ProSound

A Cinematographer emailed me via my website for a film job flat rate $150.00 a day with gear so here was my response: $150.00 is slave wage for a sound mixer as a "Professional Cinematographer " you should know better than that. Gear rental for your project should be $300.00 by itself. Then his answer: That was uncalled for. I did not list the project as HGTV, NBC or any other of the big companies who can pay up to $750.oo per day for Sound Mixers with gear. Its an INDEPENDENT with a LOW BUDGET. 150.00 equals $15.00 per hour for a 10 hour shoot. Thats better than nothing if there is no work? No? Enough said! Best wishes, I love what people think is a fair wage

Great theme jeff, I really like it

Thanks, no problem I think everyone is working hard right now

Michael, What do you wanna charge? I'd be interested in getting a few short jumper cables

I love the Action Figure as well always a nice touch

This last week I was working a reality show about real estate for a very large and well known company. This job was a last minute hire when discussing the job with the producer (who turned out to be the production coordinator more on that later). I explained in the price they were paying they would get 2 wireless 3 channel mixer and boom. I explained to them for most reality shows a 4 channel mixer and 3 wireless should be used since there is normally more than two talent on camera at any given time. She explained to me that this was simple shoot and the 3 channel package was enough. I asked her if I could speak with the producer and she said she was. So I show up at the job and find out that we are covering 5-7 people with two camera and they want to know how I am going to do this I explained that they needed a 2nd sound person and I really needed a 3rd wireless and my 4 channel mixer. When they told me what they wanted to pay for a 2nd sound person I told them it was to low for me to call anyone I knew. Fortunately the 1st day was mostly sit down interviews with all the talent so i was able to handle it. About midway through the day they tell me that they found a sound person at there price willing to work as a local who was from out of town with a 3 channel package just like mine. When they told me this I knew it was going to be a interesting 2nd day of shooting. Day 2: I go out with my crew to shoot a bunch of short quick scenes with each talent talking on the phone. All these scenes took place inside or outdoors in very quiet locations. The producer told me that we had to move fast so I told him, "I can boom each of these 5 scene easily and we can save time because I won't have to lav the talent I explained to him that it would take me 3-5min to lav each of the talent and that it doesn't matter if we are shooting for 15 min or 15 hours to get the lav to sound correct and be hidden takes time. He bit my head off and told me, "We must lav everyone all the time no exceptions because that is how we make sure we get good sound!!!!" So I did even though the Boom sounded better for everyone of those scenes and will be used. I don't understand why people won't let me do my job the way I wanna do it. I know when I can boom a shoot correctly and when I cannot. So after these scene we meet up with the 2nd crew and I meet the other "Sound Person" and it gets interesting. The second I saw the other sound guy I knew it was going to be a long day. He was 18 right out of high-school and had never done any sound outside of a news studio before and had the following equipment package: Shure fp31 3 Sony ECM hardwired lav's 1 Azden shotgun microphone Boompole So we set up for this complicated table scene I tell the producer that I can cover the whole table with the boom pole and it will be easier if the other sound guy just takes a break. He then responses :" I don't believe you can" I respond it is a scripted scene as long as they don't go off script I can. So after the producer talked they made me lav half of the table and then complained when I couldn't hide the Sony ECM lav's as well as my Countryman EMW. We shot the scene and I covered it all successfully with the boom and it sounded better via the boom (What a Surprise). The rest of the day was an uphill battle with me trying to make up for the other sound guys shortcomings. That evening at dinner the producers complained to me about him and I told them they got what they paid for. What I really wanted to tell them was I told you so. I just don't understand producers and production companies sometimes. They had planned this shoot out weeks in advance but didn't bother to try and book me till 1 week before. Why do companies always think good sound will just come naturally? Why do producers think that a lav is the only way to get good sound? I am hired to be a sound mixer let me do my job correctly and get you the best possible sound and stop making my job more difficult than it needs to be. I often think "Why don't I become a producer?" I know I can do it better!

