ctboita

Not exactly a DIY, but rather can someone else DIY for me? I have a few Countryman B6 lav mics that I'd like to permanently convert from XLR to 3.5mm mini so I can use them with my Sennheiser AVX transmitters. Is this possible? If so, can anyone do this for me or do you have a recommendation of where I should them to? Thanks for any help.

Do you have a recommendation for a good breakaway cable? Is this something I can do or do I need to send them in somewhere? Is this something you are paid extra for or is it just part of the gig? In other words, would I be better off selling the U87 and putting the money towards a good wireless kit or will the rental fee be more advantageous? I have looked into a few of the portable "isolation chambers" for this exact reason but wasn't sure how often the request would come up.

Thank you all for the great advice! It truly helps paint a better picture of what quality productions are looking for. I am not interested in working on low budget productions and would rather show up with gear that will help produce exceptional audio. I understand I have a lot to learn but am a pretty quick study. My only experience with the AVX was for scratch audio to produce VO for and my client paid for it so it worked out in that regard.

Jon, Thank you for your advice. I most certainly don't want to undercut anyone. My time is quite valuable to me so I will only take jobs that pay professional industry rates. That said, It seems a bit hard to find information on what others charge for a day rate in my specific area. I figured I would start at $600/10hr day plus $350 basic Kit. Does that seem reasonable? Are there any mixers in the Washington DC area that would be willing to have a conversation (perhaps over a pint) about their day rates and any advice about finding work in the area?

Allen, Thank you for the link! To show my wireless ignorance, I will need to look into what the difference between whitespace and available frequencies are.

Noted. Based on previous posts on the same topic, one train of thought was to look at what other rental houses charge and base your rental fee around that. I know most rental houses offer discounts for multiple day rentals and was trying to figure out how to easily incorporate a discounted rate in a similar fashion. I have no interest, at this time, in shooting a TV series or feature film so hopefully I wont have to deal with long term rates any time soon. Perhaps I am looking too far into this.

Thank you for the block 28 information. I knew there were certain blocks that were okay in different areas but couldn't tell you which ones work where. How do you deal with travel if you lock yourself into a certain block that works in your main area of operation? I also figured asking for advice on which wireless system to purchase was a bit redundant since I am sure it has been discussed many times on this forum.

Do the producers expect a drop in rental cost in a similar fashion to what the rental houses offer? Perhaps it would be better for me to figure out what equipment is needed then apply it to the formula and present the figure as a total cost.

Coming from a previous job where everything had to be wired, the AVX was amazing to work with for a newcomer to the wireless world. You just turned it on and the thing worked. That said, I figured there was a reason I was unable to find a single post on this forum about it. Every review I read was from an external site and seemed from a prosumer point of view. I guess I better start searching for the Lectrosonic vs Zaxcom posts and start doing my homework. I know there is a lot more to consider than just the brand/model of wireless to purchase but it is all greek to me.

I hear that! I ran a one man band for years and always welcomed an experienced hand. Unfortunately they were a bit hard to come by in my previous employment. I would only consider wearing two hats on a small job like a corporate interview in a controlled environment. That said, I am ready to move on and focus on one area of production and get as good at it as I possibly can.

I truly appreciate the insight and am feeling better about letting it go. I need a few key items in my sound gear and hopefully selling these items off will help me gain the items I need. Do you think Ebay is the best place to list the items for sale?

I initially purchased the U87 to record VO and vocals and hoped to invest in a sound booth. I also had an interest in recording acoustics for music thus the 184s joined my kit. Other than pulling them out of the box to look at them, they have never been used. As plans have changed, you are probably right in selling those off. Thank you for the information on the other items. The wired lavs all have an xlr connection and figured trying to adapt them would just cause bulk. If you are recording a sit down interview, perhaps with multiple people, would you use wireless lavs or hardwire them in? My thought was to sell them off and put that money towards a wireless set if I wouldn't run into needing them.

