Philip Perkins

If they have a "data wrangler" I make sure they understand that I will be giving them audio files to add to their drives as well as the picture files. I may make a deliverable as well (DVD etc) but I want the production to understand from the get-go that double system 24 bit audio will be accompanying picture all the time. I do this on non-Red jobs (ie Sony EX and P2 ) as well. The data wrangler is sometimes startled by this, but no one has said "no" so far. This is an instance when an "E-Port" (as Glen would call it) is invaluable. Philip Perkins

I've done a great deal of audio recording on computers, on location mostly on a 12" Powerbook G4 w/ Metacorder. That won't be happening anymore because that computer was stolen off my sound cart on a job today. My other computer is a 1 year old MacBook 13" 2.16 Core Duo, and that is about to be hosed off and made into my audio computer. Any one have any caveats about using this model (or MacBooks in general) w/ Meta or Boom recorder? thanks Philip Perkins

The white space devices, in as much as we know anything, act more or less like cel phones. They search for what looks like an open freq and grab it, and then change freqs as a better one becomes avail (or as they move between towers). The difference is that Googlesoft wants to use and sell services in all that unused UHF spectrum (not that there is really all that much in play or that it is actually unused) without having to buy it. It appears, for the moment, that even the FCC doesn't really think that these devices and wireless mics can coexist very well--hence the talk about moving wireless mics to TV ch. 2-14. For those too young to remember wirelesses in this range, this is VHF, where we were in the 1970s-80s. You may notice that there are no modern wireless designs currently being produced for those bands. So....."stand by to re-buy". Philip Perkins

We just treat it like a film camera. No connections, double system, TC slate. No complaints. Philip Perkins

Well, most Yamaha-mixer-based rigs I've seen are bigger than this one. Philip Perkins

I think the video has been taken down by the filmmaker and the singer, now that the election is over. Dave Smollen has other videos of that song on YouTube that I think he likes better (with his band etc). Philip Perkins

Looks good--way compact. Which device is the master clock? Are you using an outboard keybd w/ yr laptop? Do you bus power your Traveler or power it separately? Philip Perkins

Which channels will they "preserve"? What if my city doesn't have two open channels in that range? What about delivery companies, etc radios who squat in those ranges already? Channels 2-14? What currently available wireless systems work in this range? There are lots of unanswered questions about frequency sensing, and who gets to register what where. This is our problem exactly--I'm afraid that it may be necessary to re-buy all or most of our wireless gear (and ancillary wireless gear like Comtek etc) to be in compliance w/ the new rules and freq availability once the "white space" devices start to be deployed. This makes decisions about what to buy that is available NOW very difficult. The FCC needs to make some solid rulings with specific frequencies in specific locales and specific techonologies SOON. Philip Perkins

Can you use these new wirelesses right away, a lot? Will they make your life easier, and maybe up your gear rental rate? Do you need to replace something that isn't working at all, or not very well, esp. in light of real jobs you have booked or trends in your area? Then I'd say go for it, but talk to as many people and do as much research as you can about which blocks to go with. Otherwise--wait, at least until after Feb 19. Philip Perkins

So were you referring to Euro productions when you said that they'd been using the M channel only to cut with (assuming they are keeping the S channel in the timeline, just muted)? That might be the best you can hope for, esp. considering how lofi so many editorial audio monitoring setups are. Having them listening to the full decoded stereo, but without the knowledge to control the width might raise time-consuming questions. During editing many editors are really only listening to dialog and maybe some music as they try to structure the film. Do they really need to monitor the MS in stereo all along? In the US MS is very rare in docs, so this hasn't ever come up for me. Philip Perkins

Not that I know of. Someone would have to make the conversion before they loaded the files. That said, can't AVID's use RTAS plugs? There might be an RTAS that would decode MS audio, but getting editors to do this might be a challenge, esp since they tend to split audio up all over the timeline however it suits them. Philip Perkins

No, not really. Best for them would be to make an LR stereo mix of it for them to use in the cut, that can be relinked to the original before they export. Philip Perkins

Sorry to hear that, man. I like the idea of independent service folks for movie sound gear, but I know it's a tough business anymore--so many technologies to deal with. Best to you and your family--will you stay in the tech service biz? Philip Perkins

Live multitrack recording is almost exclusively done to one of various forms of computer driven recorder these days and even a supposedly "hardware" recorder like a Deva or a 744 is actually a dedicated computer and media. As was said, they key to making a LAPTOP (or "Mini") based system work job after job is to use it only for recording, not editing, email etc etc, as well as doing regular computer hygiene and common-sense stuff like defrags and not running your drives into the ground. The same could be said for keeping a 7xx recorder running properly as well--be mindful of your media, keep your firmware up to date and don't do dumb stuff. The major diff between hardware and laptop/mini based systems is really convenience and portability and working style. I'm not crazy about the idea of a computer-based rig on an insert car, but people do it, and I guess I would too under the right circs. Bag rigs are certainly hardware recorder situations for me, but over on Gearslutz people do all sorts of wacky field recording things with MBoxes and get away with it. Philip Perkins

