If you're asking yourself, 'why is the Hudson Valley Film Commission posting about Academy Award-winning director Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Children of Men, Y Tu Mamá También) and his new film Roma? – the answer is simple. The sound effects editor for the critically acclaimed film is Hudson Valley based Wyatt Sprague, who has worked with many other illustrious directors including Martin Scorsese, The Coen Brothers, and Ang Lee, to name a few.
Roma, which receiving astounding awards is now available for viewing on Netflix and in limited theaters. Roma follows Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), a young domestic worker for a family in the middle-class neighborhood of Roma in Mexico City. Delivering an artful love letter to the women who raised him, Cuarón draws on his own childhood to create a vivid and emotional portrait of domestic strife and social hierarchy amidst political turmoil of the 1970s.
Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote: "Alfonso Cuarón's masterpiece Roma, an autobiographical movie set in Mexico City in the 1970s, uses both intimacy and monumentality to express the depths of ordinary life."
“I was a sound editor on 49th Street back in the eighties,” says HVFC director Laurent Rejto, “so it’s a particular thrill for me to see someone like Wyatt, creating, recording, and editing the most nuanced and subtle sounds to magically add depth and meaning for some of the most remarkable films imaginable. For reference, listen to the dog barks, the alarm clock, footsteps, and broom sweeps in the Roma trailer, and don’t be surprised if some of these sounds were recorded right here in the Hudson Valley!.”
Post production is one of the fastest growing sectors of the film business in the Hudson Valley. With high speed internet, the paradigm shifted many years ago from NYC based editing facilities to backwoods cabins and private homes. Ulster County, in particular (due to it’s lack of an MTA tax), has attracted many post production stalwarts including picture editors, sound effects editors, vfx artists, foley recordists, color correctors, mixers, and more. Stay tuned for more news regarding recent post production work. Stay tuned for more…