JonG

Thats a pretty good idea! Ive just been using the zipper cases that countryman lavs come in. Not great but compact and fairly simple to organize.

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/forum/28-work-available-available-for-work/

Buy some really small CF cards (like 1 GB cards for example), save your settings to them, and write the name and date of the settings on the card. Done.

Audio Dept is open on sat for limited hours. They have also been known to save people in need. Im pretty sure the other usual suspects around town have an emergency hotline, though I try to never have to be in that situation. Ametron is open sat and sun, though their inventory is rather limited. +1 to renting or borrowing from friends and fellow mixers at times as well.

Lectro has taken care of me within a few days. Denecke has completely rebuilt my slate within 24 hours. PSC has also serviced my equipment and had it back to me the next day. I have never needed any work from Sound Devices, so cant say from personal experience. I have had a couple repairs done by K-Tek. First one took about a week. I think the second did too, and that was during NAB. Sanken took about three months to repair a couple of CUB-01s! I have my beloved MKH-70 in at Sennheiser. Will see how long that takes. Fingers crossed its quick and cheap!

I will admit that there are some people who want what the item is worth when selling used, probably not considering what they themselves would willingly pay for the same used item. I have been to retirement sales and have seen items for sale for well more than what I could get the same item used anywhere else. Id say that the best situation is to determin what you will pay for a particular used item, and keep your eyes open for when you see it for that price. A few years ago I purchased some ucr411a's for around $1200, which to me was an unheard of price. Nothing is out on the market to take their place, yet that seems to be the going number these days. I will say that while there are some sellers who want to get as much back on their inventment as possible, there are also a very reasonable number of sellers that understand that their item will not sell unless there is a reasonable discount. I find it difficult sometimes to keep myself from buying items every day from what I see here on jw, on ebay, or at the usual suspects. I think that RSharman has the right idea regarding figures to go for and expect. Sorry to hear that you find the used prices still too high, but keep your eyes open and you will be surprised what you find.

Im wondering, whats the technology? Lithium? What is the lifespan of these things, and what is the cost to have them "re celled"? Since its open source, I'm sure we'll be seeing an Apple and Google version. Then the thing to know is who makes the best one, and which one isn't stealing your information to sell to third parties or the government, haha.

Marc, I had a friend (mixer) recently do his first musical feature length film, and the production had no idea that playback was even necessary. The back and fourth between him and production over getting someone to do playback, and getting them a kit fee for their gear, was exhausting and took weeks to get through. In the end I think my friend wound up providing the gear, but they had some low level set hand do the playback. I believe he did exactly what you said though, always recording while doing playback even though there was no additional dialogue or sounds to be had, mostly for the conversations from the director to the actors, alongside the playback source. That production got a good deal out of it though, Im sure they have no idea what kind of pains they were saved from in post had he not fought for playback and done such a good job on set for them.

Pretty much what everyone else here has already said. I don't rent much, I usually just opt to buying the product if I know I will need it often enough to justify the expense. However, the usual suspects have always come through for me, when I need specialty items, items to replace mine that may be in the shop, or excess equipment such as additional wireless or comteks. And of course my biggest grievance with camera rental houses is the undercutting. Whats worse is that I can't recall a single time I have worked a job that used rented gear from places like VER where everything was actually working properly, and had everything necessary. These places tend to do such a piss-poor job of maintenance, upkeep, and double checking that everything is there and is the correct item, that it makes the job that much more unpleasant. I did the audition sessions for one of those "talent" singing competition shows, and literally drew out a diagram of the setup and listed, down to the very cable, every thing that would be needed to rent (based on the needs of the production and what the rental house had available). Well, the rental house gave me a lot of "equivalents", without thinking that the cables may now need to be different, and in some cases the cables just didn't work or were the wrong gender! Equivalents are obviously no good because, well lets face it, a Wendt X5 and a Sound Devices 442 are very different mixers, and have very different capabilities!

Thanks Marc, that is what I suspected. As I said, I think I was over-thinking this whole thing!

Ive been asked to do playback on a music video, and the DP who referred me asked if I could run TC to a slate and camera (Red Epic). I said yes, not thinking about it too much because I do that every day on set as a sound mixer. But as I started wrapping my mind around the playback and TC scenario, I began doing a lot of research, which is what lead me to this thread, and hence, resurrecting it. As far as TC to accompany the song goes, I'm guessing that the actual numbers don't matter, so long as they're always the same during the playback of the song, or does it always start at 01.00.00.00? Also, if I am supplying TC to the camera, would I need the camera to be in Rec Run so that things don't get weird? I imagine the scenario where the camera is rolling, I run playback, and suddenly my TC kicks into the camera and changes it mid take. Or the inevitable: I'm rolling sound/TC and the song is about to start, and the camera people are still futzing around even though they're supposed to have been ready to roll (as happens on so many sets when I'm mixing). Am I over thinking this or am I only sending TC to the slate, audio to the speaker and camera, camera is on its own internal TC, just photographing the slate for editorial reference, and they should be rolling before me because there is a finite amount of time before I hit play and the song begins? Ive done a couple playback jobs before, where they wanted TC on the slate, but never asked for it on camera (we were using non TC cameras anyways). This just kind of confused me, and really got me thinking about every scenario that could happen!

Great article! One thing that I was recently told, was the "blue jeans" scenario (if you read this and you're the one that told me the story, please take a bow!): If you buy a pair of pants, it could have been made by someone at the factory who has been making them for 30 years, or 30 minutes. Either way, it costs the same. A recorded file should be the same way, and anyone who takes a job as the technician making the recording should be reasonably able to make a decent recording (and like your article says, if you don't think that is you, pass it along to someone who is. This is also a good way to score points with others!). In this scenario, no two pairs of the same sized same brand of pants are exactly the same, some will fit and some will not. This discrepancy goes along with your experience as a mixer. But whether you've been mixing for one year or ten, a recorded file should have the same price. Though if you've been mixing for ten years, you can arguably negotiate a higher rate if you chose to...

awesome!

I would love to see an Avalon "straight to right angle" converter (even if it needs to happen at the mothership)…. I love my little traveler but all my poles have a side exit except for that little guy. A little off point. New poles look cool! Cant wait to try them out!

Very cool!

Stickman sound in vegas. San fran, dunno.

Will this work with a nomad 10?

I'll be going as well, and am super curious about it! I'll report back!

Being aware of how you are using the pole can also help eliminate problems with the internal cable. My first k-Tek avalon has still never required any tampering or fixing because I try to not rotate the pole when rotating the collars. Ive had that particular pole for many years now with no problems. That said, I prefer the avalon series over the classic series. Couldn't really explain why, I think its mostly to do with the collars. But I made that decision based on trying both out in the field. However many good folks here stand by their classic poles with great pride, and why not? I suggest trying either one out and seeing which you like better I like the avalon series enough to own 5 of them!

Very sad indeed. As we see vinyl seeping back into the forefront of disc sales, we see a need for his services and expertise all the more. Having someone with his experience and passion at the forefront of advocating analog mediums would certainly get people excited about it. He will be missed.

Ive put a mic on the camera and it worked out surprisingly well. Worst case scenario you've got a guide track for Foley. I do love the live Foley approach. Gotta try it some time!

I brought mine back to LSC and had them deal with it. Took about three months to get a new set. You can tell that on top of "quality products", customer service is another strong point for BM.

744T a mixer? Thats news to me...

Wait are we talking about weird things happening on your 744 screen or your post? (jk)