Fun fact: In the Breaking Bad episode Buried, the coordinates that pinpoint where Walter White buries his money are that of Albuquerque Studios in New Mexico, where the hit TV show was filmed. And it’s not the only notable production that was filmed at one of the USA’s most coveted production hubs, and boosted by Netflix’s acquisition of the studio complex in 2018, the state has been used to film everything from Stranger Things, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, Better Call Saul, and recently, sci-fi film Finch (starring Tom Hanks) and western series 1883.
With five Primetime Emmy nominations and four CAS awards for sound mixing, Darryl L. Frank is a household name in production sound mixing in New Mexico, and has worked on high profile productions including Breaking Bad, Logan and Terminator Salvation.
Frank will never forget the scene in Breaking Bad when White throws a pizza on the roof of his house, which he captured with a boom mic outfitted with an HMa plug on transmitter:
“[Director] Vince Gilligan really respected the idea of capturing sound design in-camera,” he recalls. “Car engines, guns cocking, you name it – there was almost no Foley on that show. So, when Walter White threw the pizza on the roof of his house, my job was to capture the flop when it landed.
"We had a truckload of pizzas for as many takes as we needed, and out comes Bryan Cranston and nails it on the first take. The sound was exactly what post needed, and the crew ate very well that day!”