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RPSharman

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Posts posted by RPSharman

  1. I have reserved mine, and I will tell you all about it!!

     

    My plan, currently, is to use it as I do my 788T, with my PSC Solice. I will buy the iCon to add faders when I need extra faders. I have little in-line device that reads the power draw on 12v 4-pin XLR cable. I plan to use that to power the iCon, so I will report back on power consumption.

     

    I will now have my 664 in the bag, my 788T/CL9 on a mini cart of sorts, and my Scorpio on the main cart.

     

    Can't wait!!

  2. If your mix is peaking at 0 bBu (-20 DbFS), and your ISOs are -14dB below that, then it is too low.

     

    I have had post friends call me to complain about mix and ISO levels on shows with some mixers being way too low, and they ask what I do. I always tell them they should contact the production mixer and ask for higher levels.

     

    My mono mix is pretty hot (average conversational peaks at -12 dBFS), and knowing it's used for editorial, who don't want to be boosting gain for dailies, they and I seem to like it that way. But lately, knowing that I am on shows with extensive post sound schedules and budgets, I also keep the ISOs pretty hot too (peaks -20 to -12 dBFS). Recently I have been doing a lot of horror movies, so I let the limiters catch the screaming so the dialog isn't too low. I don't have enough hands to affect gain for multiple screamers. The show I am on now has three girls who run around screaming together a lot.

  3. I think it's smart that your back-up recorder has the same workflow as your main recorder. I have a 788T and a 664 that serves as a back-up and a bag rig recorder. Used to have 2x 788T, but found it unnecessary, and I like the 664. The spare 788T was dead weight. Although I might actually buy another if SD doesn't come up with something I like with more tracks.

     

    Since you have a 664, it'd be smart to have another of the same, or if you're just looking for a mix back-up to get you by until you can get another 664 brought to you, then a used 744T. The file naming and such is the same, and it's important to keep things simple for post if your one machine goes down.

     

    If I were you, however, I'd go for a 633. It'll add some capabilities.

     

     

  4. Every retailer will give you basically the same price. There are minimum allowable prices from all of our main manufacturers, and most of our specialty retailers will give you that price. Just ask.

     

    I tend to buy everything from the place that gives me the best service, and helps me out when I'm in need. But I do occasionally spread it around a bit.

  5. I've been up near there too. It is a bit easier now that transmission is mostly digital, so much less bleed. Nothing is on 216, really, and the only trouble I have had with 72 is emergency call boxes on the freeway.

     

    The new wide band gear really helps to find holes, and mostly we just need a handful.

     

    My biggest RF issues stem from walkies and wireless focus and camera control, spreading random and bleedy 2.4 and 5.8 all over the place.

     

    Glad it worked out for you.

  6. My guess is that they were changed to 100mW by someone with a factory code. They are probably a European model that was fixed at 50mW. When you switched it back to 50mW (where they are legally supposed to remain), it locked it back at 50mW.

     

    That's just a guess.

     

    Are you having trouble at 50mW? It really is enough for most situations, and better for many too.

  7. Worked with him on a movie once (Citizen Ruth - I think it was called eventually). And I recorded an interview with him at ASC when they were honoring his DP. Each time was a total pleasure. I was and am a fan. I've not been star struck too many times in my life, but Burt was certainly one of them. 

  8. Hello all,

     

    I am 5 weeks or so into a TV show with the Sony Venice camera. Here's what I have discovered.

     

    It's very quiet. Very very quiet. There are simple fan settings. Four, I think. Two that are for MOS stuff or hot exteriors. Two that shut the fans off while rolling. When the camera gets hot (which is does fairly easily in warm sets and rolling resets), the fan will kick on. We think it might actually be the recorder fan versus the camera fan, but we can't really run a test in the middle of shooting, so perhaps someone in prep can do a test to see what's kicking on. Either way, it's a fan that is louder than Alexa but probably similar to RED at 30%. Ok at a normal distance with one camera, but iffy up close with two in a small set. Unlike the Alexa mini that'll ramp up and down, making inconsistent noise, the Venice fan is consistent, with a pitch I can imagine being very easy to get rid of with basic NR.

     

    In terms of TC. We started off doing off speed stuff, which threw off the TC. It just went off a bit, unlike the Alexa which resets, so we didn't always notice. So there are now tiny lockits riding on the cameras. Before the ACs or DIT were just jamming. Haven't heard anything from anyone regarding TC, so can't really comment on it. They must be syncing from slate or just taking care of business without troubling us. Never heard from them when we KNEW the TC was off, so there you go. Professionals.

