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Harry Shearer is a busy guy. When he's not doing hilarious work in films like This Is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind, he's producing Le Show, his weekly radio...er...show. In addition to that, he recently finished his directorial debut, Teddy Bears' Picnic (which he also wrote), composes music and musicals, and can regularly be spotted on TV and has appeared in over sixty films.

Whew. Oh, and he uses Macs. But you probably guessed that by now.

Applelinks: Can you describe your current setup, and tell me how long you've been using macs?

Harry Shearer: I'm on my second Powerbook, starting out with the late, unlamented 530c in 1995, my first computer--I am a notoriously late adopter, a trait I believe has served me well: no eight track tapes, no quad speakers, no first-generation digital TVs cluttering up the garage. The first 'book I bought while I was in NY, fretting to my wife about not being able to get some writing done (I was then using electronic typewriters, a sad compromise). She said, "Well, you're going to get a computer eventually, go buy one now." I always knew from my friends and from reading that Macs were better, and I experienced that quality immediately--ten minutes after opening the box, I was writing. Currently, I also use an 867 PowerMac G4 as my main audio production computer. Also in my domain are a first-generation iMac, two iBooks, and a vintage 8500 desktop, mainly used for archives at this point (it was my original audio production machine), and a first-gen iPod.

Actually, though, my first computer experience was some years earlier, in late '92, when I was editing tracks for a compilation CD of my radio show. I had a long (18 minute) comedy piece that needed paring down, and a producer friend suggested I do it on his Pro Tools setup. I was a die-hard tape and razor blade man in those days, but I decided to take the plunge. Without ever having so much as touched a mouse or acquainted myself with basic Mac protocol, I dove in, made all the basic mistakes at least twice, swore curses not heard this side of the Suez Canal, and taught myself both Mac and Pro Tools in the course of editing the piece.

Applelinks: Have you tried using Windows gear? If so, how do you feel in compares/contrasts?

Shearer: I got a free Thinkpad once and liked the machine, but the manual scared me away. I use a Windows machine at KCRW, to e-mail my playlists (from the radio show) to my webmaster, and it just feels a little--clunky.

Applelinks: How do you use them to produce your projects? What's the process from start to finish?

Shearer: I write on the Pbook, then produce audio for my radio show (and post production audio for my first film) on my desktop (first the 8500, now the G4 867) using Pro Tools software. I'm teaching myself Final Cut, but so far, I leave that to the professionals.

Applelinks: Is that Teddy Bears' Picnic?

Shearer: Yep. It's about a secret retreat in Northern California redwoods country where every year for a century the richest and most powerful white men in America have gone for a week to regress to their sophomore year in college. And it's based on a real place where that really does go on.

I should add I did some graphics work for the film on my Pbook as well--there was a storytelling device involving the printed program for the retreat being full screen at times, and I selected and printed the typography for those segments on the 'book. As to audio--most of the score in the film was classical, and I had a pretty good idea going in of the pieces I'd use. Given that this was a low-budget operation, I did the music editing myself, using a VHS copy of a rough cut, I'd slop-synch (without time-code) my Pro Tools recording (from a CD) of the piece in question, and edit the music until it fit the scene like a piece of score--i.e., changing order, getting the right passages to underscore certain moments, shortening or repeating sections as needed. I also did rough vocals into PT sessions, which were then replaced in dubbing sessions by the actors' voices in the scenes where they sang. I built some music from scratch--e.g., the musical theme for a TV news broadcast, using a General Instrument synthesizer and PT. I did a lot of off-screen voice tracks--voices on TV, on the radio, and, in one case, the "voice" of an effigy of The Great Pelican, the mascot of the encampment.

Applelinks: I apologize for not having a less stupid way of phrasing this question: Apart from your writing, you work on radio, as a musician and composer, and editing sound. Is there something in particular that attracts you to working in audio?

Shearer: Yes, it's a lot easier to give the audience a given experience in audio than it is in video or film.

Applelinks: Yeah, when I listen to CDs of the radio detective shows, it's amazing how they can take you around the world with some well-placed background effects. How long have you had this "pull" towards audio? Is there anyone or anything in particular who inspired you?

Shearer: No, just growing up listening to the radio before TV warped me.

Applelinks: What do you think of the new Apple Music Store?

Shearer: Haven't used it yet, since I'm not a broadband user. But I like the concept, and I've recommended that my wife, an indie artist named Judith Owen, get her records sold there, and I'm glad that Apple seems to have cut the Gordian knot that was stalling the introduction of online music as a viable way for artists to reach audiences. Also, I'm glad Apple is using a codec which (I hear from golden-eared friends) sounds better and yet has slimmer files than MP3. Very hip.

Applelinks: Are you a Mac evangelist?

Shearer: Not an evangelist, but surely a recommender.

Bill's been using Macs since the late 80s. When he's not making smartass remarks to amuse Kirk Hiner, he enjoys fighting for the user.