The Controlled Chaos of the Chase: 20th Century’s Eenie Meanie
By: Ellie Powers
“They drove a [expletive] car through a casino and trashed the whole place. That’s amazing,” recalls colorist Roman Hankewycz. The scene he’s referencing is chaotic, loud, and entirely real. No green screens, no CG shortcuts. It’s the final car chase in Eenie Meanie, a film comprised of practical stunts, high energy, and an unexpected amount of heart. For the post team, it became a touchstone for how to approach the entire film: raw, tactile, and honest.
Shot on location in Cleveland featuring stunt drivers, locally recorded sounds, and a look that is both gritty and poppy (without leaning too far towards jewel tones), the feature directorial debut of Shawn Simmons follows Edie “Eenie Meanie” Meaney, a former getaway driver pulled into one last job.
Sound Design Before Cameras Rolled
The job for supervising sound editor and re-recording mixer Mathew Waters began before production started when he recorded the stunt drivers during their practice. “Having access to the stunt drivers and the cars upped the game. Almost all the cars you hear were recorded at an airport outside of Cleveland while the stunt drivers practiced the routine.” He hooked up the driver with a DJI mic, what Matt calls “an action camera mic,” and held a portable recorder on the tarmac to get the accurate sounds of that person driving that car.
Two major chase sequences anchor the film. To maintain impact without exhausting the audience, Waters approached the mix like a score, staggering intensity across dialogue, music, and effects. “It’s so much fun, and when it works, it’s really rewarding. That’s one reason I hope people see this film: it’s intricate, loving, touching, and fun.”
Waters notes how his experience mixing long action sequences on Game of Thrones—sometimes upwards of twenty-five minutes—informed his approach. “It enabled me as a sound storyteller to figure out that it's not just all blazing the entire time. That's exhausting. And then after a while, you don't care. Similarly, if it's all just music, you don’t care. If it’s all sound FX, you don’t care. It’s a dance.”
That philosophy of balance shapes Waters’ entire approach to the sound. “While Eenie Meanie has car chases, it’s not F1,” he adds. “It’s a raw indie film that just comes at you, doesn’t take any prisoners, and has a lot of heart and emotion.” Perfecting that tone also came down to the final mix, led by re-recording mixer Roberto Fernandez.
Rob remembers screening the film for the first time and how the dialogue stuck with him. “It all felt so real and authentic that I was instantly drawn to the characters and invested in the story,” he says. “That became my main goal when approaching the mix: to preserve the grittiness of the dialogue across all the different locations, while ensuring the score supported and enhanced each scene.”
The film’s near-constant motion presented unique mix challenges, mainly keeping the dialogue upfront so the audience could follow the story amid shifting backgrounds. “Matt and Kevin [Peters, re-recording mixer, sound FX editor] did a great job creating space for both dialogue and music while preserving the energy the action scenes demanded,” Rob adds. “In the end, the soundtrack shines during the action scenes, but I think we found the right balance to enhance the emotional arc and the energy this film so cleverly conveys.”
Cameras Chasing Cars Through Cleveland Streets
Writer/director Shawn Simmons collaborated with cinematographer Tim Ives, ASC, and colorist Roman Hankewycz to define a visual language to complement the action and story. Ives tested extensively before landing on the ARRI Alexa 35 for its latitude and color science. Paired with Panavision P Vintage lenses, the setup delivered a textured, graphic image while preserving highlight detail in unpredictable lighting.
“The color science of the Alexa 35 is remarkable,” Ives says. “The P Vintage lenses gave us that chunky, graphic feeling we wanted and steered us in the right direction for that look.”
The team leaned into a consistent focal length to support the film’s momentum. “Most of the film is on a 35mm focal length,” Ives explains. “Shawn wasn’t interested in wide-angle spectacle. He wanted something that always felt like it was pushing forward.”
That sense of motion was reinforced by practical setups. “No blue screen, no LED. We had the actors in the cars with drivers on top of them,” Ives says. “You can feel the camera shaking as the car goes around the corner because that camera is on that car. It’s a little rougher. Slick isn’t quite the right word. The car chases feel raw. You feel like you’re in there with them.”
A Gritty, Yet Glossy Grade
In the DI, Hankewycz initially aimed for a gritty 70s throwback, but testing revealed the film needed more polish to balance the handheld chaos. “Initially the idea was to make it grungier, like more of a beat-up 70s kind of feel. But we landed somewhere a little glossier, a little sexier. It’s a hybrid of a throwback look but glossed up.”
Visual references helped guide the grade. Among them were Dog Day Afternoon and Garry Winogrand’s street photography. “The Winogrand reference I showed Roman was a solid inspiration,” Ives says. “Bold color, but not cartoony. I sent him the book because it made me excited about the project.”
Working with practically shot action added complexity, but it also made the process more intuitive. “Working with CG shots, then wondering, for weeks, why doesn’t this feel real?” says Hankewycz. “The DI just flowed. Most of what we did together was asking, ‘How do we make this cooler? How do we make this better?’ instead of always having to think, ‘Uh, this isn’t working.’”
Because the action was captured practically, Hankewycz could see everything clearly in the footage, including actors jumping out of the way of cars, props flying, stunt work unfolding in real time. That clarity made it easier to enhance the image without having to compensate for artificiality. He could focus on more important things. For example, he notes, “we’re tracking the car to make it a little more brilliant and sexy.”
A Love Letter to Cleveland
Cleveland shaped both image and sound. “It’s a love letter to Cleveland,” Ives says. “We shot there and embraced it. It’s not Metropolis; it’s Cleveland. We even cast locals as characters throughout.”
That sense of place was equally important for Waters’ sound design. He spent a day recording ambiences throughout the city to capture the uniquely Cleveland sounds. “Cleveland’s very interesting, because it’s a city, and then ten minutes out of town, it’s beautiful suburbs,” he says. “And then, of course, it’s also by the water.” Those recordings were later cataloged and woven into the film’s soundscape, grounding the heightened action in a sonic environment that felt specific and accurate.
That authenticity carried through post, helping anchor the film’s energy in a tangible setting. “It has a real feel,” Ives says. “That’s what makes it work.”
Raw Action with Heart
Eenie Meanie doesn’t do stunts for stunts’ sake (although they are cool). Like Waters’ custom car libraries, Ives’ lens choices, and Hankewycz’s balanced grade, the stunts in the film serve the story and round out Simmons’ vision: a gritty, yet heartfelt heist.
Waters’ soundscape even follows the beats of the cars as they chase around the city. “We’re composing the soundscape to help the director tell this story,” he says. Ives’ camerawork keeps her momentum front and center. “You can feel the camera shaking as the car goes around the corner because that camera is on that car.” Hankewycz’s grade balances the grit of her past with the sheen of her skill behind the wheel. “It’s a hybrid of a throwback look, but polished.”
Together, they supported Shawn Simmons’ vision to create a film that insists on the urgency of every turn and gear change. It never forgets the love and loss of its protagonist and carries a sense of humor while toeing the line between action and drama.
