Willie Burton Provides a Helping Hand

Based on the New York best-selling book by author Kathryn Stockett, The Help, directed and written for the screen by Tate Taylor, is a deeply moving story set in the 1960s about three courageous women who strike up an unlikely friendship.

Eugenia (Emma Stone) is a recent college graduate and lands a job writing a column for a local newspaper. Seeking help from Aibleen (Viola Davis) she finds herself embarking on a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts her newly found friends at risk. Spurred on by a book editor in New York, her writings transcend the lines that define them, and the realization that sometimes those lines are made to be crossed—even if it means bringing everyone in town face-to-face with the changing times.

Production audio mixer, Willie Burton, CAS, was asked to come in to provide a helping hand during the 12 weeks of filming. Willie was kind of enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to talk with S&P about his experience:

S&P: The story is set in Mississippi, but tell us Willie, did Hollywood use their magic or did you film in MS?
BURTON: (laughs) No, they didn’t. We did actually go out on location in Mississippi. Most of the show was shot in the town of Greenwood with about a week in Jackson.  

S&P: How were you able to land the job on The Help?
BURTON: I was given the script by my friend and Executive Producer Dean Jones, and I really liked it. I knew I wanted to the project right then and there even though it wasn’t a final draft – it was just an amazing script. But Jones wanted me to meet Taylor so I wasn’t sure if I had the job or not. When I went down to talk to Taylor, we hit it off right away both being from the south. We knew it would be a good fit, and I couldn’t wait to work on the project once it all came together.

S&P: The women play some strong roles in this film – How was the experience on set?
BURTON: I didn’t realize how talented they were until we got going. They were a great group of people to work with and so cooperative. The cast wanted to do anything to make sure the sound was good and allowed us to mic them up no problem. It’s exciting to work with a cast like that ‘cause you don’t get to work with people like that too often.

S&P: Who made up your sound team on this show?
BURTON: I was able to work with Gary Theard (boom) again and we brought in a local guy Adam Mohundro (boom) to help us out too. Ron Fremstad came in about a week for when I needed someone to do playback on Pro Tools – which we definitely needed.

S&P: This is your first time working with the Zaxcom Mix-12 right?
BURTON: Yeah. I am pretty much a digital guy now. I like it. It has 12 inputs. It allows me to have a lot of flexibility. Even though it is a control device, it allows me to use the EQ out to the Deva and split tracks where I want them to be. Its versatility is great. And when I turned in my tracks, they mentioned the audio sounded really clean. That’s a good thing for me.

S&P: Any hiccups during production?
BURTON: Cicadas. They were everywhere. They killed the exteriors on this show. I had to always use a little bit more EQ to get some of the low end stuff out of the mix. It wasn’t fun. Even during some of the interiors they were bleeding into the track. I started wondering if they were getting together just to hang out and see what we were doing.

S&P: Mother Nature is something hard to control – Anything else you had to juggle around?
BURTON: I did use my wireless a bit more on this show than others I’ve worked on. Most of the time it was because of the cicadas, but our cast was big. We had a scene in a ballroom and the entire ensemble was there. While we shot in this big room, there was dancing on the floor and music being played back, my team ended up planting mics and using wires to provide all the coverage for the tracks. But that’s why we are there, and keeps us pressing forward.

We had another scene at a church were the preacher got the room full of extras really into the scene. They were going wild. It was great and we were able to pick up some wild tracks from them, but it would have been nice to have some more time to provide additional tracks for post.

S&P: What’s the difference working on a dialogue driven drama than some of the other genres?
BURTON: You’re able to really hone in on our mix. With a cast this large and you have 4, 5 or 6 mics running, you really have to concentrate on your tracks. It’s good for me and keeps me focused. I’m a bit of a perfectionist and I want my mix to sound like those 5 or 6 mics are only one or two. I’m not saying I can always achieve that, but I want my mix to sound like the final mix and if I can work towards that, you can end up with a nice product. It’s one of my pet peeves and my sound team works together to help me get through the challenge. I get in the grove during dialogue – I get excited.  

S&P: Where you able to collaborate with Thomas Newman, the films composer at anytime?
BURTON: Newman is a great composer. Unfortunately, he wasn’t brought in to later down the line and as a production sound mixer I got busy when the film slid into post. But I’d like to meet him eventually. It’s just one of those timing things between production and post.

S&P: What are people going to remember walking away from this movie?
BURTON: There are a lot of great scenes in this movie, but one in particular is the pie scene. It’s something Hollywood will remember for a very long time. It’s a shocker. You’ll have to see the movie to find out what I’m talking about.

S&P: What are you working on now?
BURTON: I, Alex Cross with director Rob Coehn. It’s a detective thriller starring Tyler Perry due out sometime next year. But I recently came back from Africa with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for their International Outreach Program. We spent about two weeks teaching various elements of the movie making process to some of the developing countries of film in East Africa. They have great stories to tell out there, especially in Rwanda where they will be opening up their first cinema soon. It was great to just share that knowledge and learn about their culture and to talk film and share ours.

The Help is currently in theaters all across the nation. Photos courtesy of Willie Burton, Adam Mohundro, Dale Robinette & DreamWorks Pictures.

Tags: Emma Stone Tate Taylor The Help Willie Burton