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Nice clean recording of Christian Bale having a "moment"


Ramsay

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I could be wrong, but he could of been arrested for the threats of violence aired during the tirade.... That's assault I believe... Lucky guy, it could of been worse....

Reminds me how I feel when the entire crew walks around and talks during MY sound takes....  Kinda the same thing....  When the AD looses control of a set, I feel exactly like Mr.Bale at times.....  But I just keep telling myself "It's not my movie!!!"  Let 'em talk...  They've been asked nicely many times....

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Richard, when the day comes, hopefully soon, that I have a video assist guy on my set, I'll have to readdress that!

Regarding the mic... you can hear Christian ask on two occasions for "Tom" to come put "this thing" back on.  My guess is that he was talking about the lav.  Quality of recording has a lot to do with the old signal to noise ratio, and if a set were even this quiet and an actor were ever this loud, then our jobs would be much easier!  :-)

Robert

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i just finally listened to this.  robert, i think right after he says tom, someone in the B/G asks for "tom in wardrobe."

if this was a lav it sounded mighty good.  i can't imagine it being a boom - one would think mr bale was probably not standing in exactly the same place thru this whole thing...i can't even hear any head turns.  also, if i was booming, i can't imagine following him while this was going on...

my guess is maybe the lav was taped to the underside of a hat?  one of my favorite spots...

-greg-

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"This is a wonderful scene from Werner Herzog's documentary "My Best Fiend: Klaus Kinski". This is a shot of Klaus flipping out on the set of Fitzcarraldo, one of several incidents that Herzog discusses in the film."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yITx7txr-7M

It's an ugly world we live in at times.

RVD

Gabi

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Hey BobD I know exactly how you feel. My sound when it is really theirs. Still can piss me off though. The big difference is we work and are anonymous where as C B has his face all over the place in a film.

Robert, you may be correct about Tom. My guess is that Tom is his costumer, not boom man.

CrewC

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Thanks Gabi,

It reminds me of a joke:

Two brain surgeons were performing a difficult operation on a patient. After much effort, the patient took a turn for the worse and unexpectedly died.

One of the doctors took it in stride, but the other was totally distraught and kept repeating, "I can't believe we lost him, I can't believe we lost him. We should have saved him."

The more experienced doctor patted his very upset associate on the shoulder and said,

"Relax, It's not like we're making a movie!"

RL

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Richard, I love that old joke. Hey Greg, I don' think the boomer was following him, just on the front line when the scene falls apart and the melt down begins. There is a lot of air around that recording. As we all know, with the lack of noise, signal comes through loud n clear. The one thing all the melt downs I have witnessed or recorded have in common is the dead silence on the set. Doesn't matter really, just a little sound csi to pass the day as I work out in the West Hills of the Valley on a 82 degree in So Cal....

CrewC

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This is a good discussion since it helps us all refresh our perspectives.  On first blush it looks like one thing, then other points of view serve to modify that.  There have been some great comments here.  Two of the most valuable results:

1) No matter how compelling the evidence, there is always more than one side to every dispute.

2) Reviewing and comparing set procedures is valuable for everyone. 

As far as set etiquette goes, I figure on set, the actor should expect that someone may be listening.  Naturally, even on-set, basic personal respect should still apply.  We're there to do a job, not to spy.  I'll sometimes listen to the actor prior to, or between takes, to evaluate the lav placement sound quality.  When wiring someone up, having them do a verbal test and body movement test doesn't tell me nearly as much as several seconds of listening to them walking, talking, and moving naturally.

Off-set, faders down -- they should have an expectation of privacy. 

For their comfort, I will often let talent know the above.  I also tell them if they need to go to the bathroom, to come have me pull the transmitter off.  I usually add, "I don't want you to get electrocuted."  Naturally, my primary concern is protecting an expensive piece of electronics from a bath but my statement is still true even though the transmitter wouldn't do it.

Re the C.B. clip:  I thought (on a re-listening) it was pretty clear he was talking about wardrobe.  Based on IMDB, I'd guess that was Tom Cummins, set costumer.