Thank you all for your responses. I felt like getting rid of the camera gear was going to be the way to go but wanted to get a pulse on production needs. I planned on doing some personal projects but they keep getting pushed to the side. It's a bit hard for me to get out of the hoarding mentality because I think if ever need it, it is always there. That said, I am sure the money can be better put to use to help round out my sound kit. Phantompwr, I was mainly thinking about the lights as you had mentioned. I have a good deal of experience with lighting but don't want to make it a main focus. I would welcome a small gig where I could wear two hats as sound and gaffer at the same time. Do you find yourself in this position often? Philip, I hadn't thought of looking at this from the view point of the shooter and you make a very valid point. My main consideration was on projects where the production crew consisted of the main shooter and a sound guy. By no means do I want to become a rental house or reinvest in camera gear. I just know the camera gear's street value is so low, I thought perhaps I could make more off of it by renting it out a few times than selling it outright. Chris, thank you for the reminder to keep investing in myself to develop my skill set. In fact, the reason I became interested in location sound was because I was attending a Main Media Workshop a few years back and took a location sound course given by Mic Fowler.

Over the past several years, I have collected a plethora of video production equipment that doesn’t have anything to do with sound. At one point in time, I had fantasized about running a full on production company, but alas those days have passed. It is all quality gear that has been well taken of. As I mentioned in a separate post, I am trying to break into the freelance market so I have no idea what production crews may or may not be looking for. Moving forward, I don’t plan to try and find freelance work other than within the location sound department so my intuition says it would be best to sell it off. I’m sure most producers wouldn’t think to ask a sound guy if he has any camera equipment and probably already has that taken care of. Has anyone ever ran into a situation where the production crew was lacking in gear not related to sound? My thought is, I may be able to get more out of renting my camera gear than selling it on the used market. Is it worth my time, or is this just crazy talk? My Excel spreadsheet has 212 lines of camera gear, but most of it is preferials. The main items I am considering holding onto are the following: (4) KinoFlo Diva lights, (2) KinoFlo barfly lights, and (2) KinoFlo Parabeam lights. I own a Sony FS100 (although it is nearly obsolete.) I also have an 8’x8’ diffusion frame with translucent, black, and white screens, an 8’x16’ portable green screen, flag kits, a slider dolly, zacuto camera shoulder rig with follow focus and other accessories, a motorized jib head (but no jib to mount it on), a small chest mounted stedicam kit, a few small fluid head tripods, a cartoni D600 fluid head, and a bunch of other peripherals. My wife asks you to, “Talk me out of keeping it”. Is she right?

I searched through the forums looking for information on the Sennheiser AVX wireless system and didn't find a single post. Did I miss something? What is your take on using the Sennheiser AVX Wireless transmitter/receiver on set? I purchased one for a run and gun project where I was a one man band for both camera and sound and it worked great for that purpose. I have read through a number of reviews that list the pros/cons of the AVX system and am curious if any of you within the professional community use the AVX on a regular basis. Being completely new to wireless, it worked like a dream for my shoot but have never used it in a larger production. Do you think it would it be worthwhile for me to purchase another AVX system and a couple of good lav mics for the time being instead of waiting until I can put together the money for lectros or zaxcoms? I understand that money put towards an AVX is money not going towards a better system, but it would give me two wireless sets until that time comes. BTW, I have a SD 664 mixer they would run into.