I just can't believe our military has done nothing to help prevent hearing loss. It is truly shocking. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23523729/ "Large numbers of soldiers and Marines caught in roadside bombings and firefights in Iraq and Afghanistan are coming home with permanent hearing loss and ringing in their ears, prompting the military to redouble its efforts to protect the troops from noise. Hearing damage is the No. 1 disability in the war on terror, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and some experts say the true toll could take decades to become clear. Nearly 70,000 of the more than 1.3 million troops who have served in the two war zones are collecting disability for tinnitus, a potentially debilitating ringing in the ears, and more than 58,000 are on disability for hearing loss, the VA said. "The numbers are staggering," said Theresa Schulz, a former audiologist with the Air Force, past president of the National Hearing Conservation Association and author of a 2004 report titled "Troops Return With Alarming Rates of Hearing Loss." Story continues below ↓advertisement One major explanation given is the insurgency's use of a fearsome weapon the Pentagon did not fully anticipate: powerful roadside bombs. Their blasts cause violent changes in air pressure that can rupture the eardrum and break bones inside the ear. Sudden blasts Also, much of the fighting consists of ambushes, bombings and firefights, which come suddenly and unexpectedly, giving soldiers no time to use their military-issued hearing protection. "They can't say, `Wait a minute, let me put my earplugs in,'" said Dr. Michael E. Hoffer, a Navy captain and one of the country's leading inner-ear specialists. "They are in the fight of their lives." In addition, some servicemen on patrol refuse to wear earplugs for fear of dulling their senses and missing sounds that can make the difference between life and death, Hoffer and others said. Others were not given earplugs or did not take them along when they were sent into the war zone. And some Marines weren't told how to use their specialized earplugs and inserted them incorrectly. Hearing damage has been a battlefield risk ever since the introduction of explosives and artillery, and the U.S. military recognized it in Iraq and Afghanistan and issued earplugs early on. But the sheer number of injuries and their nature — particularly the high incidence of tinnitus — came as a surprise to military medical specialists and outside experts. The military has responded over the past three years with better and easier-to-use earplugs, greater efforts to educate troops about protecting their hearing, and more testing in the war zone to detect ear injuries. The results aren't in yet on the new measures, but Army officials believe they will significantly slow the rate of new cases of hearing damage, said Col. Kathy Gates, the Army surgeon general's audiology adviser. Considerable damage has already been done. For former Staff Sgt. Ryan Kelly, 27, of Austin, Texas, the noise of war is still with him more than four years after the simultaneous explosion of three roadside bombs near Baghdad. Ears still ringing "It's funny, you know. When it happened, I didn't feel my leg gone. What I remember was my ears ringing," said Kelly, whose leg was blown off below the knee in 2003. Today, his leg has been replaced with a prosthetic, but his ears are still ringing. "It is constantly there," he said. "It constantly reminds me of getting hit. I don't want to sit here and think about getting blown up all the time. But that's what it does." Sixty percent of U.S. personnel exposed to blasts suffer from permanent hearing loss, and 49 percent also suffer from tinnitus, according to military audiology reports. The hearing damage ranges from mild, such as an inability to hear whispers or low pitches, to severe, including total deafness or a constant loud ringing that destroys the ability to concentrate. There is no known cure for tinnitus or hearing loss. The number of servicemen and servicewomen on disability because of hearing damage is expected to grow 18 percent a year, with payments totaling $1.1 billion annually by 2011, according to an analysis of VA data by the American Tinnitus Association. Anyone with at least a 10 percent loss in hearing qualifies for disability. Click for related content Soldiers' concussion symptoms tied to stress Can VA handle Iraqi vets' demand? Troop morale mixed, study says From World War II and well through Vietnam, hearing damage has been a leading disability. Despite everything that has been learned over the years, U.S. troops are suffering hearing damage at about the same rate as World War II vets, according to VA figures. But World War II and Iraq cannot easily be compared. World War II was a different kind of war, waged to a far greater extent by way of vast artillery barrages, bombing raids and epic tank battles. Given today's fearsome weaponry, even the best hearing protection is only partly effective — and only if it's properly used. Some Marines were issued a $7.40 pair of double-sided earplugs, with one side designed to protect from weapons fire and explosions, the other from aircraft and tank noise. But the Marines were not given instructions in how to use the earplugs, and some cut them in half, while others used the wrong sides, making the devices virtually useless, Hoffer said. Today, instructions are handed out with the earplugs. In any case, hearing protection has its limits. While damage can occur at 80 to 85 decibels — the noise level of a moving tank — the best protection cuts that by only 20 to 25 decibels. That is not enough to protect the ears against an explosion or a firefight, which can range upwards of 183 decibels, said Dr. Ben Balough, a Navy captain and chairman of otolaryngology at the Balboa Navy Medical Center in San Diego. The Navy and Marines have begun buying and distributing state-of-the-art earplugs, known as QuietPro, that contain digital processors that block out damaging sound waves from gunshots and explosions and still allow users to hear everyday noises. They cost about $600 a pair. The Army also has equipped every soldier being sent to Iraq and Afghanistan with newly developed one-sided earplugs that cost about $8.50, and it has begun testing QuietPro with some troops. 'Hearing pill' In addition, the Navy is working with San Diego-based American BioHealth Group to develop a "hearing pill" that could protect troops' ears. An early study in 2003 on 566 recruits showed a 25 to 27 percent reduction in permanent hearing loss. But further testing is planned. And for the first time in American warfare, for the past three years, hearing specialists or hearing-trained medics have been put on the front lines instead of just at field hospitals, Hoffer said. Marines and soldiers are getting hearing tests before going on patrol and when they return to base if they were exposed to bombs or gunfire. "You have guys that don't want to admit they have a problem," Hoffer said. "But if they can't hear what they need to on patrol, they could jeopardize their lives, their buddies' lives and, ultimately, their mission."

