This incredible documentary by D.A. Pennebaker follows the recording process for the cast album of Company, a Sondheim musical. It’s a great opportunity to see what goes into the recording process, both technically and emotionally. In this clip, we see the setup and recording of “Getting Married Today,” in which the actress playing Amy struggles to all the words in at the quick pace.
Most interesting about this documentary is that you don’t hear the actual recording they’re making– you hear the audio before it is mixed to the final tack, and captured from the documentarians equipment rather than the studio recording equipment. This gives viewers a chance to understand what goes into the music they listen to, and that even things that sound completely natural have been worked on and practiced and mixed.
The audio quality of dialogue in this documentary is pretty low, with a good bit of words shared being unintelligible. However, this does a great job at capturing the ambiance and chaos of the space. The documentarian also mixes the song audio to match with what the camera is focusing on– the violins get louder when he shows the violins, etc. Every element of the recording process is highlighted in this film, and I highly recommend it!