Asbjoern Andersen


‘Deadliest Catch’ is one of the biggest reality shows on television today, watched by millions of viewers in 150 countries around the world. And today, season 10 premieres on the Discovery Channel.

But just how is the sound done on a show set in the middle of the freezing Bering Sea, with vessels, equipment and crew being battered by brutal winds, ice and 40-foot waves – and where the danger is very real and ever-present?

To find out, I had a talk with Bob Bronow, award-winning sound designer & re-recording mixer on the show since the very first season.
In this exclusive A Sound Effect interview, he shares his favorite sound moments, how he strikes a balance between realism and drama – and, ultimately, how he and the team tell stories with sound.

UPDATE: Bob has been nominated for a 2014 Emmy award for Outstanding Sound Mixing For Nonfiction Programming, for his work on Deadliest Catch

How did you get started doing sound for television – and how did you land the job doing sound on ‘Deadliest Catch’?

Like a lot of folks who work in sound, I started as a musician. My first recording session was at age sixteen. I began mixing live shows when I was 20. After college I produced radio commercials and later went into sound for picture.

I came onboard at Original Productions just after Discovery picked up their show, ‘Monster Garage’ and they needed a mixer. I had worked with the show runner in the past so he gave me a call. Landing ‘Deadliest Catch’ was wonderfully understated. I was walking down the narrow hallway at our little post building in Glendale when the show’s creator, Thom Beers, passed by and asked, “You mixing that crab show?” Knowing that more work is always better than less work I replied, “Sure”.

What’s your role on the sound team, and what’s the workflow typically like on an episode?

After an episode is locked and prepped by the video assist an AAF is made and put on our internal audio server. An audio assist will start going through the elements. As there are no sound mixers on the boats all of the sound is captured via camera mic and lavalier microphones. The first pass is to select the the most usable audio and bleep the considerable amount of profanity. Then, they move on to cutting backgrounds. While that is being done, I go through the show and work on all of the areas that require special sound design.

Unfortunately dialog recorded on a crab boat is usually filled with wind, waves, engine hum, clipping, noise, hydraulics… you get the idea! So I do everything I can to make sure that all of it is as intelligible as I can make it. To this end I always start the mix with a noise-reduction pass. Dialog is the show’s anchor and all of the other elements wrap around that.

My first mix step is a dialog pre-dub. This gives me a second chance to evaluate the dialog and make sure that it meets Discovery’s loudness requirements. Then the music and effects are mixed in to support the elements of the story. The process usually takes three to four days.

How do you source sounds for the show?

On a show like ‘Deadliest Catch’ (where there are no sound mixers) everything is recorded on camera mics and lavaliers whose primary job is to record dialog. There are also a number of deck cameras which don’t record audio at all. When a rogue wave sideswipes a boat or an 800 lb. crab pot crashes to the deck we may or may not have captured the corresponding audio.

I make every attempt to use actual sounds that were recorded on the boats

To convey the enormity of these experiences, it’s important that the audio be built to those images. I make every attempt to use actual sounds that were recorded on the boats.
Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to have cameramen catch many of these big events. Those recordings are the basis for what I build. I want to use audio to portray the tension and danger of the scene and I want it to be authentic.

I’ve yet to find a library with the sound of an 800lb crab pot launched into an ice-covered Bering Sea.

How much creative freedom do you get in shaping the sound of the show?

This is one of the best parts of my job. I was hired to create the sonic signature of the show and Original Productions lets me do just that.

If there are particular things in an episode that need special attention, a story producer or editor will come to me and we’ll have a discussion about their needs. I’ll then create what they’re looking for to use in their edit.

By the time I’m mixing an episode the producers and editors of that episode are already working on another so they pretty much leave the soundtrack decisions to me. The layback is where they get their first good listen. After the layback we go through notes, I make the fixes and the show is sent out for QC.

How do you strike a balance between realism and drama in the soundscape? Are there any restrictions in how much you can beef up sounds to dramatize things?

I try to keep the soundtrack as authentic as possible. Luckily forty foot waves, hulls crashing through ice and large machinery failures sound huge!

