SPS005: ADR Supervisor and Television Producer Bill Kerr

Introduction

This is Smartcast - the podcast that gives you a unique, behind the scenes look at the world of audio post production. Each week we will be bringing you in-depth conversations with the people responsible for creating the soundscapes of your favorite shows.

My name is Larry Benjamin and today I'm here with Bill Kerr.

Discussion

00:15

L: Bill you are a person that I've known for many years. I met you at Laser Pacific. I was in the tape vault, and was setting up your sessions. You are producer on Matlock..

B: Matlock, which was a long time ago.

L: Exactly, a Viacom show. So tell me about your background?  Your producing background - then we'll get into what you do now - and by the way Bill is the ADR supervisor on NCIS which is a show that's been running for… Let's see how many years… 13?

B: Yes,  we are just finishing season 13.

L: Isn't that unbelievable - that one show!

B: Unbelievable!

L: It's like a career! 

B: Well actually as an aside about that is, Matlock aired Tuesday night at 8 o'clock - which was nine years of my life. Then I worked on the series Jag - which was also Tuesday night at 8pm, that was another nine or 10 years of my life and now NCIS is Tuesday night at 8pm. So..

L: That seems to be the timeslot for your career.

B: I guess so.

L: So basically that show Jag, we'll talk about that - had a spinoff which was NCIS and that’s the show you are currently on. You and I actually collaborated together on Jag.

B: That's right we did.

L: Yes, right.

B: Yes, you were the mixer I was in for a while

L: That show ran for 10 years and I did last five

B: Right.

01:25

L: But let's get back to you producing - it was a Viacom show?

B: It was a Viacom show - back when Viacom was a standalone company not owned by others or in owning others' rights.

L: How did you get into producing and then we'll talk about the transition into audio later.

B: Well, you know the way most things I think happen out here is who you know. It was literally the apartment building I first moved into. I met a guy who's become a lifelong friend, and I actually through him - got into professional theater out here on the West Coast as a stage manager. And then also through him got into television post production.

L: You must've enjoyed producing when you got into it, and that was at a time when things were more analog. The technology.

B: It was a time, which you remember - when everything was just starting to go… video. 

L: Right.

B: So all shows still shot on film, which very few do now, and then they would get telecine'd, transferred to 1 inch tape at the times we did. Ah man we were really evolving the process back then. All this operating in the dark really, just trying to figure out what would work

02:52

Larry and Bill discuss the sound process.

03:39

L: How long did you have to mix the show?

05:14

L: How did you get from Producer of Matlock to ADR Supervisor?

06:06

Atmos mixing for TV becoming "the norm"

06:35

B: As the producer in charge of post...

07:23

B: On NCIS steady cam use is everyday.

09:30

Digital issues arising from lighting and other sources and how Bill approaches cleaning them up and dealing with them.

10:40

How the role as an audio supervisor has split apart and created new positions.

11:25

L: ADR Supervisor is a job where you're dealing with a large amount of ADR. 

Bill describes the position of ADR supervisor and all of the various roles during a spotting session.