Alittle off topic, but I am looking to buy a mobile GPS System I would like some input from my fellow mixers on what brands and models they are using.

Sell them on double system or record everything ISO then send a mix to the Camera.

Mike, Last time I got screwed out of money (one day of sit down interviews). After trying to collect for 8 months, I just gave up and wrote the money off on my taxes as bad debt.

Vin posts here often you may want to Private message him directly

Rob, I am in the same boat as you working in a smaller market (South Ga, SC and North FL). December and January are always painfully slow for me as well. My news and corporate work is also controlled by the Camera Ops. I just plan for December and January to be painfully slow and just when I get fed up work appears. I wish things where more steady though

I am lucky to even get $50.00 extra a day for it

Larry, I won't be too concerned either I have been continuing to use my (3) 211 systems that are in block 27 and I am not planning on replacing then until there are major frequency issues as they work great still and the checks keep clearing. I also prefer my 250c tx as well they have longer battery life than the 450 tx. I agree that the 400tx sound better but I do all reality tv and news so no one will ever notice, so don't worry larry it will all be ok.

Just read it in the Gotham Gazette: Lectrosonics Update Lectrosonics Reblocked Wireless frequencies are about to undergo some necessary shuffling, due to the FCC auction of the spectrum above 700 mHz, which will take effect February 2009. Lectrosonics is no exception, making Block 27, 28, and 29 no longer available except by special order in 2008 and entirely unavailable thereafter. To compensate, Lectro will be expanding the blocks available on the lower end of the spectrum. Blocks 19 and 20, pending FCC approval, will roll out first quarter 2008, with a possibility of further expansion later. In addition, more products will be added using block 944.

The self noise is higher but like glen and Bartek said it is rarely an issue the reach is amazing though

Jason, I put it below the mixer and to access it by unzip the back of the bag. It takes a min to get to but I find my IDX Lithium Np1 lasts more than 16 hours with (2) 211, Zaxcom Hop, 302 mixer. It keeps the battery out of the way and secure.

I would never use a delicate and expensive microphone like the CMIT near loud gunfire as the SPL can damage the microphone. I would be using the "Stand in" the Octavia as many other mixer would or make a MKH 416.

Omar, Why are you trying to stay away from the G2's I have had two of them for 3 years and they work great for the price just buy a better lav like a Countryman EMW and they will work great for you

Omar, I am 6'4 275 and I use the 2nd one scott posted he PEHR-N and it fits great for me I use it with my 302 set up and and my four channel set up as well

What Crew Services should I sign up to? I am looking to increase my exposure and work more even if it means paying them a cut.

I like the idea of having new posts at the top as well since i usually scroll down and look at those first

I ended up buying the KE-79CC so far I like it alot of the jobs I don't use the boom much and it fits in my 1510 pelican case which is great. It also makes one handed boom operating much easier it was $209.00 at BH Video and I think a good investment. KE-79CC - The aluminum "Traveler" It is 20" minimum length and expands to 6'7".

Great Jeff Thanks I can't wait to upgrade I just have to wait till my Protools works with it