     

    It's big. Not really our problem.

     

    It eats batteries like no business, and has some issues with power from our stedicam, which has caused some problems, including dropped clips. Our DIT reloads all the time, even though the card will hold 90 minutes!! He does it to keep up, but also because one bad clip can corrupt the card. The camera has shut down a few times. I think we have lost 2 cards with bad clips. They've been sent in for data recovery, but who knows. We made sure we had the shots we needed on the new card.

     

    I don't run sound to camera, so don't know how good the sound is. But I'm guessing it's great. The Sony cameras have always been good.

     

    Cheers,

     

    Robert

     

     

  9. I find there to be no cable noise in my Westone UM Pro 20s, and I also turn my headphone feed way down.

     

    As I mentioned before, I use the smallest silicone tips to allow some escape for loud surprises, and to hear some ambient sound around me. It's my intent, however to try a more fitted tip when I'm stuck outside when recording a quiet scene inside.

  10. I recently started using UM Pro 20 (Westone) and find them great! I use the smallest silicone tips so I am not completely isolated from the outside world, although my crew and other crew members certainly noticed I can hear them far less than before. I started by listening to takes I had recorded when I wore my Beyerdynamic DT250s. It helped me get an idea of the differences. Then I used them for the last couple of weeks of a show I had mixed for 2 seasons, so I had heard the same actors on the same sets with the same boom operator. It helped me feel confident that I knew what I was hearing.

     

    Now I won't look back. The ease of using in ears vs. big phones is truly immeasurable for me. I can wear sun hats and winter hats, as required. And my ever-thinning hair doesn't end up in a rooster tail by lunch!!

  11. Regarding recording the ambiance toward or away from the offensive noise... I have found that in situations like traffic, car noise that's visible in the shot and such will still make the track even with the mic pointed in a "quiet" direction. I feel that a more consistent and less noisy underlying ambiance, with the most obvious things like trains and cars still making that track, would be more useful. But really all I get from post is that it was useful, and I have never really asked if it would have been better pointing directly at the cars and such. I would like to know 🙂

  12. You'd be very surprised with what they can do to clean up audio. It won't be ideal, but may be good enough, which seems to be the current standard requested these days for most productions.

     

    I did a scene about 4 pages long in downtown LA at rush hour. We had a snow machine hissing away above our actors. We had busses and traffic, and even someone playing trumpet down the alley. The actors were talking so quietly that they were unable to hear each other for their cues, even though they were sat next to each other on a park bench. They were facing forward, so couldn't see when each other spoke. Everyone assumed the scene would require ADR. Myself included. But it didn't.

     

    The resulting fix was not good if you listened to the scene on headphones, but not too bad coming from TV speakers. And this was 10 years ago with even simpler tools than they have today.

     

    Your solution of getting as much recording as possible for the dialog editors to work with is smart. Have the actors speak at the highest level they can that makes sense to the scene. Get the lavs close. Maybe rent a SuperCMIT and see if that will help too. Consider running the scene wild in a quieter area directly after the scene is over, so the performances can match to some degree. And run a separate ambiance track while you're shooting. Point it in the most consistent and least noisy direction, so the sound editor can use it to smooth out the cuts. This last part only works of the ambiance makes sense to the story. If you're shooting a piece that takes place in the 1700's and you hear cars and busses, then there's obviously no point.

     

    Good luck, and remember that bad producing is not your fault.

     

    Robert

  13. Hi all,

     

    Can you please send me a private message if you’re available to record a lav (to match production sound) on the upper west side tomorrow at 4:30pm. 

     

    Just you with the actor in his apartment. Probably less than an hour to get some added lines. 

     

    Tell me what you’d have to have for compensation. 

     

    I know this is a simple job, but you’re representing me as the producer on an $80k film we shot a few months ago, so it means a lot to me. I’d prefer someone with narrative film/TV experience who works with actors daily. Boom ops and utilities are good too. Just want someone who knows the “vibe” of dealing with a layed back but very experienced actor. 

     

    Thanks,

     

    Robert

  14. 5 hours ago, Philip Perkins said:

    If you find some used Lectro IFB RX in B21 for $350 please let me know.  They don't come up used in USA legal blocks that often (and I look).  That's the problem.  I like how they sound, esp for discerning folks, but you are handing them a $550 device.  Comtek 216 RX aren't cheap but they are way cheaper than that, AND you can scale up from rentals pretty easy if you have to. 

