Cory Stillman
Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool is the latest special from one of the greatest storytellers in comedy, and it just might be Birbiglia’s most personal as well, outlining his struggles with aging, illness, and fatherhood. Recorded at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in New York’s Lincoln Center, The Old Man and the Pool is also one of the most sonically impressive comedy specials in recent years, due in large part to re-recording mixer Vinny Alfano.
Alfano has built a reputation as the go-to sound editor/mixer for many of the industry’s most beloved stand-up comedians. His collaborators include Iliza Shlesinger, Sarah Silverman, and the late great David A. Arnold. He was even Grammy-nominated for his work on Silverman’s Someone You Love special.
“I’ve been really lucky to have been able to mix for a handful of stand-up comedians. I love stand-up and really respect the artform,” says Alfano.
Of course, even as volume and clarity remain key considerations, the overall sonic palette varies for each special.
“It comes down to sonically achieving what feels right for the kind of performance the comedian is giving,” says Alfano. “Matching the crowd, ambience, and atmosphere to help bring the comedian and/or director’s vision to fruition with sound.”
In the case of The Old Man and the Pool, Alfano was thrilled to have a few different advantages. For starters, he was able to utilize Netflix’s 5.1 surround sound to fully immerse viewers into the special, as if they were truly there at the Lincoln Center. It also helped that the Vivian Beaumont Theater was equipped with over 15 room/audience mics.
“Having that sort of flexibility is a huge win for the mix process,” Alfano explains.
Birbiglia is also a unique comedian in that he does not follow the traditional joke-punchline structure (check out our conversation with him on this very topic and more over on the TV Topics podcast.) His shows are built around cohesive themes, and he often weaves in and out of multiple longform stories. Birbiglia’s comedic approach presented Alfano with one of the more fascinating challenges of his career, reflecting that careful balance of comedy and sincerity in the sound design.
“When Mike finishes an anecdote and gets a big laugh, it should feel like a big laugh. When he’s whispering or telling an intimate story about an interaction with his daughter, we should feel like the crowd is silently on the edge of their seat,” Alfano says. “The key to the mix in this special was all about following the story and following the crowd, bringing up the room mics when they needed to feel full, and maintaining intimacy when things got serious and personal.”
Check out our full conversation with Alfano below, and stream Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool now on Netflix.
Hey Vinny! You have built a reputation as the go-to sound editor/mixer for many of the industry’s most beloved stand-up comedians. What is it about your style or sensibilities that lends itself to working on these comedy specials?
I’ve been really lucky to have been able to mix for a handful of stand-up comedians. I love stand-up comedy and really respect the artform. Living in New York makes it hard to not attend a show at least once every few weeks. In terms of handling the sound for stand-up specials, I’d say in order to properly execute a great sounding mix you have to be versed in what the crowd should sound like, and part of that is because I regularly attend shows on all scales from small pop-up clubs to larger arenas. Ultimately, it comes down to sonically achieving what feels right for the kind of performance the comedian is giving, matching the crowd, ambience, and atmosphere to help bring the comedian and/or director’s vision to fruition with sound.
How involved was Mike Birbiglia with the sound editing and mixing on The Old Man and the Pool? What was the collaborative process with him like?
Before starting the mix for the special there was a Zoom call with Mike’s creative team and our sound team. They explained how they really wanted the balance of the mix to match the storytelling experience of Mike’s live show. There’s not necessarily a ton of punchlines or one-liners; it’s very much a journey of working through health issues, family matters, and other personal endeavors. As much as it is a comedy special, it’s also an emotional piece and we wanted to walk that line with sound as strongly as possible.
Mike Birbiglia is a unique comedian in that he does not follow the traditional joke-punchline structure, but instead operates much more like a storyteller. How did his style of comedy shape your approach to the special’s sound design?
When Mike finishes an anecdote and gets a big laugh, it should feel like a big laugh. When he’s whispering or telling an intimate story about an interaction with his daughter, we should feel like the crowd is silently on the edge of their seat. The key to the mix in this special was all about following the story and following the crowd, bringing up the room mics when they needed to feel full, and maintaining intimacy when things got serious and personal. Always follow the story.
Birbiglia also has a knack for maneuvering between very funny but also very sincere and emotional moments. How did you aim to balance the emotional beats of The Old Man and the Pool via sound design?
Technically speaking a lot of the balancing was done through volume automation. We had fifteen room/audience mics recorded by Jon D’Uva, and having that sort of flexibility is a huge win for the mix process. Jon always delivers fantastic recordings. Panning the mics around just like how they were laid out in the theater helped us recreate the experience of being in the audience for the show with respect to the 5.1 surround space. When it felt appropriate to use all of the mics at full volume, we used them. And when there were quieter moments we may have dialed the levels back a bit. It was all relative to Mike’s performance and the context with what he’s speaking to at any given moment.
The Old Man and the Pool is also a unique special in that it was recorded on Broadway at the Lincoln Center. How did recording the special in such an iconic venue impact your approach to the sound design?
We wanted the mix to feel immersive, to make the audience at home watching on Netflix feel like they’re there in the theater with Mike and the rest of the crowd. Lincoln Center is an incredible sounding theater as is, we really didn’t have to process the room mics a lot in the mix other than adding a tinge of reverb here and there to help with blends.
What was the most challenging aspect of mixing and editing the sound for The Old Man and the Pool?
Anytime you’re mixing a comedy special, it’s always about finding the perfect balance between the handheld mic and the crowd mics. After you find the sweet spot, however, everything starts to fall into place. Aside from the mix, the edit can also be challenging in terms of working through mouth clicks, or strong plosives, or even certain areas where maybe some of the crowd mics have heavy laughs and some of the crowd delivers a subtler laugh. I give 100 thank you’s to Lew Goldstein who was the Supervising Sound Editor on this special for his help and guidance regarding the blend of crowd mics in certain sections throughout the special. Zac Swanner – our assistant sound editor – was also a key piece to our sound team, helping to organize all of the different mic options we had available.
You have an impressive list of credits beyond your comedy special work. What have been a few of your favorite projects over the years?
I feel really thankful and fortunate to have been able to work on many great projects with many great people. Netflix’s Emily In Paris has been a real thrill to be a part of (also another collaborative effort that Lew Goldstein brought me on to mix with him.) Josh Leong’s Sorry You Had To See This short film on Film Supply was a ton of fun to work on; we did the film’s sound entirely in post. I also had a blast creating nightmarish, icky, and disgusting sounds for Mary Dauterman’s feature film Booger. These are a few recent highlights, I could go on… it’s been a wonderful ride over the years.
You were Grammy-nominated for your work on Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love. Could you discuss what it was like to work on that special and how it compared to your work on The Old Man and the Pool?
Sarah’s special was also a treat to work on. Although equally very funny, the specials are very different in many ways. I think it’s fair to say that the comedic style and timings between the specials are quite varied. Someone You Love is very much living more so in the traditional standup world; she’s firing off jokes and punchlines one after the other. This is not to say that there isn’t an underlying connective story or thread between the bits, but the structure is rooted in quick quips. The Old Man and The Pool is a bit more of an anecdotal engrossing story with some quieter, more emotional moments rather than a firing of one-liners. It was a joy to work on both specials, and to see them both shine in the public light is an incredible feeling.
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