The Bear Sound Team: Unveiling the Untamed World of Shouting Matches and Family Dinners

Summary

The Bear has received 13 Emmy nominations for its first season in categories like Outstanding Lead Actor and Outstanding Comedy Series.

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The show effectively depicts the high-energy atmosphere of a busy restaurant kitchen and delves into themes of familial relationships, aspirations, and disappointment.

The creative team, including the sound department, plays a pivotal role in ensuring the show's triumph, capturing the frantic and genuine ambiance of the kitchen without compromising the clarity of the dialogue.

The first season of The Bear has received 13 Emmy nominations, encompassing categories such as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor, and Outstanding Comedy Series. Renowned and cursed by seasoned professionals in the food service industry, the show accurately portrays the fast-paced nature and vibe of a commercial kitchen while effectively exploring themes of family, expectations, and failure. Season 2 of The Bear builds upon the success of its predecessor, delving even deeper into the intricate lives of its characters.

Similar to a highly efficient kitchen, The Bear owes its triumph to the collective strength of its creative team. Notably, the show's sound team plays a crucial role in maintaining its quality. Steve "Major" Giammaria, the supervising sound editor and re-recording mixer, has secured two additional Emmy nominations for his exceptional work. Alongside Giammaria, Scott Smith, the production mixer, and Evan Benjamin, the dialogue editor, form integral parts of the team. All three have contributed their talents to both seasons of this highly acclaimed show, including the masterful episode of The Bear season 2, titled "Fishes".

Steve Giammaria, Scott Smith & Evan Benjamin Talk The Bear

Steve Giammaria, Scott Smith, and Evan Benjamin sat down for an interview with Screen Rant where they discussed the well-organized chaos of The Bear and the majority of their sound recording occurring on set. It should be noted that this conversation took place during the strikes by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), and the show being discussed would not have been possible without the contributions of writers and actors from both unions.

I have previous experience working in the restaurant industry, and my mother was a restaurant owner for a decade. The Bear impeccably portrays the atmosphere, and the team's commendable efforts in sound design truly immerse the audience in the kitchen. Did you face challenges in sourcing, preserving, or uncovering such authenticity?

Steve Giammaria: Chris (Storer), the showrunner, has a clear and detailed vision of how the show should look, sound, and feel. This vision is evident from the script stage, and even in post-production, it is always about making it "faster" and "louder." He provides specific instructions, like in the episode "Review" (season 1, episode 7), where he wanted more emphasis on the ticket printer. He even compared it to how chefs wake up in a panic about the ticket printer. I remember my brother-in-law, who owned a restaurant, saying he couldn't watch the show because of it. Scott, I'm curious to know how this translates to your experience on set.

Scott Smith: What you see on screen reflects the reality on set. Chris encourages us to keep things fresh and allows for a lot of improvisation from the actors. So, the chaos you witness is pretty much what we deal with on a daily basis. It can be challenging because we have a general idea of what will happen, but there are limited rehearsals. We are often surprised by different takes, and what occurs in take one may not be the same in take four. However, once we understand the key elements, we try to preserve them for post-production, although it doesn't always work out.

Steve Giammaria: Many of those things are already built-in. It's a functional kitchen; those are cooking utensils.

Evan Benjamin: The direction given by these individuals was, "They enjoy chaos." I believe Chris had visited enough restaurants before starting this project to know that chaos was the atmosphere he wanted to convey. The challenge is creating controlled chaos. It's like saying, "I want it to be chaotic, but only in specific areas. I don't want a loud pot clanging on the stove when someone's dialogue concludes at a particular point, as it would disrupt the intended atmosphere."

If the dialogue includes that, I have to do another take and search for any syllable that needs cleaning up or removing that pot using the various technology at our disposal. It's actually quite fun because we now have a lot of control, thanks to the crazy tools that keep getting more powerful every year. This control is especially great when it serves a purpose like this. They've provided us with all this material and, thanks to Scott, we have an abundance of excellent raw material. They use a multitude of microphones, so there's always something available from somebody's body microphone or one of the multiple booms that are often set up.

There are often eight or ten people in that kitchen, all yelling. We want them to all yell, although we don't always need to hear what they're saying. But sometimes we really do. Sometimes there's a guy in the back who simply shouts, "Yes, Chef," and we want to capture it right there. And we can.

I wanted to ask about that. Even with the background noise of chopping, pots and pans, and sizzling oil, I can still hear every word of dialogue. Are you adding a significant amount of recorded dialogue afterwards?