     

    Haha! It is a trick, but they do come up once in a while. Mine were $350.

     

    I use 216 Comteks for clients, as they too show up used from time to time, usually about $300 each. And are cheaper than IFBs new for sure. Makes a big difference when buying a lot. 

     

    I've been very lucky in the used market, with timing and price. My earlier point is just making sure that whatever we use is presented well and works. Using industry standards like Comtek and Lectrosonics (and Zaxcom too, I suppose) protects sound people from being perceived as "cheap". If we make the effort to keep up the illusion, rates might stop declining. I'm not saying we should all have ponytails and skinny jeans like DPs and operators, but we can be clean and groomed and dressed in a way that sets us apart for lower paid crew members. Just my opinion.

  15. Here's from a colleague. No mention of long takes, but you get the idea of what's required. It's more about target temperatures. If you want long takes in a warm environment, you need to have a black shade map with a higher target temperature set. Or just don't do long takes. Treat it like film. Roll and slate and call action quickly, and cut quickly at the end. Collaboration required with ADs and everyone else!

     

    "We have an extremely helpful DP and camera team. At Prep stage i contacted the DIT and DP regarding fan speeds. The DIT asked if he could leave the cameras on 'Adaptive' and i told him that would not be possible due to my past experiences and noise testing on various films and at <rental house> in their sound testing booth with <tech> from RED. He was open to changing that idea, and with the DP copied into all emails we formulated a plan. I told him that other colleagues had used a system whereby the 'Black Shading' was mapped for various different target temperatures, thus having the ability to set the target temperature to something achievable based on each location/situation, and change it instantly along with the custom black shading map if the cameras wanted to heat up/cool down to a level unanticipated. I then contacted ex 1st AC, and now <RED technician>, to chime in and he said this was perfectly feasible and acceptable and offered to come out to one of our camera test days. <The RED tech> and his assistant arrived and helped set up the black shading maps. We then tried the 'Adaptive Preview, Quiet Record' setting which i found a little unpredictable and variable in its noise levels. We agreed that on wide exteriors where the cameras (3 of them....) would be nowhere near the dialogue we would leave the cameras in 'Adaptive'. We also agreed that whenever i needed to on exteriors and all interiors we would run the cameras fans on Manual 30% Record speed with the Preview (i.e. idle) speed at whatever the DIT needed to keep the cameras cool without fluctuating the temperatures too greatly (which is undesirable in the same way as overheating the camera or setting an unachievable target temperature). He constantly monitors the core temperature versus the target temperature and adjusts the preview fan speed to create the best workable balance. Having <RED technician> visit us and let us know what is achievable really gave everyone confidence in our workflow and i am incredibly grateful to him for that.

    We also agreed that if i could hear the cameras i could ask for the fan speeds to be dropped to 25% (their lowest setting), which has happened twice in small rooms so far (day 4 of shoot). I am confident that at 25% the RED HELIUM is no louder than an Alexa on 'record low'. At 30% it is slightly louder but within acceptable levels for most situations (apart from two cameras in very small rooms, and/or quiet close ups with actors at minimum focus, close to the lens).

    We have all been collaborating professionally and after knowing a couple of times i would not hear the cameras due to them being on long lens and asking for the fans to be turned up to 40% i have the trust of the camera dept and DIT who know i'm compromising whenever i can. We are now at a wonderful stage unprecedented in my experience with Reds - i can set the fan speed to whatever we need it to be, by asking the DIT who can manipulate the cameras instantly using an APP on his phone. I would say that the Helium is the best RED so far in terms of fan noise and if set up correctly with black shading maps for different temperatures and a camera department who are happy to collaborate the cameras will not impact the dialogue acquisition.

     

    Generally our starting point interior setting is Manual, 30% Record and 75% Preview.

     

    (BTW, 75% on a Helium is nowhere near as loud as 75% was on a Red Weapon, which sounded like a hairdryer).

  16. In general (and I have worked in LA and London recently) you are expected to make your own way at your own expense for anything that's considered in the area you are supposed to be living. So if the job is in SLC and the location is "out of town", then it would be typical to add time and mileage to your daily rate. But without specific rules, it's something you need to agree on ahead of time.

     

    Nobody lives in London, but if you work in London then you're expected to get there. If you live in LA, you're expected to get to location within the 30 mile zone from LaCienega and Beverly, even if that means you're on one end of the zone and need to get to the other.

     

    It's an imperfect system, and may people elect to turn down jobs with bad commutes.

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