I know the topic of equipment rentals has come up before but haven’t seen the following formula pop up and wanted to see what y'all think of it. I have looked at a wide range of rental house prices, and while they all seem to be in the same ballpark, there is still a wide range of pricing for equipment, especially when it comes to multiple day rental discounts. I wanted to come up with a fee structure where I didn’t have to put a specific dollar amount to individual items but rather a basic percentage fee as others have suggested doing. What I was struggling with (and didn’t see addressed) was how to discount the equipment for multiple day rentals that fell in line with the rental houses. This was a bit tricky because some places offered a discount only for a weekly rental where others had a break after 3 or so days. Something I noticed most rental houses had in common was, they all seemed to average somewhere around the 3% of original purchase cost for a daily rental package and fell somewhere near the 10-12% of purchase cost for a weekly rental. Individual items may be slightly above or below those numbers but as an average they seemed to hold up. This got me thinking, what if I charged an initial 3% of purchase price (which I have seen suggested on this forum) for the first two days, drop to 2% for the third day, and 1% for the following three days (a total of 12% for the week). This would allow for higher rental costs for the shorter shoots but bring in a discount for the longer productions that somewhat resembles the rental house rates. Here are the daily percentage rates: 1 Day = 3%, 2 Days = 6%, 3 Days = 8%, 4 Days = 9%, 5 Days = 10%, 6 Days = 11%, 7 Days = 12% When I put together a very basic package using Location Sound Corp’s (LSC’s) rental brochure vs the formula above for a daily and weekly rental, they were quite similar. I used LSC's pricing because they are well known in the industry and apparently are successful in charging those rates. I chose to price the items below simply because it is what I have in my kit (all except the Lectro's). I used current pricing based off of B&H’s website to come up with the initial purchase price of $12,825 for the components listed below. I am sure there are other items that would/could be charged but this kit is mostly used as a basis for comparison. (1) Sound Devices 664 Audio Mixer with Bag and Battery (1) Neumann KMR81 Shotgun Microphone (1) K-Tek Carbon Fiber Boom Pole (1) Rycote Zeppelin with wind screen (2) Lectrosonic UCR100 Receivers, SMV Transmitters, & M152 Lavs. Here is the breakdown to compare LSC’s rental rate vs the percentage formula (It’s also important to note that there are no shipping costs calculated in the LSC rates, just the price of the equipment.). The percentage you see next to LSC’s rental rate is also calculated based on the $12,825 purchase amount and is purely meant for comparison. (The percent has nothing to do with their rental rates or structure in any way and would change based on the specific gear rented.) LSC’s rental rate (3%) for a daily rental is: $375/day Using the formula’s 3% of the initial purchase price ($12,825) is: $385/day LSC’s rental rate (5.8%) for a two day rental is: $750 Using the formula’s 6% of the initial purchase price ($12,825) is: $770 LSC’s rental rate (8.8%) for a three day rental is: $1,125 Using the formula’s 8% of the initial purchase price ($12,825) is: $1,026 LSC’s rental rate (11.7%) for a four day rental is: $1,500 Using the formula’s 9% of the initial purchase price ($12,825) is: $1,154 LSC does not charge for the remainder of the week. Days 5-7 remain at $1,500 Using the formula’s 10% of the purchase price-Day 5 ($12,825) is: $1,283 Using the formula’s 11% of the purchase price-Day 6 ($12,825) is: $1,410 Using the formula’s 12% of the purchase price-Day 7 ($12,825) is: $1,539 Of course the formula can be altered to fit your specific clients, level of gear, or area in which you live. For instance, perhaps you have someone you shoot with on a regular basis and enjoy the repeat business, you may want to do a 3% for the first day, two days at 2%, and 4 days at 1%. For a week shoot, the rental cost would be the same, but a two or three day shoot, your client would save a little bit of money. I know it isn’t perfect but seems to offer a basic rental structure that keeps me away from having to price items individually, allows for a meaningful rental rate discount for longer shoots, and is easy to alter depending on the job. What do you think? Is this way off base or does it make sense? A couple of additional questions: -Do you discount your gear for longer shoots or is your day rate, your day rate? -How do you handle rental fees that go longer than a week? -Do you think $375 is a fair daily gear rental fee for the items listed above in a major market? It is amazing how fast things add up. Do productions find value in quality gear or would they rather save a few bucks and hire someone with a less expensive gear package? -I calculated the cost of my 664 with the bag and batteries included. Is this normal or should I not include the bag/batteries in the initial cost?

