Jeff Hall

Someone who replied and then apparently deleted his post...

Looks like this board has the heir apparent to The Senator. Welcome!

Good point, Philip... I just replied and said I wasn't available. I doubt they'll spend any more time on me, and just look for other fish. If they contact me again, I'll forward it to ReScam--it's a site that uses bots to pretend it's me and just tie them up with phony interest. I've used it about a dozen times. It's always seemed to do the job.

A couple of days ago I received an unsolicited text from an Asian production company's interest in hiring me for a week this month. The tone and wording seemed way off, but I responded with my resume, website, and demo reel to see where it would go. Essentially, they want me to work on a "trial basis", and then, if accepted, pay me a beyond ridiculous rate. This has scam written all over it. I seem to recall a similar MO a couple of years ago from a guy who called himself a wedding photographer. Anyone else had this experience? Not sure what their angle is, but it's totally fishy.

I worked with a 124 in the early 90s. What a beast!! Wonderful transport, quiet but definitely no-nonsense. I had a runaway once and just let the reels go; no way was I going to put my hands even close to the transport. The next 24 tracks I worked with were MTR90s. Nice, but not the same quality of the Ampex.

Seen in a pro audio shop years ago... Beh-rin-ger (bear-en-jer) v. beh-rin-ger-ed, beh-rin-ger-ing, beh-rin-ger-des v.tr. 1. To cheat or defraud of money or property: 2. To obtain by fraudulent means: "Ted behringered money from the company". v.intr. To practice fraud as a means of obtaining money or property: "Ted bought his Porsche by behringing unsuspecting people". n. The act or an instance of behringing: "Ted said he was planning a behringer". adj. a. Having a defect; faulty: a defective appliance. b. Marked by subnormal structure, function, intelligence, or behavior: "Ted said that the compressor had a complete behringer and shut down". (see also "Peaveyed") (Apologies to Peavey)

The 4/4 time signature...

A long time ago, I had a buddy come up with a box that would keep clients' fingers off the faders during mixes. We called it the ProducerMatic. It had a multi position switch on the left, with labels like "funky", "bright", and "hip". On the right side, we had a single fader labeled "more" and "less". To seal the deal, we put the largest piece of multi connector cable we could find coming out of the back. Did it ever work! Unfortunately, it was tossed during a move, and no pics survive. The Good Old Days.

But at least your memo specified that up front. My main questions are 1) Why apply the zone when the gig wasn't in LA, and 2) Most important, why wasn't the zone specified in the Deal Memo? Everything is good, it was an interesting project with a great client and crew. The difference in money is negligible, but the multiple back and forth emails to iron this thing out have cost me (and them) time. Well, I'm better informed now...

Thanks, Jon. I appreciate the reply. In my case, the original memo never mentioned the zone--I only found out after the fact. Ultimately it's not a big deal. I find it interesting that I was being held to LA "rules", even though I was working hundreds of miles away. I've also worked with many, many LA-based production companies in my area, and this is the first time this has happened. Well, now I know to ask one more question in the future.☺️

Hello all in L.A: I just finished a (good) gig where the Deal Memo specified that mileage would be paid. Now, however, I'm being told that there is a "zone radius" of 30 miles they use in LA that is considered "local", and in that zone, mileage isn't paid--payment apparently starts at mile 31. I don't expect mileage to go across town or even over to the next town when I work, but it's the radius that makes me curious. Is it an established thing, or is it news to you guys, too? The gig wasn't in California. And my base city is nowhere near the size of LA. Thanks for any info!

"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional, wait til you use an amateur".

OK, then 8-bit/22.05KHz wav files. That'll get 'em!

How about creating and delivering lo-res mp3 files for the client with the understanding that the originals will be provided once payment is resolved?

You're old, Dude... Remember the Ampex ACR??

Hello all: I'm working with a Pinnacle on a shoot next week. I've gone over the manual and it looks simple enough, but I'm wondering if anyone else here has used it, and might share their experiences. Thanks!

Ordered mine yesterday, including a lot of other year-end stuff. All arriving today. 40% off the mic, free overnight shipping, no sales tax. And I went with PayPal Credit so I have 6 months/no interest. All my dealings with B & H have been superlative.

Here's a possible solution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2Q0cyJSs04

Tom: All good points. As I have an EIN, I try to use it as much as possible. Unfortunately, most of the paperwork I'm given only has a provision for an SSN. I also have a Certificate of Waiver for Workman's Comp (my choice), but that doesn't hold any clout. I'll look into the SS-8 (thanks), but aside from that, I think my options are to become a Corp, or live with my present arrangement.

I've been experiencing this for several years now, mostly on cable and reality shows. My LLC isn't good enough for a 1099, I have to be a corporation, so I end up being an "employee" with none of the benefits or perks that a hired employee who would work in the office. i asked my accountant why, and his answer was that in case the recipient (me) somehow didn't pay taxes on my 1099 income, the IRS could go after the issuer. Apparently as a Corp you play by different tax rules. What I don't understand is how an "employer" can selectively offer benefits, vacation time, and other incentives to some employees, and not others. When I asked him, he didn't know why. The only real gripe I have is that after the gig, I have to copy, sign, scan, and email what seems to be a small novel of paperwork, all on my own time, and the majority of the time, I only work one gig. Frustrating for sure. i think this is one of the many new "realities" of freelance life. I'd try to change it if I could, but I think this is the new normal.

Don't know if it's truly standalone yet. For Yamaha broadcast mixers at least, it's a dedicated card/software hybrid.

+1. Record talent on the bike best you can, and do wild lines after. Then you can show production you did it both ways, and they can choose the lines they like. You'll be a team player, and they'll see that wild was best. Win-win.

Once the director has cut the program, you should cut. If the talent understand that the program is over, then continuing to roll either picture or sound IMO violates an implied understanding that whatever is heard or seen afterward is considered private. In very rare situations I've had directors ask the crew to keep rolling (easier to do in a sat truck or control room than a set), but at that point I consider that it's the director's responsibility for any and all consequences, good or bad.

Thanks for the responses, guys. Yeah, I'm no stranger to the genre. But my experience in the last year or so seems to be "more work, less money, less experienced people, much less communication." What I've tried to do is to obviously ask multiple questions as to what their vision of Sound is, and then send my own Deal Memo back to reflect that conversation. This has helped me from being blindsighted on location by producers who ask for something that wasn't discussed. Sometimes the office is receptive, other times they're in a hurry to just fill a slot. It can be somewhat messy in the heat of the moment, but at least I've tried to cover my bases. In short, I want to be able to protect myself (and provide the production what we've agreed on), hopefully with a minimum of pushback. I've very rarely had near the problems with any other types of work. Curious to see how other folks here have dealt with this...

I recently worked a reality gig--very run and gun, 6 wireless, 1 boom, hops to 2 cameras (w/split mixes), and IFB for 3 producers. Then a PA gives me a walkie/earpiece that the production requires I use, and end up trying to follow mostly unintelligible/irrelevant producer chatter. What gives? How do I do the job I'm hired for when I'm not allowed to do it? I'm supposed to be mixing sound, not resemble a hobbled pack animal. Anyone else have a similar horror story?