I thought about the pre/post EQ thing a little more (O lucky people), and now believe that pre- or post on EQ should be a decision taken after a discussion between production and post audio people about what will work best for that show. On a movie or episodic there could be an MO established about this that would save a lot of detective work. In the commercial world I'd lean towards pre-everything for isos all the time. Philip Perkins

As a postie, I'm coming around to idea of post-EQ isos as long as the EQ isn't too rad. It's hard enough to get at the isos to grab a line that might have been under another actor's lav getting crunched etc, but much harder to then have to match even reasonable amounts of EQ--that might be a dealbreaker on the dubstage. I had thought most film production mix panels were pre-EQ on the direct outs, but if the 208 and the Sax are both post EQ that covers a lot of the mixers in use right there. On the fader-panel rigs w/ Deva and Cantar--can you do pre or post EQ for the isos? Philip Perkins

This is a despicable and dangerous trend. Philip Perkins

I actually think that most of the people using Metacorder, at least, use it as their primary multitrack machine, and perhaps backup a mix on a portable. When we use Metacorder as a 20+track recorder w/ multicam video there has been no back up at all in the last 3 years besides a scratch 2-mix going to some cameras. Boom Recorder seems to turn up quite often as the backup to a hardware (Deva) type recorder on film/video shoots. If one was only going to have one recorder, the hardware machine wins hands down for versatility, ruggedness and portability. However, after 3 solid years of recording on computers, I would say that a properly setup and operated system is no more prone to problems than digital hardware machines. I understand that many do not agree with this notion, but that is what my experience has been, through a LOT of recording. Re: video audio: many of us double record all the time (audio to camera and to recorder), but the lion's share of video editing is done with the camera audio for convenience sake. Still, I would not want to be without the ability to roll when I thought I needed to, regardless of camera, and the audio recorded on even cheap digital recorders is still superior to that done on almost all video cameras, regardless of price. Philip Perkins

Way cool. How much uptime do you get for all that gear with two VLock batteries? Are they in parallel or do they power different things? thanks Philip Perkins

Thanks to all who voted--it was quite interesting to me to see how non-pervasive and non-required e-ports turned out to be--not what I'd expected. Philip Perkins

I've done all of the above. Nowadays I'm pretty much in the "cash it out" camp, but haven't been buying much in the way of really big ticket items. When credit was really cheap, I used that, but it's easy to let that get out of hand. A business loan would really only be available to someone with a visible business that had collateral--like real estate. Relatives helped a little, at the very beginning. I moved to the "cash it out" position after talking to some small equipment rental companies and individuals (mostly in video) about how they bought what they had--most saved and cashed the purchases out without using any long-term loans. The upside: less debt. The downside: your gear lust has to be controlled. My advice: only buy what you yourself are going to use, a lot. Like not for one or two jobs a year but almost all the time. I know plenty of sound people who have a lot of gear they WISH they needed. Philip Perkins

Could be, I guess. Mostly I think it was that they didn't want to bother, or didn't want to get into an argument with someone who might be upset with the news (or deny it and start a finger-pointing scrum). Philip Perkins

I can see the advantages of having that gear so accessible--I guess that stuff is pretty lightweight? Philip Perkins

There is a lot of truth about location mixers not hearing about audio problems form audio post, even if they were pretty severe. I've done production sound a lot longer than I've done post, and communication between production and post used to be even worse in those days (1970s). I had a number of experiences at screenings of finished projects where I'd finally be introduced to the posties, and I would hear about what they had had to do to get my tracks to work for them--usually in a friendly "what are you gonna do?" kind of way. I would be embarrassed and aghast. "Why didn't you call me while we were still shooting? Why didn't you call me and tell me about this issue that pervaded all of the delivered audio?" And so on. I learned that the post folks are kind of taught the attitude that "it is what it is" and they move on, and solve problems their own way rather than going to the trouble of going back to the source. (This is one of the reasons I got involved in post: self-defense as a production mixer.) Today communication seems to be much better, and I make it a point to both stroke and inform mixers of problems with their audio when I can. I can say that the first mixes I attended of projects I'd recorded were some of the highest density learning experiences of my life, and were also like having a root canal in public. Nowhere to hide--a highly recommended field trip for you whippersnappers. Philip Perkins

On a high-end mixer like a 208 you could always wire around the EQ for the directs if you wanted--Andy might even have included some pick-off points on the circuit boards for this--check your schematic. In the Audio Developments mixer I used to use this was a fairly easy thing to do, even though it was a simple mixer and that feature wasn't designed in. (Ditto w/my PSC M6, which was originally designed without direct outs.) Otherwise--I'd say if you haven't had any complaints about how you are recording then it must be working! Philip Perkins