ATLANTA, GA — Sitting motionless at his cart as the first AD's call for quiet finally took hold across the soundstage, production sound mixer Greg Tolliver confirmed Tuesday that he had, for the first time in 22 years, heard his own thoughts, and that he would like the noise back immediately. "There's usually a genny running, a grip dragging a stinger, somebody eating chips by the monitor, and then you're rolling and it's just the scene," said Tolliver, who reportedly received the full silence he had requested on 41 consecutive setups and never once expected it to happen. "Instead there was nothing. No HVAC. No walkie chatter. And then I heard a voice, and it was me, asking why I'm 51 and still sleeping in a Holiday Inn Express in Peachtree Corners, and whether my daughter has stopped mentioning me to her friends. I asked for room tone just to make it stop, and the room had none. It was that quiet." Tolliver added that he had since asked the boom operator to leave his headphones half-off and had begun quietly running the audio of a lawn mower under every take. At press time, the first AD had called quiet on set again and Tolliver was reportedly heard, over the open channel, asking if anyone had a leaf blower.
Back to the front pageSound Mixer Calls For Quiet On Set, Finally Hears Own Thoughts, Would Like Noise Back
After experiencing unprecedented total silence on an Atlanta soundstage, a veteran production sound mixer immediately regretted being left alone with his own existential dread.
