Bay, Russell on Sound Mixing Transformers

In an interview with Editors Guild Magazine, director Michael Bay and Re-recording Mixer Greg Russell briefly discuss sound mixing for Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Its a technical discussion that gets into some of the prep and the use of Dolby 7.1 Surround. Below is a few segments, full interview is here.

EGM: Michael, how important is sound to your movies?
Michael Bay: Sound is 50 percent of the movie; it is critical. Transformers: Dark of the Moon is an effects-heavy movie, stylized and beautiful. Greg Russell is a key to its success.
We consistently try and make my movies the best sounding we’ve ever done. As James Cameron told me the other day when I played him an in-progress mix: “It’s f*cking epic!” We were in the middle of mixing the wall-to-wall sound in Act 3, as we’re preparing for the Battle of Chicago with a few characters in the middle of the city. It is all too easy for the mix to become too overwhelming. I rely on Greg to keep me grounded. You can make it totally loud, but then you have nowhere to go in terms of dynamics. Less, quite often, can be more for a movie soundtrack.