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How often do you (the location sound recordist) find that production asks you about sound design/mix?


cory

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Thanks for your comments, David, and sorry for the "background noise." 

 

Major features are of course, by necessity and design, quite compartmentalized.  However, there is a huge amount of post work being done in places other than Hollywood where the projects vary widely and the lines are not as clearly drawn. 

 

 

 

 

 

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The OP was talking about movie.

And as stated, there is a huge gap in time between shooting and audio-post.

And I think it's almost impossible to line schedules up so one can record on location and do the audio post as well.

And with how movies are being done now. Where they are even doing reshoots as they are mixing, I doubt even Walter Murch gets much chance to both edit and so sound on the same movie. A movie today, is never really locked. They just start working on it as they approach the deadline.

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And Murch is an exception in Hollywood, for sure.  It's really too bad but even at my local level, let alone the larger shows I've worked on, the scheduling that would allow me to work both sides of a show has rarely worked out, even when everyone wanted it to.   But there is a counter trend to this in the lower budg world, and the way things have gone recently how the lower budg world goes eventually bigger shows go too in some way.  How this would manifest itself on larger productions I can't imagine, but the trend is real.  Maybe at the top specialization will increase and everywhere else it will decrease.  I know crews are certainly depopulating in general, at least in my area.

 

philp

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Philip -- when you do post do you do everything solo? Or do you split some of the work with some friends (ie hey, can you do some foley/SFX and I'll dialogue edit and mix?)

Henchman-- are you a solo mixer, or do you work with several people at one big board? Does that even still happen these days?

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The OP was talking about movie.

And as stated, there is a huge gap in time between shooting and audio-post.

And I think it's almost impossible to line schedules up so one can record on location and do the audio post as well.

And with how movies are being done now. Where they are even doing reshoots as they are mixing, I doubt even Walter Murch gets much chance to both edit and so sound on the same movie. A movie today, is never really locked. They just start working on it as they approach the deadline.

 

While all of this is for the most part true, the chances the O.P. will start his career working (either location or post) on major motion pictures is somewhere in the range of "winning the lottery" odds.  Therefore, the things Philip and I have been mentioning are more pertinent until he reaches that goal several years down the road.   It's certainly good to know the reality in the world he wants to head toward, but he also needs to know the reality he may encounter prior to that. 

 

If he can get on board low budget projects (which, unfortunately, seldom have a post budget) wearing more than one hat, it may help him decide how he wishes to approach a career. 

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" until he reaches that goal several years down the road. "

I got the feeling " You seem to be working on a lot of the kinds of projects in post that I'd like to get my hands on. " he was looking at doing gigs like Henchman is doing... bit also doing the production sound on them...

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" until he reaches that goal several years down the road. "

I got the feeling " You seem to be working on a lot of the kinds of projects in post that I'd like to get my hands on. " he was looking at doing gigs like Henchman is doing... bit also doing the production sound on them...

 

Yep.  He needs to know that reality and the reality of the road along the way, both of which will help him understand what path to take and where that path might lead. 

 

We're just laying out the broad landscape.  Based on some of his followup questions, he may be finding that helpful.

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  • 1 month later...

First time posting, but avid reader. Sorry to wake up an old post, but I wanted to offer my gratitude to everyone who pitched in with cory's questions; they've been very inspiring.

 

I am in the same boat as he, through from opposite ends I suppose; I know with certainty that I want a career in post but find it valuable to be able to work production. I wasn't able to uproot myself after college and leave for LA like everyone else I knew; I had to stay put in Chicago. With only my handful of student projects under my belt, no one locally was willing to give me much chance. Not that I didn't want to, I just couldn't afford to. So I decided to put all those location sound electives (because I had a feeling it would come down to this) to good use and work production on whatever I could find. Whomever hires me for production knows I do post as well because I'll send them to my site which states it. Somewhere down the line I'll ask who will be doing post. If they reply with a name or company, I say "that's awesome" and drop the subject. If they say no one, then I gently remind them I can do that for them as well. Nothing more, nothing less. They're usually pretty satisfied with my work on set that they're willing to entertain the idea of bringing me back. Usually they dont, sometimes they do. Often times, they'll remember me for something else down the road and will call me just for post. Approaching it this way has at least put the idea in their heads and opened some doors for me.

 

At the moment, I'm still stuck mainly doing corporate interviews, BTS shoots, and every other indy short and feature-length in town, but I don't mind it much because I know I'm working up my own ladder sort-of speak. While I'm still nowhere near where I truly want to be, approaching it this way has allowed me the opportunity to work on projects I'd have never been able to had I made a firm decision from the get-go.  At the very least, I have earned a newfound respect for the other side of things. With that and my music recording (I guess I have ADHD in comparison to some of the other members here), I've been slowly able to make a living doing what I love at it's core... SOUND. (Would you tell an oil painter he/she cannot work with watercolors?) Whether it's resonating off a soundboard in a concert hall, vocal chords underneath scorching lights, or a sheet of stainless steel in an iso booth, sound is the medium I choose to make art with; and if the stars align just right, a career as well.

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That's a very positive attitude, Carlos! Congrats -- with luck, that will take you far. Loving what you do is a rarity for most people these days. I often love doing sound, but the nightmare is dealing with all the impediments that get in the way -- the location, indifferent crewmembers, budget problems, etc. -- but once the actual job starts, it's very satisfying and can be enjoyable under the right circumstances.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Carlos, I am in Chicago also. Oh Marc , I love the saying " Indifferent crew members" such a good and polite way to say it

Carlos I am at a different end of the spectrum, retired from a company after 32 years, doing a lot of corporate talking heads and do get involved in some indies ,if they have a good script and merit and budget. I find myself trying to educate people that the files I give them gives creative choices in post. I try to get all sounds on location, foot steps, door slams , everything that will help. Seems people expect sound to follow video and don't want to or don't know how to work with a multi track Example , had a shot of talent taking a swig of wine out a brown paper bag ,she was standing on flight of interior stairs in a quite hallway trying to hear a muted conversation on the other side of a closed door. I asked and got a couple of FXs of the crunching bag of the paper bag when she lifted it. The final cut was great with the bag sound , not over bearing but it made it so believable.

Later

Tom

www.slatemic.com

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I really enjoy doing location work, rarely do things work so I can do it... I'm usually sound editing /designing or riding the faders in a dim lit studio. Sometimes I wish I had got into location sound as my main gig, being in dark studio for 50 hours a week can take its toll on my mental health.

. I really enjoy the creativity of post though.

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Tom, I think I was supposed to be your boom op on a web series last summer, but I had too many scheduling conflicts to fully commit. Tried to catch a pre-pro meeting to at least meet you in person, but got there about 10 minutes too late. Was a shame though as I was looking forward to learning from you.

 

It's funny you say that, because coming from the post side of things I'll often take tangents in between scenes and gather whatever sounds I can find. I remember shooting an indy in that park in Chinatown along the river (can't remember the proper name) and swinging my boom over the side so I can get the sound of the water hitting the metal supports. Made all the difference months later, gave an urban/industrial feeling to the mix. I'm pretty conscious about not holding up production with things like that, but always looking for what can be useful down the road regardless if I'm the one that'll be using it. So long as I keep good reports, no one ever minds.

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I always find getting location specific stairway noises being particularly useful (steps, etc.) Certain types of stairs are hard to foley unless you have a huge foley stage, and the performances in libraries are totally hit or miss...

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