By Kristin Marguerite Doidge
Emmy-nominated Re-recording Mixers Penny Harold and Andy Lange are coming off their most creatively challenging and rewarding project of their careers: the second and final season of “Arcane,” a groundbreaking adult animated steampunk action–adventure television series from Netflix, set in Riot Games’ “League of Legends” universe.
With a show as massive as “Arcane,” Harold and Lange knew how important it was for all of the numerous sound elements to come together clearly and coherently—balancing the bombastic soundtrack with important dialogue—to ensure everything could be heard effectively. They previously worked together on other critically-acclaimed shows, such as “Beef” and “Only Murders in the Building,” but said their non-animation background was actually seen as an asset by the show’s developers, who were seeking a team that could handle the show’s complex and immersive sound design—including intense battle sequences and high-energy songs–-in order for it to be enjoyed by a younger audience and potentially, on smaller screens, such as iPhones.
Originally from Shreveport, La., Harold’s passion for sound was inspired early on by her father’s experiments with early home recording technology. Though a talented singer, her stage fright led her to explore recording and post-production instead. For Lange, who hails from East Grand Rapids, Mich., his love of singing, songwriting, movies, and guitar led him to pursue audio and video production in college.
CineMontage recently caught up with the LA-based duo to discuss what they’ll take away from their work on “Arcane,” how to break old habits from their two decades of work in sound, and their advice for aspiring sound mixers.
CineMontage: How did each of you get started in sound mixing?
Harold: I started at a smaller post house where I got to do a lot of different jobs as I came up through the ranks, which was a really amazing experience. I eventually found my way as a sound supervisor–I did that for nearly 10 years. I think I realized as a supervisor just how much the mix really affects the final product, and sitting there watching these legendary mixers, all I could think was, “I want to do that.”
Lange: I think like many in the audio world, Penny and I are both musicians. I grew up loving movies and music, and that kind of led me to study audio and video production at Michigan State University. I had an amazing professor there, Gary Reid, and he encouraged me, saying, “Maybe you should go to LA and hang with some of my former students who are now successful in the industry.” And so I took the bait and made the big move, and through those connections, I landed my first gig at a smaller production company where I got to try every job in the process.
Ultimately, I landed on mixing because of how much sound and music affect me when I’m watching something. I think there’s something very special about how audio and music hit our ears, and I think that’s universal for everyone, no matter where you’re from or what language you speak. As mixers, we’re that last step in the process where we really get to shape the delivery of the content.
CineMontage: How do you manage the workflow when working as a team?
Harold: We’ve worked together for about five, almost six years now, and we’ve always collaborated really well. For our workflow, it depends on the show. Typically, we work offline from each other and each pre-dub, we work individually at the same time. Neither of us work in headphones. And then I hold off on music, he holds off on Foley, and eventually we link up, and that’s where we put it all together.
Lange: Penny mixes all the dialogue, loop group, and music, and I mix the sound effects, backgrounds, and Foley. So we each have our stuff that we’re managing, but we’re sitting next to each other, and we go through the scenes together. There are no egos here. We’re definitely very open, and we’ll ask each other what the other person thinks, and give each other advice and suggestions. That’s just part of the process: everybody in the room with the sound supervisor and team trying to make the best thing together.
CineMontage: Tell us how your recent project, “Arcane,” came about? Have you done anime or animation before?
Harold: This was our first time. For “Arcane,” actually, they were specifically looking for non-animation mixers because I think they wanted a team that could do things on a broadcast timeline—so more quickly—but also a team who could handle feature-level detail. “Arcane” is different from any animated series out there. It was pretty groundbreaking, and so the goal was never to make a cartoon, the goal was always to tell a story and make it as cool and immersive as possible. What we brought to it, honestly, was an openness and willingness to explore and experiment with different ideas, because the team was always wanting to try and break rules and break habits.
CineMontage: What did that mean for you exactly?
Lange: “Arcane” was Riot Games’ first time making a TV show, and their vision was, as Penny said, to break all the rules and shatter expectations of what you would normally see in another animated series. And so for better or worse, they didn’t really know necessarily what the normal processes and workflows are; they just knew they wanted to make something very exciting and unique. So for us, I think, what we’ll take away from it, is that mindset of being open to also divert from our normal mixing processes, trying new workflows and seeing where creativity can lead.
CineMontage: What else about this particular show will you take with you on other projects?
Harold: There’s a battle sequence in the finale that’s almost a quarter of the episode, and it was probably one of the times where mine and Andy’s experience mixing together really gave us an advantage. It’s so important to have somebody next to you to shoot ideas off of that you have a certain rapport and familiarity with. It’s a show where if you’re not careful, it gets very sonically crowded very quickly. And so, moment to moment, you’re picking what the main player is…and we were doing that every five or 10 seconds of the program. Our process was very surgical. There are moments like that on every show. It’s just that “Arcane” was so jam-packed full of stuff.
Lange: There’s so much great music in this season, and many of the battle scenes happen during big needle drop songs, so for me, as the sound effects mixer, that was always my big challenge—finding the right level for the sound effects so that we’re feeling it, but we’re not stepping on the song. There’s one moment that comes to mind in the finale, where Jinx makes her big entrance in her airship, but right then, this huge needle drop song starts—“Come Play” by Stray Kids—and Jinx is immediately dropping all these bombs on the city below. I didn’t want to step on the lyrics of the song, so we’re just trying to feel those impacts without taking away from the song, and then later, when there’s a break in the lyrics, that’s where the sound effects can come up and have their moment.
CineMontage: With all of your success on numerous acclaimed shows, what advice would you give to an aspiring sound mixer?
Harold: Attitude’s important. You always have to have a willingness to adapt, and yes, it is a challenge to work with somebody whose instincts may not align with yours, but it’s also not impossible. You have to move your needle closer to theirs. When I was coming up, I worked with so many people who have been doing this forever, and I would just look at how easy it came to them, and I was like, “God, when is that going to happen for me?” I wanted to come to the storytelling solutions they did as naturally as they did, and I didn’t realize it just takes time. The speed and the natural decision-making comes, but you have to experiment, and you have to play, and you have to stick with it.
Lange: Don’t be afraid to reach out to your peers to network and seek out mentors. This industry is very tough, so don’t try to go it alone. Mixers love nerding out about sound, so you’d be surprised how willing someone who might not seem approachable would actually love to share their knowledge. I also think your career is only part of who you are. Just remind yourself to have fun every day and create a great environment for your clients and your crew.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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