My approach to mixing ‘Deadliest Catch’ has always been to convey the emotion and magnitude of what these people are doing. For me, sound has always been a very emotional thing and I enjoy using it to tell these stories. So I judge the soundtrack by how it makes me feel.

This show has always made me feel a little nervous because the danger is real and it’s always present.

If I’m taken out of the story because an effect is too big, I’ve gone too far. This show has always made me feel a little nervous because the danger is real and it’s always present. My goal is that the viewers feel they’ve experienced what it’s like to be on a crab boat in the middle of the Bering Sea.

The soundtrack shouldn’t draw attention to itself. If I do my job well, the viewer should never know I was there.

Do you have a favorite episode or snippet where you felt the sound worked particularly well?

One of my favorite sound scenes is from the first episode of season 9 (‘Mutiny on the Bering Sea’); Andy Hillstrand (F/V Time Bandit) had gotten his finger crushed while working in the engine room. Blood was building behind his fingernail and the pressure had to be released. With no doctors on board and in the middle of the Bering Sea, deckhand Mike Fourtner volunteered to perform the procedure. Take a sewing needle, heat it with a portable torch until it was red hot and stick it through Andy’s nail. Multiple times.

That would be bad enough in a doctor’s office. But the Time Bandit happened to be in the middle of huge seas so the boat was rolling heavily. That, and the fact that this was all taking place in one of the noisiest parts of the ship (the galley) added to the challenge.

I focused on the sound that the needle would make as it pierced the nail and the sound of the blood being released from behind the nail

The environment outside was creating a difficult environment inside as Mike was attempting to lance Andy’s nail with the needle. I focused on the sound of the waves hitting the Time Bandit’s hull in the boat-to-boat shots. That conveyed the magnitude of the weather on the outside. On the inside, things were creaking and rattling as the boat was tossed around. All the while, Mike is trying to position the needle over Andy’s fingernail. The intensity and pain that Andy was feeling was juxtaposed with the rest of the crew’s laughing at his discomfort. To highlight that, I focused on the sound that the needle would make as it pierced the nail and the sound of the blood being released from behind the nail.

It was a difficult sound to listen to followed by laughing and cheers. Anxiety, pain, release, repeat.
The tension of the scene was finally resolved when Andy says,” He had to hurt me to help me” and Mike mouths to the camera, “Love it!”


Popular on A Sound Effect right now - article continues below:


Trending right now:

  • Introducing MOTION GRAPHICS, a complete Motion Graphics sound effects library from SoundMorph!

    Motion Graphics focuses on all the elements you might need for sound design on a trailer, a cinematic scene or a visual that is heavy with motion graphics, whether it be abstract or straight forward, Motion Graphics has all the elements and textures you could think of. Motion Graphics are something all of us sound designers run into at one point or another, so this library is an excellent addition to your sound effects tool box.

    Motion Graphics was created by and in collaboration with sound designer Rostislav Trifonov (SoundMorph Elemental library contributor).

    Motion Graphics features 650 24bit/96 kHz .wav files, all meticulously embedded with Soundminer & Basehead metadata.

    The library features:

    • 450 + designed sound effects
    • 190 + source audio files
    • Whooshes
    • Impacts
    • Risers
    • Stingers
    • Low end and Sub Bass
    • Impulse Responses
    • Passbys
    • Textures – noise, grit, glitch
    • Ambiences
    • Buttons and Clicks
    • Mechanical Elements
    • Granular effects
    91 %
    OFF
  • Modular UI is an advanced user interface library designed by world-renowned sound designer and musician Richard Devine.

    Designed and sourced entirely from Richard Devine’s personal and exclusive Eurorack modular synths and processors collection, the Modular UI soundpack combines the retro, clean sound of analog with the futuristic tech of the new wave of advanced analog and digital synthesis from modular synths, evoking flashbacks of iconic sound design heard in both classic and modern sci-fi films.

    The Modular UI soundpack gives you access to sounds created by one of the masters of modular synths and sound design, and is sourced from equipment that would take a lifetime to purchase and assemble, giving an incredible value to this soundpack both artistically and financially.

