Jump to content

John Blankenship

Members
  • Posts

    7,180
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    64

Everything posted by John Blankenship

  1. I carry both padded and unpadded Red audio cables just for this reason. So far, on the Red shoots I've done, they've used the double-system audio and the camera sound has only been for reference purposes. I hope this remains the case. It'll be interesting to see how they've handled audio on the Epic and Scarlet. John B.
  2. Today is Rip Torn's birthday. I wonder how he's celebrating. John B.
  3. Charlie and his team are excellent with turnaround time. You might call him Monday to double-check that they're not backed up if you're in a time-critical situation. I recently had two SB2 boxes and a TS-3 upgraded and calibrated. I sent them in two shipments so that I wouldn't be without at least one slate. Their turnaround (and I'm in Indianapolis) both times was lightening quick. John B. (Go Colts!)
  4. The old saying is, "It's the carpenter's house that's falling down." John B.
  5. Someone once said, "Most art fails." For every van Gough masterpiece, you can find thousands, probably millions, of amateur efforts that are an eyesore. For every memorable Bruce Springsteen gem, there are thousands, probably millions, of songs that will make you want to stomp on your iPod and heave it into the river. They then went on to point out that in comparison to any other art form, film actually fares rather well. Probably due in part to the cost of entry, film has maintained a notably better ratio of good to bad. Perhaps now, with the democratization of filmmaking, brought about by low cost cameras and editing equipment, film may in the future be on a par with other art forms and create as much "failed" art as all the other disciplines. But, without all those failed "tries," would we find our next Renoir or Leonard Cohen? We can talk endlessly about all the failed art in the world and lament how the creator should never have picked up a brush, a guitar, or a camera, but the important thing is to celebrate, nurture, and honor the art that succeeds. John B.
  6. A worthy mention. www.antennaweb.org is an excellent resource and also very helpful for setting up antennas for terrestrial television reception. (However, someone should probably tell J1N that constantly slinging arrows at his peers to remind them of what they already know makes some wonder about the archer.) John B.
  7. Agreed. Meryl Streep's performance truly gave us an inside view into Ms Child's life. With the possible exception of the miscast, and not well written for the screen, "Mama Mia," Meryl just keeps getting better, and more nuanced, with every performance. John B.
  8. I've yet to see a full-on front panel shot where you can easily see each knob, button, and label. Has anyone found one? John B.
  9. A timely discussion since I just watched this film two nights ago. I was immediately taken by the fact that Quentin was trying to do a Sergio Leone film. It was obvious from the camera work in the opening exterior scene and then confirmed by the protracted dramatic build of the subsequent interior scene. Straight out of "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly." After viewing the film, I chased down some interviews online, and was pleased to see that Quentin was upfront about choosing to mimic this cinema master's style. They say, "If you're gonna steal, steal from the best." Which brought the question to mind, "Did Quentin consider dubbing all the dialog, 'Italian Style' to further duplicate Leone's Spaghetti Western style of the 60s?" I prefer Quentin's choice, but still wonder if this was ever under consideration. IMO, the quality of the sound design was blatantly subtle. It had the same over-the-top-but-still-making-it-work style that the rest of the film did. Sound has so many subtle nuances that add to the character of a film and this one was done superbly. My compliments to the whole sound team. Notice, for instance, as a character would near the large overhead fans in the lobby of the theater, you would hear the whoosh in passing. A little bit larger than life, but keeping in perfect character with the sensibility of the film. Every time I see "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly," (the best of the "man with no name" trilogy, in my opinion), I'm more taken by Sergio's Mastery and I enjoy his films more with each viewing. I'll be curious to see if Quentin's film holds up as well with time. John B.
  10. ...and then, there's the JWsound forum, where he could ask the friendly and helpful fellow mixers. It appears he chose one of the above options. Personally, I'm glad he picked the latter, since it added a bit to my knowledge. John B.
  11. An MKH50 would be a good companion to your 60 and would bring the off-axis boominess down a bit. Then, hang some furnie pads, throw more on the floor under your talent, mic as close as you can and the results may just be usable. A used 50 would be in your price range, for a new one you'd have to stretch the budget just a bit. John B.
  12. Christian, Really cool photos! Thanks. John B.
