It’s hard to imagine NBC’s The Office started taping its 8th season this month. I still remember the “discussions” I would get into with my friends about which version (US/British) of the show was better. (Hands down NBC’s.) But after seven entertaining seasons, production sound mixer, Ben Patrick, CAS, is still happily working on set and took the time out of his day to talk about the show’s latest changes and his Emmy nomination:
S&P: This is your 5th Emmy nom in a row. Unfortunately, you have not been able to bring a statue home the previous 4 years. Which re-recording mixer do you blame it on?
PATRICK: (laughs) None of them. John and Peter are both amazing guys. Every year, I am a little bit more in awe of what they do and it’s great they’re part of our team.
S&P: In all seriousness though, how does it feel to be part of this group again?
PATRICK: It’s something you can’t ever expect. If you ever felt you were owed something, award season is not the time to have that feeling. I’m totally thrilled to be acknowledged five years in a row, and if that’s all it’s meant to be, I’m pretty content with that. It’s just great to be part of everything. The other nominated mixers are really good. Really good. People say, “I respect my colleagues.” But it’s true. I know all these guys or know of them and I respect them quite a bit.
S&P: Since we dropped by last time, has anything about your mix changed?
PATRICK: I got a cool new piece of gear from Network Sound. I’m still on the Deva 16 and Mix 12, but Mark Ulano’s rig gave me the idea to set up one of those digital snakes. Network Sound put together a 16 input/16 output digital Cat 5 snake that can run up to 400 feet away from my cart. It’s pretty fantastic. It runs on 12 volts and I have a computer set up so I can monitor the Lectros on my cart. This way instead of lugging the entire cart up stairs, I have this rack mount that has all my Comteks and wireless are on which is a lot more mobile than my cart will ever be. I can’t wait to see if it’ll catch on with other sound people.
S&P: Are Brian and Nick back? (Brian Wittle, boom – Nick Carbone, 2nd boom/utility)
PATRICK: Yes, definitely. Brian had a baby this summer, but we are all back for another go around.
S&P: This is your 8th season, but the first without Steve Carell. Has the dynamic changed on set?
PATRICK: Well, sure. It definitely has, but not in a bad way at all. Everyone over the summer was wondering who was going to replace Steve. It’s the best kept secret at work right now, ‘cause I don’t even know. The writers have kept it so close to them, even the cast doesn’t know. Kathy Bates’s character has been replaced by James Spader, who has been unbelievably funny. He really adds an interesting element to the show. The producers managed to bring new life into the show and hopefully our fans see it as a good thing. It’ll be a fun season of surprises for us.
SP: What did you end up doing for your summer?
PATRICK: Worked. (laughs) We ended up doing another Carell movie called, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. It’s nice we have this relationship with Steve. He trusts us, we trust him, and it seems to work out where our schedules match up to do more projects with one another.
S&P: If someone tried to sit in to do your mix for a day, what would you say is the hardest thing about your job?
PATRICK: The biggest learning curve would be how we go about shooting the show. Even though we are not adhering to the documentary style of shooting, we are trying to sully the sound a little bit while we work. We still have to make our normal production things happen, but we try to create a sound to match the style of the show — we’re not just recording clean audio tracks. The balance of those two things is the trickiest part.
S&P: After this many seasons, the crew has to be a pretty well-oiled group.
PATRICK: Well, we kinda were since day one. Sometimes you’re at the mercy of the camera department when you’re on a show, but I really think because our guys came from Survivor and Eco-Challenge, it made things gel so much quicker. I mean, when they were on those shows, they were so reliant on their sound guys. They were attached to each other all the time. When they came to The Office, they carried that same mentality with me and my boom operators, which helps make things come together. It’s not just with the camera department either. Our gaffer and key grip are extremely helpful. If they catch a boom shadow in the DI, they don’t come to me and say, “What are you going to do about that?” They go in, make adjustments and ask my boom op if the adjustments are okay. It’s never finger pointing and it’s fantastic to be part of a crew like that.
S&P: If you were to pick a character past or present from The Office that represents your personality, who would it be?
PATRICK: It would have to be a mix. I would say on the reasonable side, it would be Jim. But the spirit behind it is definitely Dwight with a fair amount of Darryl from time to time.
S&P: If there was a fire and you had only one piece of gear to save on your cart, what would it be?
PATRICK: Is it insured?
S&P: (laughs) Let’s say none of it is insured.
PATRICK: I guess… the Zaxcom… Deva… 16.
S&P: You were pretty reluctant to say that.
PATRICK: Yeah, it’s just so hard to pick. I love my Sound Devices, too.
S&P: What’s your savior piece of gear on The Office?
PATRICK: Hands down the Schoeps CMIT-5u. It’s a great microphone.
S&P: If your name was called at this year’s Emmys, who would you thank first?
PATRICK: Oh, man. My team. Brian and Nick. Then my key grip and camera department. The lighting guys. They’d probably be standing with me, but I’d have to thank John and Peter. Those guys are great. Even in last episode of season seven, if you ever listened to the show cranked up on a big surround system, you’ll hear their work. They’re trying all kinds of crazy stuff in the layers. I have so much admiration for them. Our sound editor, Bob Mackston… Everyone. It’s just been such a dream job for me.
S&P: What keeps you going back?
PATRICK: At this point, it’s the crew. I’m so glad the show challenges me every day. If it didn’t, I would have lost interest years ago. But the people are great. We’re a family and I like everyone — not some kind of Hollywood ‘good for you’ kind of way — I genuinely like these people and I think they are really good at what they do.
S&P would like to thank Ben for taking the time out of his day to let us behind the scenes of The Office. The eighth season starts airing on NBC this fall. You can catch the Primetime Emmys September 18th and the Creative Arts Award show September 10th.