    Utilizing many Eurorack modules that have not yet been released to the public and containing samples equally suited to sound designers and electronic musicians alike, Modular UI is in a class by itself!

    91 %
    OFF
  • ⏰ For a very limited time:
    Add this library to the cart and enter ah4launch in the cart coupon field – to sprinkle an extra launch discount, on top of the current discount!

    Animal Hyperrealism Vol IV is a sound library containing animal vocalisations, from real to designed creatures totaling more than 2000 individual sounds in 294 files. The sounds were recorded in zoos, and wildlife centers.

    The asset list includes but is not limited to: hippos, hyenas, vultures, dwarf mongooses, elephants, African cranes, parrots, tigers, pigmy hippos, rhea ostriches, brown bears, pheasants, wildebeests, African wild dogs and many more. The content has been recorded at 192KHz with a Sanken CO100K, an Avisoft CMPA and a Sennheiser 8050 for center plus two Sennheiser MKH8040 for stereo image.

    The resulting ultrasonic spectrum is rich and allows for truly extreme manipulation of the content.

    15 %
    OFF
  • Discover this rich selection of ready-to-use wet motion sounds – perfect for biological / organic mutation sound design, for slimy tentacle creatures or aliens, an ‘adult bedroom scene’ that may require some exaggerated moist sound effects, or any other kind of video game or motion picture production.

    Each audio file is drag-and-drop ready, all presented in 3 formats – high quality MP3 (320 Kbps) and WAV (96 + 44.1 kHz, 24 + 16 Bit) with meticulously labelled keywords, as to create the perfect experience for any audience in a matter of moments!

    So, wether you are looking for a perfect set of sounds for an animal or human tongue licking, snake or tentacles moving / sliding friction, look no further!

    DOWNLOAD WET & SLIMY NOW to instantly turn your project into a true masterpiece!

    PERFECT FOR:

    • Video Games
    • Film / Animation
    • Ads / Trailers
    • YouTube Videos
    • Sound Design
    …and all other audio-visual productions!

    ADDITIONAL BENEFITS:

    • Easy to use, drag and drop ready
    • AAA mixing and mastering
    • High Definition, Standard Quality WAV and High Quality MP3 formats
    • Meticulously labeled and easily searchable files, including keywords/tags
    • FREE Updates to higher versions, FOREVER!

    GET IT NOW for the perfect touch for any app, game, or media project!

    8 %
    OFF

Latest releases:

  • Metal Sound Effects Military Truck Percussion Play Track 321 sounds included, 14 mins total $10

    A US Military Truck is transformed into a percussive instrument and hit with drum sticks and a variety of mallets ( gong, xylophone and timpani ) and sampled using contact microphones and geophones.

    A unique collection of 321 metallic percussive hits perfect for metal impact sound design and transient shaping.

    Type : Source Files / WAV Mono

    Normalised : -6 dbFS

    Grouped Files for Easy Reference Included

    Recorder : Sound Devices Mix Pre 10II

    Microphones : Stille & Klang Spot, LOM Geofon

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O805cKU_XrE

    33 %
    OFF
  • All files are recorded 32bit, 192 kHz, with RØDE NTG1, Line Audio Omni1 and FEL Clippy XLR EM272 microphones, Sound Devices MixPre-6 II recorder. Library contains wav files of driving, interior and exterior foley, mechanical and electrical sounds. It is only available in UCS.

  • Effective Trailer Booms Vol. 2 delivers the next level in cinematic low-end, featuring 232 brand-new one-shot sounds meticulously designed for cutting-edge trailers.

    Building on the original Vol. 1, this new collection is designed for cutting-edge trailers. It moves beyond simple impacts to focus on the deep sub-bass, tonal rumbles, and resonant elements that build anticipation. It’s the perfect tool for setting a dark, mysterious tone at the beginning of a trailer or providing that final, deep punctuation at the end.

    A boom isn’t just a hit, it’s the sound of intrigue. Effective Trailer Booms Vol. 2 delivers the next level in cinematic low-end, featuring 232 brand-new one-shot sounds meticulously designed for cutting-edge trailers.

