Client profiles
• Air Studios
• Anvil Post
• David Bowie
• Chemical Brothers
• The Cure
• De Lane Lea
• Ray Gillon
• Goldcrest
• Mike Higham
• Kipper/Sting
• Liondubbs Studio
• Massive Attack
• Owlspace Studios
• Pinewood
• Playstation Studios
• The Sanctuary
• Shepperton Studios
• VTR North
Cold Mountain feature
• Feature index
Ray Gillon refers to "picking up languages" on his travels, as if the process were as painless as picking up a couple of airline tickets. For Gillon, this genuinely seems to be the case, which helps to explain how he came to work as a dubbing supervisor, specialising in foreign language dubs.
"I am fortunate enough to be, I believe, the only freelance Brit re-recording mixer constantly mixing films abroad," Gillon offers. "In fact, I have never mixed in the UK, apart from my own studio, where I premix lots of stuff.
"I have been nominated, for example, four times in the last five years for a Spanish Goya (their Academy and Arts and Science's award), for best sound," says Gillon. "I mix in Germany, Turkey and a number of other places on the best consoles, AMS Neve DFC, Libra, Logic 2, SSL Avant, Omnimix and 9000, Harrison MPC and Series 12, which are
no longer the preserve of the English speaking world."
It was while working for Dolby, "probably the best sound university in the world", that Gillon found himself in regular contact with dubbing theatres across the globe. "I found myself being asked to mix stuff as a favour, and supervise dubbed versions of movies, for which I would take time off as holidays from my erstwhile employer," Gillon recalls. Even in this part-time role, he worked on versions of Jurassic Park, so it was perhaps inevitable that he would set up his own company and work on films full-time.
Then there was Audio Suite "for pitching, stretching and shrinking words, or even, to syllable level, to lip sync accurately takes that might have great and possibly unrepeatable interpretations". He adds: "It is now the de facto standard for Warner Brothers stuff operated from London, and has been used on the last two films for Universal that I have been involved in; The Grinch and ET 2002."
"We now deliver dialogues on CD-ROM from studios around the planet to studios in London," Gillon explains. "The projects are then loaded onto hard discs, and 'Showtime!' - Pro Tools is truly a new and accessible lingua franca for all, the easily-useable editing tools make it a boon," says Gillon.
"Pro Tools' ability to integrate with picture makes it a powerful but economic investment for all studios," Gillon believes. "It is a responsibility to not force the studios we work with into bankruptcy, especially if you like the work they do. You would like them to be there in five, or ten years time."
A name that keeps cropping up in the context of Pro Tools is GearBox. "I am eternally grateful to GearBox, for always being there with the right kit, at the right price at the right time," says Gillon. "They have just supplied Anvil with a couple for ET 2002, which will help me sleep more nights, and twelve to Pinewood / Shepperton studios. All of our Harry Potter mixes that took place in the capable hands of John Hayward in Pinewood's Theatre 1, edited by the brilliant Oliver Tarney were sourced from Gearbox. John is in love with Pro Tools, as were we with the results that Oliver achieved."
By strange coincidence, Oliver is the son of producer Alan Tarney, who lent the young Gillon a guitar and kindled his original interest in music and recording. But then, it's always a small world where Gillon is concerned.
For further information please visit:
Warner Brothers Movies
United International Pictures