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am new to the freelance world and am seeking advice on what gear to buy to round out my kit. I know I am seriously lacking in the wireless department and may need to rent those for now. In my previous life, we could not use wireless transmitters for anything and had to cable wrangle all day long. I think I have a pretty good start, but wonder what you would purchase to supplement what I already own. I don’t really need specific manufacture/models (although any would be appreciated) but rather what type of essential gear is missing from the list below that I should own. I am sure this is a bit hard to answer without knowing the specifics of the shoot but I initially plan to seek out corporate, documentary, and other small jobs that don’t require a lot of gear. From what I can gather by reading through the multiple posts on this site, a basic kit consists of: A mixer/recorder, a boom pole and mic with accessories, and a couple of wireless lavs. What am I missing? Time code generator? Wireless camera hops? Comteks? Or are these “nice to haves?” My Current Audio Gear List: (1) Sound Devices 664 Audio Mixer with bag and batteries. (2) Neumann KMR 81 Shotgun Microphones (1) Sennheiser MKH 416 Shotgun Microphone (1) Audio Technica BP4029 Stereo Shotgun Mic (2) Neumann KM184mt Condenser Microphones (1) Neumann U87Ai Studio Microphone (2) K-Tek Carbon Fiber Boom Poles with Internal Cable (1) Rycote Shotgun Microphone Windshield Kit (2) Rycote Suspension Mounts (1) Sennheiser AVX Wireless transmitter/receiver with ME2 lavalier Mic Various mic stands, XLR cables, and other accessories. How often do you run into a situation where the camera department requires a wireless hop from the mixer to camera(s)? Are most productions fine with a wired breakaway cable? If wireless, what is the best economical solution? I have a bunch of Countryman B6 wired lavs, Tram TR50 Wired Lavs, Sony ECM-88B wired lavs that I am not sure what to do with. Do you keep wired lavs in your kit? If there isn’t a need for wired lavs very often, I will probably try to sell what I have and put the money towards a set of lectros or zaxcoms. I have a couple of Anton Bauer Dionic 90 batteries that I am using to power the mixer. Although not ideal because they are somewhat bulky and heavy, I already had the charger and batteries lying around so made that work for now. Thank you for your input! It is truly appreciated.

Greetings! I have been a lurker of this sound board for a few years now and truly appreciate the quality of information and advice given throughout the years. I have finally decided to sign up for an account and start contributing to the group. I plan to make a few posts with individual topics so they can be discussed individually and people can read/respond to what interests them. The reason for this particular post is, for the past 12 years I have worked as a government contractor and produced video for the Federal Government in a classified setting. I stepped away from that endeavor a little while back and am now looking to freelance when possible. That said, even though I have been a part of well over 100 productions, I don’t have a demo reel or show list that I can share because of, well… I’d get thrown in jail. I am seeking advice on the best way to move forward into the freelance world without having to start from scratch (if it’s even possible). I live outside of the Washington DC metro area (Front Royal, VA) and figure most of the better paying jobs are in and around the city. This post isn’t meant to be a resume or a search for work but rather background information on my experience and what I am looking for to hopefully help you point me in the right direction. I am mostly interested in shorter gigs in the 1-7 day range, but would be willing to take a slightly longer term gig for the right project. As a side note, I own and operate a coffee roastery, three cafés, and a restaurant. I have a great team that takes care of the day-to-day operations and allows me the flexibility to step away for chunks of time but can’t leave them for too long. Funny enough, amongst all the chaos of running that business, I miss the creativity and problem solving that goes into creating great videos and would like to supplement my income by mixing audio. I am also willing to travel so long as it isn’t a long term project. I should also mention, I am not looking for anything incredibly complicated to mix, at least while I get my feet wet out in “the real world”. The bulk of my experience has been in studio work, on location interviews, docu style productions, and panel discussions with multiple presenters. I have experience in the entire video production process starting with writing a script, working with talent (including a little hair and makeup), producing and directing, running a camera, lighting a scene, location sound mixing, boom op-ing (I’m pretty sure that’s a word), editing, still/motion graphics, and authoring video. I mention this because I have a great working knowledge of what goes into creating a wide variety of shows and have seen the process from a myriad of different angles. Of all the positions I’ve held, I enjoy the role of location sound mixer the most and is the direction I want to head in. I am punctual, easy to get along with, knowledgeable of my craft, and for what it’s worth, I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Digital Cinematography. Is there a good freelance website or two that you have had success in landing jobs or has it all been networking/word of mouth? As I mentioned earlier, with the coffee businesses, I don’t have a lot of extra time to hobnob around in hopes of finding work. Does anyone know of any good networking events coming up in the Washington DC area? I have a decent kit put together, but still need to purchase a few items (such as better wireless). I created a post titled “Help Me Round Out My Kit!” If you are interested in seeing what gear I currently own. Bless you if you made it this far and thank you for taking the time to read through my post! I truly appreciate any advice you can give.