    Building on the original Vol. 1, this new collection is designed for cutting-edge trailers. It moves beyond simple impacts to focus on the deep sub-bass, tonal rumbles, and resonant elements that build anticipation. It’s the perfect tool for setting a dark, mysterious tone at the beginning of a trailer or providing that final, deep punctuation at the end.

    Inside, you’ll find a massive library of deep tonal rumbles, powerful sub-bass swells, bone-chilling textures, dark resonant drones, and powerful cinematic punctuation, all designed to pull the audience in.

    40 %
    OFF
  • Cinematic & Trailer Sound Effects SpellBound Play Track 969 sounds included, 122 mins total $90

    SpellBound is premium sound effects library exploring the intersecting spaces of modern magic and science fiction energy. The result is a polished, designed, and inspiring set of cinematic magic sounds ready to bring new life to your film, game, and media projects. Brian Johnson, the creator of SpellBound and Slipstream is an award winning sound designer who after working in film, and television, has found his home designing sound for the biggest video game franchises in the world.

    SpellBound has 969 total sound effects
    Spells, explos, tails, whooshes, beds, impacts, drones, and more.

    Designed section – 202 designed multi-event show stopping full frequency sound effects.
    Elements section – 767 designed construction kit, layers, sweeteners, and single event effects.

    SpellBound can compliment your fx arsenal with traditional fantasy, modern magic, cinematic impacts, and even as an explosion sweetener. It can take over a fantasy trailer or a compliment a hybrid space magic video game.

    Thank you for licensing SpellBound. I hope it inspires you to create something exciting and magical.

    SpellBound Flyer

    28 %
    OFF
  • Kawaii UI Bundle is the ultimate bundle for cute user interface sounds.
    In this Bundle you get both volumes of our Kawaii UI libraries.
    Kawaii UI + Kawaii UI 2

    These libraries provide an adorable blend of cute, satisfying interface sounds, crafted to enhance user experience and feedback.
    Bring your games and apps to life with the Kawaii UI Bundle.

    It’s ideal for creating joyful menus, delightful HUDs, playful navigation and notifications, engaging pop-ups, and expressive text.

    Kawaii UI Trailer
    Kawaii UI 2 Trailer

    The source recordings inside are a treasure trove of physical button presses, clicks, pops, taps, mouth sounds, toks, shakers, general synthesised UI sounds, FM bells and telemetry style sounds.. Kawaii UI Bundle provides you with the essential building blocks to craft your own distinctive designs.  Combining these elements gives sound designers a robust sonic palette to create new UI sounds.

    13 %
    OFF
Need specific sound effects? Try a search below:


Danger lurks on land too, as seen in this close encounter between Bob and Captain Keith from the show

Danger lurks on land too, as seen in this close encounter between Bob and Captain Keith from the show

Are there any fun moments that stand out doing the sound on ‘Deadliest Catch?’

Fun moments? Pretty much any time you get the captains together there are fun moments. Unfortunately, I can’t repeat any of them! Season 9 was the first season that we had cameramen shooting the boats from the bottom of Dutch Harbor. Given that there was no usable production sound, I had the opportunity to design those sounds.

You’ve worked as a sound designer for 20 years. What trends are you noticing in television sound?

I think that many television soundtracks are moving closer to the depth of theatrical soundtracks. It’s not uncommon for a large action show to have hundreds of tracks of effects delivered to the stage.

An episode of Deadliest Catch will have anywhere from 60 to 80 tracks.

There have been amazing advances in recording and processing software.
Mixers today have access to noise reduction technology that fifteen years ago would have been indistinguishable from magic. I can only imagine the things we’ll be able to do in five years!

Can you share anything about projects you’re currently working on?

I mixed a film in 2008 called The Wrecking Crew. It tells the story of an elite group of studio session musicians in Los Angeles in the 1960’s who played on hits for the Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Sonny and Cher, Jan & Dean, The Monkees, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Mamas and Papas, 5th Dimension, Tijuana Brass, Ricky Nelson, Elvis Presley, Johnny Rivers and Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound just to name a few! (that description came from the Wrecking Crew website)

While the film was very successful on the festival circuit it was never released due to the amount of money needed to pay the musicians and writers for the use of their music. The money was recently raised and I was able to do a full theatrical mix on this incredible story.

