More of No Film School's coverage from the NAB showroom floor:
NFS: Hi Arturo! Your early credits include high-profile projects like Sean Penn's Into the Wild and Alejandro González Iñárritu's Biutiful. What was it like to work with such iconic directors as a young sound designer?
AZ: Hi! When I met Sean and started working on the film, I was 23 years old. I skipped college that semester and, honestly, looking at it in perspective many years later, I didn’t truly realize the magnitude of where I was standing. Working on the project at Skywalker for months has remained one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences of my professional career. I remember that at the time, there were projects going on at Skywalker such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Ratatouille, The Simpsons Movie, Transformers—just to mention a few. Being surrounded by top industry sound designers like Randy Thom and mixing the movie with iconic mixers such as Mike Minkler and Lora Hirschberg made the experience even more surreal. At the time, I didn’t know the transcendence the project would have years later, or how that credit would follow me throughout my entire career. I learned and grew a lot, both professionally and personally, through that movie. I will always be thankful to Martín Hernández for having confidence in me and, despite how young I was, giving me that opportunity that changed my life.
I still remember being in high school, going to the cinema and watching Amores Perros, and there was something in the sound that moved me deeply. After that, I started researching how the sound had been made—knowing absolutely nothing about the process—and that’s when Martín Hernández’s name came up. Through a college professor, years later, I had the chance to meet Martín and finally got the opportunity to start working for him. I had always wanted to work with Alejandro, and at the time, Martín was finishing Babel. I had a small opportunity to get involved in the making-of documentary of that film. But that was just a small taste of what it would be like to work with him. Years later, around 2009, I got fully involved in Biutiful as a supervising dialogue editor. We spent almost a year on that project between Mexico City, Barcelona, and Los Angeles. Working with Alejandro on that film was a dream come true. It was a chance to give back—through my work—to the director who made me turn around and explore this beautiful profession that has become my way of life.
NFS: Your latest work on Netflix's The Gringo Hunters features over 70 hours of ADR. How do you go about organizing and recording so much dialogue?
AZ: In recent years, The Gringo Hunters has by far been one of the most challenging projects I’ve worked on. In Latin America, we don’t often get these kinds of opportunities to work on action projects of this scale. As you mentioned, we did over 70 hours of ADR—in 20 years, I’ve never had that many cues in a single project.
'The Gringo Hunters'Credit: Netflix
Despite the fact that the production sound recorded by Santiago Núñez was extraordinary, the story required some connecting points through added dialogue across its 12 episodes. Recording was a challenge in many ways: from a production standpoint, managing the talent’s schedules, and technically, getting the right intention from the actors and blending the sound seamlessly in the mix was a major task.
We had a lot of support from the producers and showrunners, and without their help, I don’t think the task could have been completed. Arturo Peters, Co-Sound Supervisor of the project, was fully involved in the recording process, and without him, this wouldn’t have been possible either.
NFS: The show is also full of shootouts and explosions. What is your approach to making action sequences feel appropriately visceral from a sound perspective?
AZ: I’ve done some action scenes throughout my career, but I hadn’t had the chance to work on them at this scale before. Honestly, at the beginning, I felt a bit overwhelmed trying to figure out how to approach each episode in terms of editing and mixing. For example, the action scene in episode 12 took us around four days to mix. Blending all the gunshots with the dialogue and music was quite a challenge. In fact, together with Dan Zlotnik, the music editor of the series, we rearranged several parts of the score to bring certain elements forward and make them stand out.
I’ve always liked being outside of my comfort zone—that’s where I learn the most, both professionally and personally. In the end, I’m very proud of the result and will always be thankful to my crew for their incredible commitment to the project.
NFS: How long did the creative process on The Gringo Hunters last, and how did that compare to most projects that you work on?
AZ: We worked full-time on the project for more than seven months, starting with all the editing and recording, and then spending around three and a half months on the mix. Compared to other projects, we used a similar workflow; the main difference here was the number of episodes and the extensive ADR recording sessions, which made the process a bit longer.
NFS: Netflix has developed a reputation for introducing a wide range of global content to audiences around the world. What does it mean to you for a Mexican series to be available to Netflix's international audience?
AZ: We’ve had the opportunity to work on projects with great international exposure through Netflix before. Lucca´s World, Control Z, Thursday Widows, and The Accident, to mention a few, have all been very successful internationally.
With Netflix, I’ve always felt at home—the way they treat us and respect our creative approach allows me to dive into each project in the most comfortable way possible.
Arturo ZarateCredit: Sebastian Sanders
NFS: How did you navigate the use of both English and Spanish in The Gringo Hunters?
AZ: In this case, The Gringo Hunters has been very special. The story is told in both languages, and at the production level, it brought together Imagine Entertainment and The Washington Post in the U.S., along with RedRum and Woo Films in Mexico.
It’s a great example of how we can collaborate across countries and create first-class productions together.
NFS: Do you have any advice for aspiring sound designers in Latin America or around the world?
AZ: Going back 20 years, when I started in this business, there weren’t many opportunities to work in the industry. I think nowadays there’s much more happening and many more ways to grow and gain experience.
As in many other industries, I believe consistency is what truly makes the difference. I’ve never heard of any established professional who got there without consistency, responsibility, and practice being part of the process.
Sometimes, I feel newer generations believe experience comes as quickly as a social media post, but in reality, craftsmanship and creativity require time and a lot of practice to develop.
Even now, I’m still learning every day and from every project. I believe that the moment I catch myself avoiding learning or practicing, it will be time to step out of my comfort zone again.
That mindset—of always staying curious and open—naturally led me to want to give something back. A couple of years ago, I felt the need to personally contribute and give back in some way what I’ve received from this beautiful profession. That’s when the idea of sharing my experience and knowledge through social media came to me. I believe I’m beginning a new path through it. I’m amazed at how people out there value the experiences and insights I’ve shared so far, and it’s made me even more committed to continuing that communication. Especially through my Instagram account, @pollozarate, you can learn more about this new chapter in my career.
NFS: Is there anything else you would like us to know about you or your work on The Gringo Hunters?
AZ: I’d like to add that living through what you’re truly passionate about is a gift, and I feel very grateful to have been part of projects like The Gringo Hunters, where I’ve had the chance to challenge myself and explore new ways of approaching creativity.
In every project, I try to take away as many personal experiences as I can, and being surrounded by such talented people on this one gave me a beautiful inner reward.
