Gregg Rudloff
Re-Recording Mixer
November 2, 1955 – January 6, 2019
Gregg Rudloff was a true friend and colleague of both Local 700 and me personally. He cut a wide path through post-production, working with many people. Everywhere he went, he made friends.
While working at Compact Video (1982-1986), Gregg first partnered with mixers John Reitz and Dave Campbell, first as their recordist and then in 1983 as their effects mixer. Early on, they worked on classics such as Risky Business (1983). Not too shabby a start for a career that would span decades!
Over a short time, Gregg came to be the voice for this team. And they were a team like no other, together for some 24 years. After Compact Video, the team spent time at several other facilities: Lionsgate, Disney and finally Warner Bros. After 2007, Dave retired and John and Gregg continued as a two-man team for a total of 35 years together. In 2015, Gregg made the move to Technicolor and was partnered with Scott Millan, CAS.
On my first day as chief engineer at Warner, the first place I went was Dub Stage 1 where I met John, Dave and Gregg. It was clear that Gregg cared deeply about the quality of the final product and the client’s experience. We shared that and immediately connected. He loved being creative, interacting with clients, and doing the highest-quality work. And he was really good at it. We started a journey together that would last 23 years!
In 1995, we were dealing with the early days of digital technology, when a lot could go wrong, so there was much planning and discussion around any change that we made. Gregg was always my main sounding board for these changes. He was able to anticipate what might happen on the dub stage. Together, with the rest of our team, we broke in some amazing technology, including the first digital film consoles put into regular use at a post facility.
But technology was just the tool that brought us together. Gregg was all about the creative process of film sound. He loved talking about it and explaining our craft to others, speaking thoughtfully, with grace. He was able to navigate the difficult waters that sometimes are part of the job; we worked with some big filmmakers with big personalities! Through those times, he always supported me personally and, above all, the crew and what was best for the film at hand. I sensed he got the greatest satisfaction from the process of working as a team.
His work ethic served him well: Seven Oscar nominations for Sound or Sound Mixing and three wins (Glory, 1989; The Matrix, 1999; Mad Max: Fury Road, 2015). He also earned nominations and wins from the Television Academy, BAFTA, CAS, MPSE and others. He worked with some of the most prolific filmmakers in the business.
Gregg also was a longtime Board member of Local 700 and served on the Sound Branch of the Film Academy, where he had an uncanny knack for remembering the branch history and the decisions we had made. I could always count on him to remind me of the important history of an issue being discussed. He played a large part in shaping what the Sound Branch is today.
Work was the vehicle that put us in the same place at the same time, but once there, the personal side of Gregg became far more significant. He connected with people and he remembered things. We would always talk about our families first.
In the end, the real worth of a life can be found not in one’s work, but in the people one touched along the way. We were all blessed and our lives were increased by the way he treated us. His kindness, his warmth, the twinkle in his eye… Gregg gave so much of himself to others.
I believe there is more to life than just what we experience here in this space and time. And I believe we will see him again. He’s probably with his father Tex right now, talking about good times. Until we meet again, my prayer for you, Gregg, my brother, is that you are at peace.
Kevin Collier