One time, when working with a new director, I witnessed a major blowup between the director and DP.  The director (who I had counseled on several issues prior to the shoot) looked at me with a "did I just blow everything" look.  Making sure that the DP was within earshot, my response was that making a movie was a very personal thing that works best when the collaborators bring strong personal passion to the project.  Working in a stressful environment with strong passions means that there will be conflicts.  An occasional verbal dispute was not only inevitable but even desirable from time to time as it allows frustrations to vent, issues to air, and things to move on.  The key is the letting go and moving on part.  They got along fine after that.

On a side note, I am struck with the thought that, like many actors, its certainly fortunate that C.B. has the benefit of writers who prepare words for him since he appears to have a severely limited vocabulary.

JB

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Thats where Mark was 6 months ago if thats the reference, who knows where he is working now, but I bet he is working... It was a good read then. I have been exploring the cat5 system he uses as I get further away from the set as time goes by. It would be a great addition in the tool chest for the jobs I am faced with....  The only positive I can come up with this omni media pecking party/ Red Meat feeding frenzy is the ReMx that guy did. It was a hit on our set. I'm sure it spread from there...

CrewC

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Hey Greg, I don' think the boomer was following him, just on the front line when the scene falls apart and the melt down begins. There is a lot of air around that recording.

CrewC

actually crew, i think you are right.  i forgot i was listening to it on laptop speakers the first time thru.

i had a talent blow up once during a voice over session, in the middle of a take.  it was for a home design show and the talent started complaining to the producer who was listening in/directing on a phone patch about the other co-host of the show.  it got ugly.  it took me completely by surprise and i had managed to tape the first 5 minutes of the argument because i assumed that it would end and the talent was going to immediately start back into the script.  20 or so minutes later i had enough and chimed in that i had a session immediately following (this wasn't actually true) and was running out of time.  it took the talent a bit to settle down, but it was obvious to me her performance was off and her voice showed it.  i felt bad for the producer and was pissed off myself because when it came down to it, it was completely rude of the talent to waste our time like that and was completely unprofessional in my opinion.

i don't really have any sort of moral to this story other than:  i guess i can understand how this made it to tape.  this is certainly a confusing situation...especially if the cameras were rolling and the director hadn't yelled cut - when would you hit stop? 

i think it's also possible that the recorded audio file could have come from a VTR operator...

-greg-

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Not a very well defined question the way I read it Scott. (No offense) That is not what happened in this situation. This was in the middle of a take so of course we roll until cut is called. Now if your asking would I record something not related to the shot or film, that depends what is going on. Everybody singing happy birthday to the 1st ac, or someone on the crew, of course. But I would refuse to record any private conversation not related to the film or shot at hand. This out burst was directly related to the shot. Your hypothetical doesn't make sense to me as written. I don't mean to pick on you Scott, you bring much to this site, but seldom do you express an opinion to the topic at hand. What would you do in regard to your question?

CrewC

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As far as I'm concerned, if the actor is in front of the lens, then there is no expectation of privacy.  I would not have cut, even knowing (as I'm sure Mark did) that the camera had cut.  If this had been taken off to the side, and not shouted for all to hear, I would have cut and would have not recorded it, even if asked.

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   At what point here do the actors accept responsibility for being miked.....  and not saying or doing dumb things....  It could be argued as it has been, that the screaming and yelling was done in a "public forum"  Hence it was heard by numerous people.... so, the recording is secondary to the witnessing done by so many, although it's potential use later is far worse!

   That being said,  I would record the material if asked to do so by my producer. I personally have no nor accept any responsibility to protect  the actors from such outbursts other than the normal course of action from day to day. Mainly, dropping my faders between takes.  This in MY opinion is not done to protect the actors, but to protect the company I am working for from embarrassment or harm caused by malicious and needless dialog between takes by the actors. Only in VERY rare situations am I interested in protecting the actors.

  There could of been, or are, other cameras, cell videos, or any other number of things recording such outbursts.  The responsibility rides on the actor first!  Ultimately they need to protect themselves.

  Again, actors must exhibit and accept SOME responsibility for their actions on set, including trying to keep their mouths shut between takes so as not to say demeaning or hurtful things to crew, about crew or about the production in general. Wait until your NOT miked to do it.... If your smart enough.

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You answered my question Scott. Good to read your POV. I think we could all come up with scenarios were we would or wouldn't roll or cut a recording. It is a judgement call that we all need to make now and again. It is good to think about it in light of the Bale recording coming out now after all this time. Perhaps it is a viral way to generate publicity for T4 after all. It sure turned out that way.

