Rachel Cameron Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 All the other departments get last looks. How unfair. So, eh...why not 'First Listens'? All too often, some offensive aural artifact (like a buzzing HVAC register, rat squabbles in the walls,) isn't audible until every one settles.. So, in some shoots ~ usually small movie projects, whenever possible, I've (after a little diplomatic quorum with the AD and the DP, where I offer them more time for beer at the end of the day), arranged for first listens. Yep, I light up the mics and have the AD call for settling, and thirty seconds of no work, so I get a chance to discover anything that's going to take a while to quiet. This way, I can get working on it concurrently to the other departments' builds, and have the issue solved by roll time, and not have to hear "waiting on sound". This would be in addition to having the boom op wander the location with the live boom, later, but during the build, seeking noisy ballasts, or rattling gels, etc. If I can't quiet the rats, I'll effort to get audio post some rat tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Anderson Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 I hate getting burned in some locations, like restaurants, where you get the old "they know where the switches are and will turn everything off, but want to wait until we're about to shoot." And then of course, there are a few refrigerators that were overlooked. I'll try to get the locations guys to give us a little five minute preview of what everything off sounds like. But getting the crew to stop talking and working, while nice to listen for those problems, would probably get me some dirty looks for holding things up. Bravo to you, if you're getting it. I'm on my second consecutive Red Camera show and it gets hard to hear what's left running on set or buzzing with the camera fans blasting at 100% (so I can get them down below 30% when rolling). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wexler Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 Take 1 is all too often our "first listen" and then whatever adjustments we have to make before doing take 2 are perceived by many on the crew as taking forever, "why didn't they do all this before" type attitude. It has gotten so much worse with the digital cameras on set running in full bore hairdryer mode until you finally roll the camera and the set gets sort of quiet. I have even reaquested before rolling on a take when we are trying to find that last offending noise, roll the camera(s) for a moment so we can find it before we roll for real. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atheisticmystic Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 Joshua is right, Rachel...bravo to you if you're getting this done. I have been wholly unsuccessful in this arena, resorting to sweeps with the boom like a 50's era G-Man...pathetic. Then when first "action" is called, why didn't i hear that Mariachi band ? best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olle Sjostrom Posted June 15, 2015 Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 (edited) I ordered some HumanTouch Set Diplomacy Skills 3.0 and it has helped me quite a bit in these cases. It's real hard to get the right level on it since the knobs and pots are all in your head, like mind controlled. But when it works it works really good. My best investment so far. This is tricky though.. in one part of me I really feel like taking my space and time, being a stubborn brute and deliver great sound. But then on the other hand what we do is so abstract and weird to a lot of people, so sometimes I feel like the best when I work in the dark and do my best without anyone noticing. Like a burglar... Balancing act.. And yes, I agree we should be allowed to do first listens. It's a great concept! But all this sneaking and mousing is making it hard being heard and respected Edited June 15, 2015 by Olle Sjostrom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Cameron Posted June 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 (edited) Joshua is right, Rachel...bravo to you if you're getting this done. It probably has a lot to do with the shoots I'm getting, which are not the size and caliber of the shoots you guys probably get. I guess the upside might be that I get a little bit more autonomy than what might be available on those larger projects. I (edit) don't won't expect it to last or be consistent, though. Edited June 15, 2015 by Rachel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 Rachel, If you manage this -- even some of the time -- in my humble opinion you deserve the Stalwart Pioneer Of The Week Award! When you help yourself this way, you help us all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old school Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 In concept I applaud first listen. In my world it will never happen. Experience helps me look for the probable issues before we roll. There is a great decal that cameraman Larry Fong gives out, that says. "It's not a rehearsal if you shoot the rehearsal". I always treat take one as a rehearsal and will ask for time to fix my issue. If they don't want to then it becomes their problem. CrewC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigF Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 Oh, the dream of a lotion scout that listens and not just looks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 Oh, the dream of a lotion scout that listens and not just looks I thought they only had "lotion scouts" on pornos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Spaeth Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 It probably has a lot to do with the shoots I'm getting, which are not the size and caliber of the shoots you guys probably get. I guess the upside might be that I get a little bit more autonomy than what might be available on those larger projects. I (edit) don't won't expect it to last or be consistent, though. I think it's not so much the size of the project but the attitude of the people on the set! If they're cool then there won't be a problem. I love the (unfortunately rare) shoots where there is respect between the crafts, when you get along with pretty much everyone and people are generally part of the solution, not part of the problem! Congrats for being on such productions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Cameron Posted June 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 I ordered some HumanTouch Set Diplomacy Skills 3.0 and it has helped me quite a bit in these cases. It's real hard to get the right level on it since the knobs and pots are all in your head, like mind controlled. That's pretty good... HumanTouch® Set Diplomacy Skills 3.0 Great product, but it would be better if it shipped with a manual. The .pdf delivery always gives me a migraine. : D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Cameron Posted June 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 Oh, the dream of a location scout that listens and not just looks. This was in my photo gallery for a while. I took it on a project I mixed. We had five to ten minutes for takes between landings................for......days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olle Sjostrom Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 This might be preaching to the choir... Oddly enough I have to say most of the projects I've worked on that has been "Sound friendly", has been the ones with a DP with a strong technical knowledge. He/she knows that the images won't be as good with bad sound. I mean, yeah, a sound aware location scout or producer might be fine too, but really if the DP has a "wide eye", then he/she'll make more for you than that good location.Recently shot a series with a DP with more focus on his image than the whole image if you catch my drift. On good locations with good conditions for sound, he could choose to shoot the scene with the sun so we got shadows, and no close ups. I was booming, and I hid the best I could, but there was one take where if you really looked you could see a furry shadow. He insisted on me taking the boom out, rolling a few new takes on the lav. The thing is, this was a scene where the actress was really upset, and the lav didn't really work due to all the movement. He just freaked out over the shadow, not thinking about the scene and its place and the performance. Really frustrating. And then I've worked with a DP that's gone hell of a long ways to get the best sound out of a location. Once we shot a commercial in a BIG department store. He had made sure the company installed a breaker for the huge ventilation system so that we could get clean sound. And another time we rented a studio with lesser acoustics, but he had made sure to rent shitloads of blankets and baffles and let me have two hours of just dampening the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Cameron Posted June 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 In concept I applaud first listen. In my world it will never happen. Experience helps me look for the probable issues before we roll. There is a great decal that cameraman Larry Fong gives out, that says. "It's not a rehearsal if you shoot the rehearsal". I always treat take one as a rehearsal and will ask for time to fix my issue. If they don't want to then it becomes their problem. CrewC I want one of those. I've never 'decaled' my vehicles with stuff....but I would want one on my work truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted June 19, 2015 Report Share Posted June 19, 2015 There is a great decal that cameraman Larry Fong gives out, that says. "It's not a rehearsal if you shoot the rehearsal". I have yelled that many times! AD: "Let's try a rehearsal." Director: "Let's shoot the rehearsal!" Me: "Then it's NOT a rehearsal!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkautzsch Posted June 19, 2015 Report Share Posted June 19, 2015 +1 to Christian's post about everyone working together. This makes everyone's jobs so much easier. Often, a good chance for "first listens" is during the first blocking rehearsal, if everyone is quiet. Then there is no need for additional listening time, and everybody actually has heard what director, cast, and DOP are planning. Afterwards, it's "just" watching out for additional ballasts and noisy heads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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