Winston

I'm saying that when you lower your rate and work for less than the local going rate (whatever that is) you are also penalizing the clients who pay you well. They are competing in the marketplace as we are. They are getting underbid by companies that can bid lower because they pay crew less, demand longer hours and wait months to pay you. By working for less, you are forcing your good clients to join in the race to the bottom. I'm glad you don't have that problem where you are. I'm glad things are good in Hollywood. But I think you are the exception. I live in Philly. I see it happen all the time. My good clients bid on the same spot against lowball companies who then call me and ask for 12 hour days or flats. It's simple economics. All the price pressure is downward unless you have something like a union in the mix holding standards. And we don't.

So your client, the loyal one who pays your rate, feeds you well, pays your cancellation fees, overtime, etc. etc. has to bid against another, shall we say, less generous Producer who can obtain sound mixing services in the same way one hires a dog walker. No, I can't foresee any negative effects either.

My last 15 production days have all had at least one 5D, some have had more than one. I had one job with seven 5Ds. While I am glad to be working and have come to terms with working with the 5D, I feel I am beginning to become an expert in the down side of these cameras. First, they are not aging well. More and more the cameras are losing settings during battery changes. On my seven 5D job, 4 of the cameras lost audio set up during battery changes at various times during the day. When I set each camera up with an identical feed (same signal, same cable) 3 of the cameras had different sound levels for the same signal. Second, the audio failures are always completely out of my control. The AC pulls the audio connector to get the HDMI cable out and doesn't replace it, or replaces it incorrectly. In one case the camera strap got caught in the right angle connector which kept it from seating correctly. The jacks are getting looser, of course, and when the DP reaches around to adjust focus, bumping the connector disrupts the sound. The Rube Goldberg contraptions now being used (HDMI to SDI converters, multiple onboard monitors, etc) leave little real estate for a receiver but they often make room when given the option of using a cable. To avoid the many many failures that can keep this system from syncing in post I have taken a "belt and suspenders" approach that allows for multiple sync points so the editor can find some way to sync it regardless of what fails. I send audio to the camera from the mixer via hardwire for sitdown work or via a G3 if we are more mobile. We clap a smart slate that includes my take number in the userbits. I send a sync beep tone and verbally slate my take number on the camera and audio. Some editors not accustomed to film style shooting try to match up file to file in post forgetting that sometimes the camera rolls with out me or that I might record something they don't. I have gotten calls asking why nothing is syncing only to find they were trying to sync take 17 sound to take 24 camera. I am convinced that the Producer who relies on 5D onboard sound only will shortly be convinced of the error of his/her ways. I am very careful to point out the dangers inherent in that process before we shoot. I always record a backup if they don't wish to pay for it, I tell them that if the camera recording fails there will be an additional charge for the backup. So far nobody has balked once I have explained that. The reports that I am getting back are that having the matching sound on the camera and including good sync points (clap, tone, verbal slate) have increased the syncing success percentage of PluralEyes reducing the number of tracks that need a manual sync and represent a significant savings to the Producer. Reintroducing film style production has been challenging. Something as simple as slating requires a short tutorial. I had a discussion with a DP to convince him that the last 3 pairs of numbers on the smart slate (Min:Sec:Fr)were more important than getting the hour since he was apparently only going to give me 3 sets on closeups. The discipline of making sure camera and sound are rolling before slating is a new thing to new directors. A little extra patience in communicating your needs to the crew is needed. Buts as far as the 5D goes, Old School is Back.