenticeship – and his career to date – with Tattersall.

McCallum says the facility has offered an array of opportunities for the budding sound editor. ‘I’m pretty committed to developing my career in this environment,’ he says. ‘Jane has a strong background in feature film, and that’s where my main interests lie.’

McCallum’s first feature as a sound effects editor was Clement Virgo’s Rude, and he cites Tattersall’s strong connections to the Canadian and u.s. film industries as having provided experience on projects of widely varying type and scope. While ultimately the job is the same, the process involved for u.s. versus Canadian films is often quite different, says McCallum.

‘Working on Canadian films can be a bit more intimate, you get to have direct contact with the director,’ he says. ‘I’ve had the opportunity to sit in the edit room with people like Clement Virgo and John Fawcett and you’re able to develop a rapport. It’s more low key and there is more of an auteur approach taken by the director.’

The (typically higher budget) u.s. films can be more constrained with less direct feedback, but the ability to do both is key, McCallum says.

Of late, McCallum has been working on A Cool Dry Place from 20th Century Fox, which has entailed recording the sounds of an old bmw and a trip to Kansas where the film is set to record atmosphere sounds and sound effects specific to the area. ‘It’s a matter of trying to be creative and add to a film in ways that might not be expected,’ he says.

Recalling another project, Rhombus’ War Symphonies, directed by Larry Weinstein, McCallum says he, Tattersall and sound mixer Lou Solakofski traveled to Holland to mix the film for which he had done sound effects and dialogue editing.

McCallum cites the growth of Tattersall’s company from one to about 12 people as an additional contributor to his success. ‘The company has grown, which has added to the creative environment. Working with people who have different approaches is a great way to learn and lets you explore different things creatively.’

Tattersall says in seeking new sound talent to help handle the volume of work coming through the shop, a work ethic, a real interest in sound and, while not necessarily encyclopedic knowledge of the specialized systems used at the shop, some degree of computer literacy are desired characteristics. She says sound experience is a plus, but it sometimes comes with an attitude; an overestimation of one’s relative skills.

In McCallum’s case, a film editing background augments his skills on the shop’s Pro Tools and Waveframe systems.

Tattersall says traditional film experience can be helpful. ‘There are significant things that can slip through the cracks if you only have digital experience,’ she says. ‘It’s easy to learn how to do the job and become a sound designer with a computer but, in fact, you need some grounding.’

McCallum says he is committed to a career in sound and in Canada. Continuing to accumulate experience as a sound effects editor, he is aiming at becoming a supervising sound editor with a focus on sound effects editing and recording.

‘I’m committed to try and stay in Toronto,’ says McCallum. ‘There are a lot of opportunities in the u.s., but my goals involve being a supervising sound editor who works for a director. I think having the chance to work with directors here in Canada is a real bonus.’

‘It’s a longer term outlook to stay in Canada but I think the industry has grown, even over the course of my three years in it, in a significant way. I don’t see any need to move to l.a.’