 

Please share this:


 

A huge thanks to Bob Bronow for doing this interview!
About Bob Bronow
Bob has been working as a re-recording mixer and sound designer for 20 years, doing sound on shows like Deadliest Catch, Ax Men, Bering Sea Gold: Under the Ice, The Colony, 1000 Ways to Die, American Masters: Carol Burnette & Bob Newhart and the feature documentary The Wrecking Crew. He’s also been nominated for 8 Primetime Emmy’s – with two wins – in addition to 4 CAS award wins for his work on Deadliest Catch. Find out more about Bob and his work here.

 

 
 
THE WORLD’S EASIEST WAY TO GET INDEPENDENT SOUND EFFECTS:
 
A Sound Effect gives you easy access to an absolutely huge sound effects catalog from a myriad of independent sound creators, all covered by one license agreement - a few highlights:

  • Kawaii UI Bundle is the ultimate bundle for cute user interface sounds.
    In this Bundle you get both volumes of our Kawaii UI libraries.
    Kawaii UI + Kawaii UI 2

    These libraries provide an adorable blend of cute, satisfying interface sounds, crafted to enhance user experience and feedback.
    Bring your games and apps to life with the Kawaii UI Bundle.

    It’s ideal for creating joyful menus, delightful HUDs, playful navigation and notifications, engaging pop-ups, and expressive text.

    Kawaii UI Trailer
    Kawaii UI 2 Trailer

    The source recordings inside are a treasure trove of physical button presses, clicks, pops, taps, mouth sounds, toks, shakers, general synthesised UI sounds, FM bells and telemetry style sounds.. Kawaii UI Bundle provides you with the essential building blocks to craft your own distinctive designs.  Combining these elements gives sound designers a robust sonic palette to create new UI sounds.

    13 %
    OFF
  • Environments & Ambiences Suburban Russia Play Track 56 sounds included, 173 mins total $19

    What could be better than summertime in the country?

    Of course summertime in Russian village!

    Those sweet sounds of hammers, lawnmowers, dogs, neighbors activity, forests, fields, rain and, of course, lots of cicadas!

    This library contains authentic atmospheres of villages and small towns of suburban Moscow, as well as sounds of nature, roomtones and doors of the old Dacha from Soviet era.

    KEY POINTS:

    • Authentic atmospheres of dacha, forests, fields, streams, rains, streets of small towns, night and day suburban activity and roomtones!

    • An excellent addition to your library for film, TV and multimedia – Suburban Russia during summer and autumn time

    • Recorded with Mid-Side Sennheiser MKH8040/MKH30 combo

    • Sorted by location-type categories

    • All files have metadata included

  • Introducing MOTION GRAPHICS, a complete Motion Graphics sound effects library from SoundMorph!

    Motion Graphics focuses on all the elements you might need for sound design on a trailer, a cinematic scene or a visual that is heavy with motion graphics, whether it be abstract or straight forward, Motion Graphics has all the elements and textures you could think of. Motion Graphics are something all of us sound designers run into at one point or another, so this library is an excellent addition to your sound effects tool box.

    Motion Graphics was created by and in collaboration with sound designer Rostislav Trifonov (SoundMorph Elemental library contributor).

    Motion Graphics features 650 24bit/96 kHz .wav files, all meticulously embedded with Soundminer & Basehead metadata.

    The library features:

    • 450 + designed sound effects
    • 190 + source audio files
    • Whooshes
    • Impacts
    • Risers
    • Stingers
    • Low end and Sub Bass
    • Impulse Responses
    • Passbys
    • Textures – noise, grit, glitch
    • Ambiences
    • Buttons and Clicks
    • Mechanical Elements
    • Granular effects
    91 %
    OFF
Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:
 
  • Metal Sound Effects Military Truck Percussion Play Track 321 sounds included, 14 mins total $10

    A US Military Truck is transformed into a percussive instrument and hit with drum sticks and a variety of mallets ( gong, xylophone and timpani ) and sampled using contact microphones and geophones.

