| I'm amazed at the number of people I have worked with who don't feel this way. They may not admit to it, but it's true. They think they are saving the director from themselves or else they just want to see their work stand out, even when it's inappropriate.
I don't want to single out editors, because I know mixers who have their own agendas too, but I often have effects editors come up to me during the mix and whisper in my ear asking me to do something that directly contradicts what the director wants. It might be sneaking an effect back into the mix that the director specifically said to lose, or to turn up effects after being asked to turn them down. Of course I tell them to go negotiate it with the director, though then they'll look at me like I'm a turncoat.
As far as mixers go, I worked with one that changed the mix after the director was gone in a way that was against the director's expressed wishes. And I have worked with one or two others who actually told the director that their taste was flat out wrong. You can guess how that went over.
Neither my partner nor I would ever even consider doing something like that. We might disagree with a director's approach, and offer carefully worded advice if appropriate, but we would never openly contradict a director. Even when you're asked to do something that is professionally embarrassing, which happens to me occasionally, there is generally a way to finesse it so it sort of works. Hopefully the next project will be more artistically satisfying, but meanwhile, just shut up and do your job.
This is why it bothers me when I hear people criticize mixers' work, even if the mix sucks. Sure, there are some mixers that are better than others, but it's highly unlikely you're going to survive as a mixer without a high degree of talent and professionalism. It's just too competitive for a hack to get very far, though it has been known to happen in rare circumstances. If something sounds wacky with the mix, my first instinct is to assume that the mixer was told to do it that way, because that's been my experience.
Being a person who has always been somewhat contemptuous of authority (I'm a child of the sixties after all), this all goes against my nature, but I've learned to separate my personal life from my professional life and have come to appreciate the necessity of showing due respect and subservience when expected. No need to lick boots or anything, but acknowledging the director's authority is important. The process of film making isn't democratic, after all, and it gets very expensive when too many people exert contradicting influences. To me the worst situation of all is when there is no single vision or strong authority leading the project. |