Steve Giammaria: In season one, there was very limited use of technical ADR. Some of it was due to time constraints and actor availability. The majority of it was because Scott and Evan did an exceptional job. When you have nine people shouting over each other, it's not feasible to do ADR successfully. You could attempt it, but it wouldn't be effective. It's like a delicate balance. If one person needs ADR, then six other people would also have to be ADR'd because they're all talking at the same time. It's crucial to capture the dialogue accurately on set.

In season two, there are noticeably more subtle, emotional moments, a wider variety of settings, and an abundance of external elements. Did you find it exciting to have these new experiences in this season?

Steve Giammaria: Overall, it was exciting. The first two episodes set the stage by transitioning from The Beef's bustling kitchen noises to the sounds of construction. With the foundation we established in season one and reinforced in the initial episodes of season two, the subsequent episodes in Copenhagen and Richie's episode in 207 feel significantly distinct. Moreover, when the family embarks on their journey back in time, each location feels familiar yet different, which is intentional. The quieter moments in Copenhagen allow Marcus to reflect on his pastries and other aspects of his life. By deviating from the established audio landscape of the show, these changes create a more impactful effect.

Across the two seasons is there a specific episode that was the most intensive or the hardest to work on? It seemed to me that “Fishes” might be the one.

Steve Giammaria: I have a different perspective compared to the others. The intense and chaotic scenes in locations like "Fishes" were not as difficult for me to mix because there were many opportunities to hide certain elements. Surprisingly, the quiet alley scene that followed was actually more challenging for me. Specifically, the quiet scene with Richie and Tiffany upstairs proved to be the most difficult in "Fishes" as they were not projecting their voices. This goes against expectations as the scenes filled with yelling and chaos were comparatively easier to mix. However, this is all thanks to the exceptional work of Scott and Evan.

Evan Benjamin: Editing that episode was the most daunting task I have ever faced. It presented numerous moments that made me think, "How am I going to transition from point A to point B?" Nevertheless, it is possible to overcome these challenges. Despite the abundance of raw material, careful consideration and problem-solving skills are required. It often feels like there is always a solution for each obstacle encountered.

In the first season, one thing that stood out to me was the challenging task of executing Carmy's lengthy soliloquy in the final episode. Despite the assumption that it would be simple, it proved to be quite difficult. Lasting for about seven or eight minutes, this scene required a single continuous shot. However, as the scene progressed and external distractions decreased, the focus on the character's words intensified. This soliloquy effectively encapsulated the entire season, prompting meticulous attention to even the tiniest of sounds. Although viewers may not be aware, I made several subtle edits that had a cumulative impact on the overall experience. In fact, I believe I made over 200 edits in total.

Evan Benjamin: Have you tallied the edits? I'm exhausted now. I need to rest.

Scott Smith: Many individuals believe, "Oh, just one person on camera. How challenging can it be?" However, the truth is, it's completely exposed at that moment. There's no other distraction to hide any minor flaws, any noise from clothing, or any offscreen noise.

Evan Benjamin: Another amusing aspect of the first season is when Carmy and Richie are seen quarreling over the balloon dummy. It's quite interesting to consider the limitations we face in capturing this scene. Since we are too far away to use a boom mic, we are forced to rely on their body mics. However, as they struggle with the dummy, it constantly bumps into their microphone, making it difficult to capture the conversation realistically. This unexpected challenge highlights how seemingly minor moments can turn out to be quite demanding.

Scott, you mentioned that there was improvisation happening on set. How significantly did you observe the script evolving throughout the production process?

Scott Smith: Every day. Literally every day.

Huge changes, or little ones?

Scott Smith: Some actors prefer to improvise more than others, which is usually not a problem if we have separate microphones for everyone. However, in scenes with a lot of physical comedy, using a body microphone may not be feasible. Unless we are able to have a boom microphone on someone when they're improvising, we may or may not capture it. Essentially, we have to anticipate what someone might do in any scene, which is typically the case for every scene. But that's part of the enjoyment.

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In Season 2 of FX's highly acclaimed original series, The Bear, viewers join Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto (played by Jeremy Allen White), Sydney Adamu (played by Ayo Edebiri), and Richard "Richie" Jerimovich (played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach) on their mission to elevate their rundown sandwich joint to new heights. As they deconstruct the restaurant to its core, the team embarks on personal journeys of growth and transformation, grappling with their pasts and defining their aspirations for the future.

Check out our other season 2 interviews of "The Bear" here:

Ebon Moss-Bachrach

Liza Colón-Zayas

Lionel Boyce

The Bear seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Hulu.