  13. James Cameron has said in interviews that they both collaborated on each other's film, offering input and advice, and how he thinks she richly deserves a win. John B.
  14. I don't know how Sennheiser's chart is but, the last time I checked, the Lectro "TV Station Lookup" chart was out of date as of the completion of the digital transition. John B.
  15. My advice is pretty much along the lines of the wisdom you've already heard. A first reaction to your list is that if this is going to be a hobby for you, then your list is fine. If it's going to be a profession, you need to start out by thinking of your purchases in terms of investment. An investment needs to be minimum outlay for maximum return. It's normally not a good investment to purchase something, especially high ticket items, you're unlikely to use and, even if you use them, they probably won't pay for themselves. That's the situation you're apt to be in if you go the multitrack, and most expensive microphone, route. Many of us who own multitrack gear find that the majority of the work we do, especially the work that makes us a living, requires only one or two tracks. For the type of gigs you'll likely start out with, a good mixer, a good mic with proper wind protection, reliable cabling with multiple options, and a couple of wireless are your basic tools. I love a good Schoeps, however, I wouldn't recommend it for your first mic. Thinking about investment in your tools, you wouldn't go wrong with a Sennheiser 416 since it's a good mic to have in your kit no matter how far you go in the industry. It'll cost about half of what the Schoeps sets you back and it meets the "investment" criterion mentioned earlier. Spend the difference on a good pole, proper suspension, and top notch wind protection. Those are all things you'll need from the git go. Used Lectros are an excellent investment. They're pretty "bullet-proof" and the company stands behind them, ready to help you maximize your investment. If you're thinking about the 401s as a starting point, I'd consider the SR receiver instead as it can serve as a camera hop later on as you add more wireless. Just some thoughts -- good luck. John B..
  16. I've used a similar line: "Think of me as a sound doctor." John B.
  17. The metaphor is not lost on other members of the production. John B.
  18. What Robert said. Fortunately, the times I've done this type of "send various mixes various directions" gig, I've had the time necessary for setup and have run additional mixers, including a mixer to mix the mixers in order to monitor. One way to send four mixes via 302s and still be able to monitor all the channels would be to run the "tape out" of mixer one into the "tape in" of mixer two and monitor with mixer two, switching to the tape return to listen to mixer one. If it's a run'n'gun, you might be better off retaining the camera return from camera to make sure all the connections are staying solid. If it's a static situation, after checking prior to the shoot that all the feeds are getting to the cameras, there would be less danger in not listening to camera returns. You could still have the returns handy and, on occasion, you could plug them into the return to verify signal integrity. John B.
  19. R.L. The irony of a linguistic mistake made while schooling others on linguistics just couldn't go without notice: "Open a bottle of red wine, let it breath for a while, then pour yourself a glass, grab a healthy chunk of a baguette, smother it with some brie and enjoy." It's "breathe" not breath (as in the act of taking a breath). Sorry, I really couldn't resist. John B.
  20. You make a good point, Brian. And, the reason Iowa suspended theirs was that they realized they hadn't installed proper accountability. For most of the states that are revamping their programs, it's not so much an issue of "what's" being done as it is to "how." John B.
  21. Find the right size paper clip, hold it with a pair of pliers and heat it up (the paper clip, not the pliers), then carefully poke it through the hole. Voila! Properly sized. John B.
  22. Thanks, Steve, I think the whole team is more stoked than the last time we went to the Superbowl. Peyton is leading that charge; this year he seems to be even more competitive than ever before. Due to his and Reggie's leadership the new receivers are really stepping up. And how about some of those Addai runs -- who says we don't have a ground game! Sure do love our defense this year! John B., Go Colts! P.S. Sorry to hijack this thread with my signature. We return you to your regularly scheduled program of hugging trees.
  23. That would explain some people I've met recently. John B. -- Go Colts!
  24. I'm talking without having the manual or a camera in front of me, but check things like Time Base, Frame Rate, Drop/Non-Drop, Jam Sync setting, No T.C. Output, etc. If the camera is set at 23.98 and post is editing at 29.97 for TV, you may wish to use 29.97, in which case there is a Cross-Jam setting that needs to be activated. Wandering through the audio, time code, and frame rate settings in the manual will make it all a lot clearer. You can download the manual from red.com. John B. -- Go Colts!
×
×
  • Create New...