CrewC

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I often end up wiring combos of professional and non-pro talent.  There are some talent-type people that forget that they are wired and even when standing on the set in front of the camera will say things that I don't think they want everyone to hear.  If I hear the conversation straying into deep water, I will go out to them and mention that they are now "live to the world", Comtek, video monitoring etc and so....  They usually appreciate that, and I usually take the opportunity to also say that they are "safe" when not in front of the camera except for a brief occasional "line-check" when the job is fast moving.  I try to get them to trust me, so that they don't unscrew the shell of mic connectors in an attempt to disconnect them from the TX because they can't figure out how to unlock the plug....

Philip Perkins

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Just as a technical aside, an undesirable file created on a Fostex 824 can not be erased within the machine, except with the formatting (complete overwrite) of the partition or DVDRAM.  Deleting the file only makes it hidden and is fully recoverable.  Eliminating a single file would entail removing the DVDRAM from the machine and erasing the file with a computer.

This, as I understand it, is untrue.  The "Optimize Disk" function on the DV824 will effectively "empty the trash" and scrub the deleted files from either or both the partition or DVD-RAM (depending on recording mode and selection). 

Furthermore, if this was a continuous recording tied to a take (as opposed to an independent file, which is in line with what Jeff relates), it stands to reason that Sr. Ulano probably did not find it wise to delete it from the roll.

There are lots of stories circulating around the internet on how this was recorded at the behest of the producers for the insurance company, but I doubt it...who would have verified this information?  Would either Mark Ulano, the video assist person, the producers in question, or the insurance company in question have come forth at the rather unauthorized release of this track and informed the media about the reasoning behind this recording?  Dubious at absolute best. 

While we're shooting in the dark, my guess is that the Bale tirade was probably discovered by an intern or someone farther down the food chain in one editorial department or another who was loading in files and investigated why that one file was so much bigger than the rest of the relevant takes in sequence, but of course that's pure conjecture on MY part and not to be taken as an account of what really happened (I have no idea). 

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I would like to try to move this thread in a different but related direction.

Many of the posts have allegations on the presumed actions of Mark Ulano.

I traded emails with Mark when the story first broke and Jeff, in an earlier post mentioned that he has spoken to him on location in Germany. By all accounts Mr. Ulano was both shocked and extremely unhappy that this material got out.

So I would like to ask a question to all the Mixers here.

How would you feel if one of your recordings got posted on the internet and how would you deal with the possible career ramifications?

Regards,

RL

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Good question, Richard.  I would be upset that the recording got out, but not regretful of having recorded it.  I would make every effort to find and reveal the source of the leak.  As a new mixer, something like this could really damage my career.  But since this industry is relationship based, my hope is that people with whom I have worked would know that I was not responsible, and that they would continue to hire me.

It's good that Mark has a solid career and reputation, so hopefully this will not affect him in any way.

Robert

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The time frame of this whole episode should clear any mixer. Mark is a smart man with nothing to gain in doing this. He did his job, turned it in and moved on to the next gig. A pro. Charlie Chan, Columbo, and Sherlock would be looking else where for clues. Who has the most to gain in doing this. Someone with an ax to grind with C B? Viral publicity to an old franchise looking for free press. Some intern who likes TMZ and took a shot. I don't know or care other than it does make our sound lives more difficult as mentioned by many. Is there guilt by association? Not in this case. If it were to happen to me in this exact same way, I would be upset to be dragged into it, but at the end of the day most likely I would laugh at the strange new world of ours.

CrewC

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After rehearsing and getting prepared to shoot we were told that we would be breaking for dinner, much to the chagrin of the crew, so I potted up Carl's mic to see if I had turned it off...  I suddenly found myself listening to a conversation about the different strains of marijuana that Ann had with her and which one would be the right "blend" for Carl to use to stimulate him into writing the "script" for our shot.

RVD

Wow , that's quite a story. Thanks for sharing...

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Hey RVD, thats wild. I thought I had heard most of your adventures from those days. Eye opener for sure. I feel I have learned more from my mistakes than I ever did from my day to day work when things went well or I made the right decisions. I know you do as well. Keep learning and earning I always say.

CrewC

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