    A unique collection of 321 metallic percussive hits perfect for metal impact sound design and transient shaping.

    Type : Source Files / WAV Mono

    Normalised : -6 dbFS

    Grouped Files for Easy Reference Included

    Recorder : Sound Devices Mix Pre 10II

    Microphones : Stille & Klang Spot, LOM Geofon

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O805cKU_XrE

    33 %
    OFF
  • All files are recorded 32bit, 192 kHz, with RØDE NTG1, Line Audio Omni1 and FEL Clippy XLR EM272 microphones, Sound Devices MixPre-6 II recorder. Library contains wav files of driving, interior and exterior foley, mechanical and electrical sounds. It is only available in UCS.

  • Effective Trailer Booms Vol. 2 delivers the next level in cinematic low-end, featuring 232 brand-new one-shot sounds meticulously designed for cutting-edge trailers.

    Building on the original Vol. 1, this new collection is designed for cutting-edge trailers. It moves beyond simple impacts to focus on the deep sub-bass, tonal rumbles, and resonant elements that build anticipation. It’s the perfect tool for setting a dark, mysterious tone at the beginning of a trailer or providing that final, deep punctuation at the end.

    A boom isn’t just a hit, it’s the sound of intrigue. Effective Trailer Booms Vol. 2 delivers the next level in cinematic low-end, featuring 232 brand-new one-shot sounds meticulously designed for cutting-edge trailers.

    Building on the original Vol. 1, this new collection is designed for cutting-edge trailers. It moves beyond simple impacts to focus on the deep sub-bass, tonal rumbles, and resonant elements that build anticipation. It’s the perfect tool for setting a dark, mysterious tone at the beginning of a trailer or providing that final, deep punctuation at the end.

    Inside, you’ll find a massive library of deep tonal rumbles, powerful sub-bass swells, bone-chilling textures, dark resonant drones, and powerful cinematic punctuation, all designed to pull the audience in.

    40 %
    OFF
  • Cinematic & Trailer Sound Effects SpellBound Play Track 969 sounds included, 122 mins total $90

    SpellBound is premium sound effects library exploring the intersecting spaces of modern magic and science fiction energy. The result is a polished, designed, and inspiring set of cinematic magic sounds ready to bring new life to your film, game, and media projects. Brian Johnson, the creator of SpellBound and Slipstream is an award winning sound designer who after working in film, and television, has found his home designing sound for the biggest video game franchises in the world.

    SpellBound has 969 total sound effects
    Spells, explos, tails, whooshes, beds, impacts, drones, and more.

    Designed section – 202 designed multi-event show stopping full frequency sound effects.
    Elements section – 767 designed construction kit, layers, sweeteners, and single event effects.

    SpellBound can compliment your fx arsenal with traditional fantasy, modern magic, cinematic impacts, and even as an explosion sweetener. It can take over a fantasy trailer or a compliment a hybrid space magic video game.

    Thank you for licensing SpellBound. I hope it inspires you to create something exciting and magical.

    SpellBound Flyer

    28 %
    OFF
  • Kawaii UI Bundle is the ultimate bundle for cute user interface sounds.
    In this Bundle you get both volumes of our Kawaii UI libraries.
    Kawaii UI + Kawaii UI 2

    These libraries provide an adorable blend of cute, satisfying interface sounds, crafted to enhance user experience and feedback.
    Bring your games and apps to life with the Kawaii UI Bundle.

    It’s ideal for creating joyful menus, delightful HUDs, playful navigation and notifications, engaging pop-ups, and expressive text.

    Kawaii UI Trailer
    Kawaii UI 2 Trailer

    The source recordings inside are a treasure trove of physical button presses, clicks, pops, taps, mouth sounds, toks, shakers, general synthesised UI sounds, FM bells and telemetry style sounds.. Kawaii UI Bundle provides you with the essential building blocks to craft your own distinctive designs.  Combining these elements gives sound designers a robust sonic palette to create new UI sounds.

    13 %
    OFF

   

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

HTML tags are not allowed.