Score Mixer Alvin Wee Talks Working on ‘Devotion,’ Recording the ‘Big Band Scene’ Live

Awards Daily asks award-winning score mixer Alvin Wee some questions via email about his work on J.D. Dillard’s Devotion.

Devotion‘s score from Chanda Dancy is one of the most interesting and beautiful of the 2022 movie year (did you know it has some EDM elements?). And one of the reasons it works so well is because of how it’s mixed by Alvin Wee, whose credits also include Encanto, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Top Gun: Maverick.

I got to ask Wee some questions about his work via email and he told me about what working on Top Gun Maverick and Devotion have in common (besides planes) and what it was like live-recording a big band track during a party scene.

Awards Daily: How did this project come about for you?

Alvin Wee: In 2020, I mixed the score to this TV Show on Netflix called The Defeated. Chanda wrote a beautifully sublime score for the show and recorded a live orchestra for the music. I mixed all of it in my home studio. I said to Chanda at the end of that project, “At some point, we should all get into the studio together with some live musicians and record some of your music together.” A few months go by, Chanda asks me to mix a few demos for her. At that point, I didn’t know what it was for, so I mixed it as best as I could and sent it off. Another few months go by and then I get the call saying we’d be recording an entire score live. Eventually I found out the demo I mixed was for the Corsair/Mig scene, where a good mix would have helped the music be present in an action sequence.

AD: What was it like working on both Devotion and Top Gun: Maverick? Did they have anything in common?

AW: I’d say the thing they both have in common is these two films deserve to be experienced in theaters, on a big screen with big speakers. I’m sure people who have watched either one would agree. I think they are both completely different films. When I worked on Top Gun: Maverick, I didn’t even know anything about Devotion yet. So when I eventually saw footage for Devotion, it was a pleasant surprise to see Glen [Powell] in it. It’s hard to not draw similarities between both films at a first glance. Once you dig deeper, it can’t be more different tonally between these two films. I was a little more involved with Devotion since I flew to Nashville to record the musicians in Oceanway Studios. 

AD: I talked to the lovely Chanda Dancy and she was singing your praises. What was it like working with her beautiful score?

AW: I think there isn’t a composer in this world that sounds like Chanda Dancy-Morizawa. She is a unique voice with an incredible gift as a composer. This score stands out as one of my favorite scores I’ve worked on. When I heard the demos, I immediately knew what I wanted to do to it. All I needed to do was make sure all the technical stuff on the engineering front was taken care of. Those 10 days spent recording in Nashville have been described as “magical,” and all I did was capture that magic in that room. J.D. Dillard, the director, attended the scoring sessions together with the producers and the picture editor. Everyone was just hooked on Chanda’s music the entire time. 

AD: It sounds like live-recording the big band during the one party scene was intense. Walk me through that process. 

AW: Oh, yes, the big band track! I think the art of recording and mixing down a full band all in the room at the same time isn’t a luxury that’s afforded to a lot of people—myself included. A lot of time people want flexibility down the line, so they record all the instruments one at a time in isolation, then combine it back at the mix down stage.

There is a little bit of extra magic that you gain from the unpredictability and excitement of humans connecting with each other in a room by feeding off each other’s energy. That is after all what music is about. I give credit to Chanda on making that call to have it being done live. We recorded a late-’40s-style big-band configuration: 5 saxes, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones, piano, guitar, upright bass, and drums all mixed live to capture that exact vibe. I channeled the late great master of big band recording, Al Schmitt (rest in peace), to get that big band sound. It was an exhilarating ride to have that experience. The track is titled “All Bets are On” on the album, and if you go and listen, you’ll hear Danny Gottlieb, the drummer, counting off at the beginning. I mean it didn’t take more than a couple of takes to get the performance. All I did at the end was to do a little housekeeping afterwards, and that was what ended up in the film and the soundtrack.

AD: What was the biggest challenge working on Devotion? 

AW: The biggest challenge was probably to not cry every time I watched the movie while working on it, haha! It’s such a beautiful film, and the process has been nothing but a joy. With that in mind, it was just a matter of making sure I did my job right. 

AD: What’s it been like seeing the reception of the film?

AW: I’m feeling very thankful to everyone who’s experienced this film and has connected with the story. I truly believe Jesse’s story is one to be told well and it’s been very rewarding to see audiences leaving with a deeper appreciation for his story. 

Devotion is now in theaters.