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Back from NAB


Jeff Wexler

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I am back from NAB and like every other year it is a somewhat exhausting experience. MUCH more walking than I usually do which my wife says os a good thing... but still tiring. Since I try and stay fairly current on all the latest gear there really were no surprises (particularly because the one thing that would have been surprising was announced prior to the show --- the Sound Devices 788T). It was good to see the 788T in person and of course to have the really nice discussions with all the SD people, people that I really get to see usually once a year. There have been lots and lots of reports and opinions on this new recorder so I won't really try and add my two cents ... suffice it to say that it is a really good piece of work, well priced, and will be a useful addition many people's sound package.

I saw the Nagra 6 in person, played around with it a bit, and for me it was really quite sad because machine seems to have missed the mark, again, considering what is already out there, working well for most everyone.

I walked by one of the many booths showing lighting gear and a gaffer that I've know for more than 20 years, Pat Grosswendt, came out to say hello and show me what his company has been doing. You have probably worked with these LED flat panel lights (his company is Lite Panels) and the entire model lineup is truly impressive. I am hoping this is the wave of the future --- low power consumption, low heat, silent, infinitely controllable, very small and environmentally "green" from manufacturing to disposal. What I was most struck by is a recurring theme in my thinking about the work that we do:  here I am at NAB looking at all sorts of new recorders, microphones, wireless systems and so forth, and when you get right down to it, what Pat (and others) have done in developing these sorts of LIGHTING systems for our movie and television sets, may actually have a greater impact on our abilities to record good sound. I love that way of thinking as it reinforces the community of movie workers whether they be in sound, camera, lighting and so forth.

Regards,  Jeff Wexler

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Hey Jeff, thanks for the report on NAB and R.A.M.P.S. party. Sounds like you had a good time. Did you happen to meet my neighbor and partner in our little video production company, Rob Terry? He was working the Lite Panels booth with Pat and Rudy et all. We did their product video ( Rob did most of it cause I was crazy busy at the time). They are cool cats with an outstanding product as you mentioned. Big fan of Pats, a real team player when your on a shoot or just hanging out. I think their hard work to deliver new tools to filmmakers should be applauded as you have in your post.

CrewC

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LED lights are great aren't they.. only here is England once we get rid of the whining whistling flapping Mac style lights it starts feeling quite cold on set in the winter!

So true. I guess you cannot count on any of the lighting offering some relief from the cold. More often than not here in California (and on almost any stage) things are always warmer than you would like it to be so the "cool" lites would be welcome.

-  Jeff Wexler

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Hi Jeff,

For those of us not being able to make it to Las Vegas, what was it that you didn't actually like about the Nagra 6. Sure they are bit late at joining the party but apart from looking like a revised HHB Portadrive, does it actually work? With 6 tracks it's about the same size as a PD606 but without a DVD drive. It seems to have a couple less mic inputs than a PD606 but compared to the Sound Devices products, the gain controls look as though they are more than presets. Is there a false start routine, can you edit the metadata? Were Nagra saying anything about future software upgrades?

David Madigan

New Zealand

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