DREW KUNIN - Production Sound Mixer

Team Deakins

James Ellis Deakins

Tv & Film, Film Interviews

4.9 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2026

⏱️ 78 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 196 Drew Kunin - Production Sound Mixer

In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with production sound mixer Drew Kunin (DISCLOSURE DAY; HER; CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON). Throughout the episode, Drew helps us understand how a production sound mixer might do his or her job in a number of different circumstances, drawing on experiences ranging from building a recording booth on wheels for HER to mixing CROUCHING TIGER phonetically using a pinyin script. Drew also describes the type of equipment he might use in certain situations, and he reflects on the changes in technology and in technique he's witnessed since he started his career. He later shares his approach to mixing tracks on set, and we discuss how his mixes can influence what happens in post. Drew also recounts his experience of being one of two Americans on the crew of CROUCHING TIGER in China, and he gives us a quick demonstration on the difference between Mandarin and Cantonese. We worked with Drew on THE GOLDFINCH and THE SECRET GARDEN, and we had a great time catching up with him.

This episode is sponsored by Aputure

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi and welcome to Season 2 of the Team Deacons podcast,
0:07.0	a collection of informal conversations between Roger and James Deacons and a guest.
0:13.0	We never know where the conversation will take us, so listen in and see where it goes.
0:21.9	This episode is sponsored by Aperture and its new Storm XT-52, the industry's most
0:29.5	powerful LED point source light. Brighter than a 6K HMI and powered by Aperture's revolutionary
0:36.8	Blair light engine, the Storm XT-52 is both a tunable
0:41.9	white light and also the brightest ever adjustable color LED. Storm XT-52, unrivaled output,
0:51.5	only from aperture.
0:55.9	Today we're speaking with an onset mixer.
0:59.2	His credits are many and include Zodiac, Life of Pie, and The Whale.
1:04.8	We're pleased to welcome Drew Kuhnan.
1:07.8	Drew.
1:08.4	Hey, Drew.
1:09.5	Thank you for doing this. Hi, Roger.
1:11.6	Hi, James.
1:12.6	Nice to see you guys too.
1:13.6	We'd love to start with our first question, which is, how did you get to where you are today?
1:19.6	Were you a kid that was hearing sounds that no one else could hear?
1:23.6	How did you get to where you are?
1:25.6	I don't know.
1:26.6	I was certainly not, I didn't think of myself as particularly audiophile as a kid.
1:33.3	I didn't know that I grew up in Minnesota.
	...

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