That Time I Worked With Bette Midler
Audio mastering isn’t just about being an irreplaceable part of some of the greatest albums and meeting incredible recording artists. Sometimes you also get to ensure that major motion pictures come together as well. Audio mastering a voice like Bette Midler's is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Her voice has been heard on records, and classic movies for decades.
After winning an academy award for my work on Coda, I was hired as a playback operator for Hocus Pocus 2 (maybe you’ve heard of it). As the liaison between the music supervisor, the recording studios back in Hollywood, and the on-set talent. I had to quite literally be in the ear (via monitor) of Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy during their musical numbers. In an environment like this, with the budgets involved and with so many talented, powerful individuals looking on, one mistake can spell disaster for both the production and for your career. Needless to say, I kept my cool when I found out that there had been a line change in one of the musical numbers.
This meant re-recording the line. Simple enough. But in practical terms this means recording the line, mastering it, and seamlessly integrating it into the existing audio, all in a period of about 24 hours. While this wasn’t what I had been hired for, since I own a recording studio I had the equipment necessary to quickly set up a mobile recording studio to their specifications. Bette, consummate professional that she is, just knocked out the new recording and extra track in one go and that was what made it into both the movie and soundtrack. I’d like to think that she was as impressed by my mastering skills as I was of her. However, this was literally the day after she had received the presidential award in Washington DC so in terms of the interesting people she’d met that week I’m not sure where I ranked to be completely honest…
At the end of the day, mastering is all about quality control and whether I’m working on someone’s first album or on their 56th movie, there is no room for anything but perfection. I’d love to have a conversation with you about how I can help make your latest project a reality!