To coincide with the release of Gladiator 2', we wanted to highlight St phane Buchers work with director Ridley Scott. This collaboration began in 2020, for The Last Duel', a year in which nothing went according to plan. St phane Bucher wasnt even supposed to be working on this film! Since then, Ridley Scott has been working on one project after another, and St phane Bucher has become his indispensable French Sound Man'.
DPA: Hi Stephane, can you tell us a bit about your career? SB: I have a classic background with a BTS in audiovisual, specializing in sound. Then I started working as a boom operator for 7 years on TV films and series. In 2010, after becoming a sound engineer, I had the opportunity to work with EuropaCorp, Luc Bessons production company, collaborating on 11 films, including three with Luc. Whats interesting here is EuropaCorps working process in film production. These films are almost entirely aimed at a specific market, which means that working methods, film construction and shooting techniques are largely inspired by Anglo-Saxon practices. In particular, this involves the use of considerable resources, multi-camera shoots and a different approach to filming than we are used to.
In France, we follow a more traditional method, a craftsmans approach where the teams know each other well. Theres nothing pejorative to be said about craftsmanship, because it allows incredible things to be achieved, but the way it works is different. We often have rehearsals and discussions before shooting. Todays Anglo-Saxon methods, which were also used at EuropaCorp, are more frontal'. We use four cameras, the director sets up the actors, then the cameras are positioned, and the actors enter the scene. We shot immediately, with no prior rehearsal. Another notable difference is the size of the teams and how they operate. The scale is completely different.
1. The meeting during The Last Duel DPA: Your meeting with Ridley Scott must have been a significant moment, I imagine? How does a French sound engineer end up working with one of the worlds greatest filmmakers? SB: Its an interesting and rather funny story. It all started when a local French production hosting Ridley Scott for the filming of The Last Duel' was looking for a sound engineer. Ridley Scotts production wanted to cast a sound engineer. At the time, in December 2019, I had just finished making The Eddy' for Netflix, after working non-stop for a year without taking any holidays. I had planned to take a break at that point, so I went to the casting relaxed, telling myself that if I wasnt selected, it wouldnt matter because I was exhausted and needed a rest.
They explained to me that all I had to do was send in a CV, which I did, and three or four weeks later they called me back to tell me that I was on the short list, that there were only three sound engineers left, and that Ridley Scott now wanted letters of recommendation from three re-recording engineers. It made sense, because they are the ones who can best objectively assess the work of the sound engineer. Thanks to my experience at EuropaCorp, I met several of these mixers, including some big names in Los Angeles and London. I was easily able to get 2 letters of recommendation from Tom Johnson (12 Oscar nominations and 2 wins) and Dean Humphreys. But I was short of one, and having recently finished The Eddy', I thought the recommendation of the director, Damien Chazelle, would be relevant, as he is very well known in the film industry and passionate about sound and music. So, I wrote to Damien, and he said hed be happy to recommend me.
DPA: What was your first meeting with Ridley Scott like? SB: The story is quite amusing and stressful at the same time! A few days before shooting began, I approached the French production to ask them to do some location scouting, to visit the shooting locations to check the sets and anticipate any problems. The response was quite surprising: Oh no, the English production doesnt think its necessary for you to do location scouting'. I replied that this was a bit strange, especially for The Last Duel', but I was reassured that I could come the day before or two days before shooting, without any problem. I did, however, plan to prepare well in advance, being in Paris, whereas the shoot was scheduled in the middle of France, with an airport two hours away.
Sound team on The Last Duel : St phane Bucher, Claire Bernengo, Agathe Michaud and J r me Rabu. A week before the shoot, everything was ready, and I was still at the equipment hire company when I received a call from the production team announcing a day of pre-shooting... What is a pre-shoot? Its a Ridley Scott specialty: if we start the first day of principal photography on the Monday, the Friday before he adds another day of shooting. Its a sort of test day, to get the team into the swing of things and check that everythings running smoothly... It was Tuesday of that week, 3 days before the pre-shoot, and I still hadnt arrived. On Tuesday morning, the production team called me and told me that the American executive producer wanted to know where I was. They couldnt understand why I hadnt done any location scouting and why I wasnt already there! I reminded the production team that they had told me that my participation in the location scouting was not necessary. The producer then asked me: Can you catch the next flight here in two hours, its important! Fortunately, Id already packed all my stuff, and everything was ready. I said OK', got on my scooter, went home, got my suitcase all packed [laughs], hailed a taxi, rushed to the airport and that was the start of a crazy race.
Once I got there, I quickly realized the phenomenal scale of the project. Everything was there, the crews, the four cameras, the special effects, the horses, and I s
Most recent headlines
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
05/01/2026
These Sacred Vows starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Justine Mitchell and Jason O'...
05/01/2026
DANDANCING WITH THE STARS RETURNS TO SHAKE UP SUNDAY NIGHTS
Reigning Rose of Tr...
03/01/2026
A still from OBEX by Albert Birney, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance...
02/01/2026
Freezing Florida: NHL's EVP, Entertainment Bob Chesterman on Taking the Wint...
02/01/2026
NHL Winter Classic 2026: TNT Sports Prepares for First NHL Outdoor Game in Sunsh...
02/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
02/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
02/01/2026
Any Given Day: Cork University Hospital premieres Wednesday 7 January on RT One and RT Player at 9:35pm
RT will debut a powerful new six-part documentary se...
02/01/2026
Friday 2 January 2026
All episodes of Heated Rivalry will be landing on Sky and...
02/01/2026
Sequins, chat shows, live sporting action, ground-breaking docuseries and brand-new Irish drama to kick off 2026
New Year, New Content Coming Soon across RT
...
01/01/2026
Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Announces 2026 Noel Schajris Scholarship The scholarship will cover tuition and housing for one Berklee College of Music stud...
01/01/2026
New year, new games, all with RTX 5080-powered cloud energy. GeForce NOW is kicking off 2026 by looking back at an unforgettable year of wins and wildly high fr...
31/12/2025
Back to All News
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix Scores Again With the Lions-V...
30/12/2025
As the College Football Playoff Enters the Quarterfinals, ESPN Blows Out Its Meg...
30/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Original ArticlesTake a look back at all our coverage of big-time productions, game-changing technologies, and state-of-the-art new faci...
30/12/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Dec. 30, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its fourth quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, J...
30/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
30/12/2025
Your live countdown to 2026 with Inhaler, David Gray, Lyra, Garron Noone, Sharon...
30/12/2025
It marked the first civilian operational authorization for a HAPS flight in Europe, led by Space42's subsidiary, Mira Aerospace
The flight demonstrated HAP...
29/12/2025
San Francisco 49ers Strike Gold With Halftime Laser SpectacularStunning display caps $200 million renovation of Levi's Stadium techBy Dan Daley, Audio Edito...
29/12/2025
The Cup's Around the Corner: An Inside Look at Broadcast Preparations for th...
29/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Longform VideoWatch the standout keynote conversations, deep dives, and panel discussions from the year for free on SVG PLAY!By Brandon ...
29/12/2025
From crisper Lossless audio and immersive music videos in beta to new Audiobooks+ plans, custom transitions between tracks, and in-app Messages, we keep levelin...
29/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
RT has unveiled an exclusive first look at the new Dancing with the Stars promo...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today!By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
P...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
To coincide with the release of Gladiator 2', we wanted to highlight St phane Buchers work with director Ridley Scott. This collaboration began in 2020, for The Last Duel', a year in which nothing went according to plan. St phane Bucher wasnt even supposed to be working on this film! Since then, Ridley Scott has been working on one project after another, and St phane Bucher has become his indispensable French Sound Man'.
