Chris Howland CAS

We added a social meet up in Milan with our friends at Soundfish and it looks like we will be adding an abbreviated Boom Presentation and Panel Discussion as well. More info as the event develops but the rSVP link is already live so reserve your spot now. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/k-tek-e-soundfish-ti-invitano-a-un-evento-sociale-ed-educativo-tickets-612500715127

In May 2023, K-Tek and the LA Sound Mixers are bringing Ken Strain and his BoomRight Masterclass to Berlin and Rome. An RSVP links and full event details will be posted very soon. In the meantime, this is the intro of the original Boom Operators Masterclass taught by Ken Strain here in Los Angeles in 2017. Ken’s presentation would eventually evolve to become the BoomRight Masterclass and, with the help of Brenda Klemme and Tino Liberatore of K-Tek, it would play in New York, Munich, London, Chicago, Atlanta and many other cities around the world. We are looking forward to bringing this seminar along with a panel discussion on production sound to Berlin and Rome in May 2023. You Tube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzwm29UdKLA Here is a link to the official photo album of that event. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10155550678488006.1073741907.698583005&type=1&l=fda9d6e460

Jeff! You have done a great job setting a standard for other online forums to follow. Thank you for your wisdom and for maintaining this group over the years.

You might want to check out the MozeGear line of products like the 'Pip' or the 'Mini Papi.' http://www.mozegear.com Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm so glad I bought the 664 already. I feel like it was a great deal for what it can do, even with the price increase. I don't think it made sense for the 664 to be cheaper than the 744t. I'm surprised Sound Devices released the 664 with such a cheap price point. It should have been higher all along.

I have a few friends on Facebook that know the Production Mixer Paul Sandweiss. The short explanation is, everything sounded great in the house and on the truck here in LA. The problem has been traced back to network headquarters in NY which is where where the broadcasted originated. Most people listening in 5.1 Dolby had no problems but people listening in stereo were hearing there normal stereo mix AND the 5.1 stems at the same time. This is what caused the phasing sound on everyone who was speaking. It also caused the center channel to be a bit buried.

It's good to have a joke or a quick anecdote handy in order to break the ice. I had to put a lav on Janice Dickinson a few months back which was interesting. Me: Hey Janice! I'm Chris the Sound Mixer. Is it cool if I put a put a mic on you? (I show her the Lav) Janice: (Confused look) I'M NOT WEARING A BRA. Me: Good to know but, I won't let that hamper my efforts! Janice: I'm just wearing pasties, See?! (Lifts her shirt) Me: (Trying not to look shocked) Impressive! I think we can find a spot to hide this mic! Janice: Cool then, Just get in there cowboy! While I was installing the mic she was on her cell phone telling her Boyfriend "There's a cute guy here with his hands up my shirt!" Ugh, the things we do for a buck! )

Merry Christmas everyone! Let's hope 2010 turns out to be a great year for all of us! Cheers

Facebook.com/LASoundMixer Twitter.com/LASoundMixer I use Facebook ALOT more than Twitter. It started out as a way to keep in touch with my family, who all lives out of state, and to keep in touch with all those cool people I meet on set. You get to know people pretty well after you spend a few 60-72 hour weeks with them and I like to see a sentence or 2 from them to see what they are up to. Calling every person on the phone is just not a good use time (for me or them). Me: "Hey! How are you?" Them: "I'm great what are you up to?" Me: "Not much. What about you?" Them: "Not much here either!" Me: "Cool!" Them "Cool!" (Crickets) With Facebook, you can skip this annoying scenario and get right to the core of the conversation, see pics and not lose any of the nuance. Last week I casually updated my status on facebook saying that I was shooting on the 3rd street promenade in Santa Monica. Just from that posting I got set visits from 6 people I consider to be good friends and colleagues. 2 sound people, 2 actors and 2 producers! The most common I heard that morning was, "I saw your Facebook post and..." Facebook doesn't take over your life or give you something else to look after. (That's what Mafia Wars is for!!) It gives you a way to experience and express humor and life with your friends and colleagues. Cheers, Chris

I remember going to tapings of both Leno here in LA and the Conan Show when he was still in new york and one common thing I noticed was that, in both situations, the level of the lavs over the house speakers was EXTREMELY LOW! The volume was so low that you had to be very quiet in the audience if you wanted to hear the talent at all. They also had many small speakers mounted over the audience rather than fewer large speakers. I'm sure that made a difference and reduced the chance of feedback.

I usually state "That's a Cut" on the slate mic as well as 2 beeps at the end. The Boom Op, and the crew at video village usually like to hear it. It's part of the cadence. I got used to hearing it on my internship which was a 60 day shoot so I adopted it. I must say that 1k is still an annoying freq to hear over and over. I like to try and use a lower freq like 440Hz.

I love sound guy talk!

I find it interesting that Christian Bale, A BRIT, went through his entire rant in his manufactured American accent.

You guys are GREAT!!! Thanks for the responses (including the direct email responses) This is why I love this board. Cheers!!!

I'm sitting here watching the Bill Mahar show and my curiosity is getting the best of me. I'm noticing the lav mics on Bill and the 3 person panel and the lav mics have, what appear to be, two individual mic elements on each person. They look like they could be trams but each person has 2 identical looking mics attached to the same tie clip on their clothes. Is this a redundant back up mic or are they doing some kind of noise canceling function Like the COS-11x? Would this require each person to wear 2 different transmitters or are they, somehow, wired to a single transmitter? Oh yea, and while we're on the subject of lavs.... I noticed on American Idol, Ryan Seacrest would have 2 identical lav mics, one on each lapel of his jacket. Does anyone know of a special reason for this other than getting even coverage if he turns his head? I would love to get some insight into these questions. Many Thanks, Chris Howland