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"Coldski" and client monitoring on commercials


Philip Perkins

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MANY years ago I worked with a "hidden camera" spot director whose code word for "kill the set audio feed to the clients" was "coldski".  Many commercial directors nowadays do not want the village listening when they talk to the talent, who is probably wired, and insist that the audio only be open to the clients when we are actually rehearsing or rolling.  This makes for some added difficulties for the sound dept. when trying to troubleshoot between takes in a rapid-fire shooting style, as well as making sure that wardrobe or etc hasn't changed something that makes the talent mic noisy etc right before they want to roll.  After getting burned trying to keep the channels open on the console but killing the Comtek etc feeds (too many senior moments), I've taken to just keeping the channels closed and spot checking between takes.  (IE "If I can hear, they can hear.")  I found that to keep everyone off my back I had to open a "general ambiance" mic near the set, so that the village would not think their feed had gone away completely, but they wouldn't be able to hear any of that special secret director mojo.  Any better ideas?

Philip Perkins

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I did a movie where I found I had to kill the Comteks between takes so that the director couldn't hear what the actors were saying about him. I built a box with a switch that disconnected the Comtek feed and flashed a blinking red led while the feed was off. Having an open mike of the general set sound is a good idea though and wouldn't work with my box. Maybe "On Hold" musak would be good :-)

I worked with a director who kept his Comtek headphones cranked up pretty high and he would always go right up to the actors with his phones down around his neck and if the actors' radio mic was still up we'd get a big feedback squeel from the lavs and his phones.

Anyway, as we have learned, it's probably a good idea to only send that feed when we're actually rolling.

(Mixer discrestion is advised)

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I did a movie where I found I had to kill the Comteks between takes so that the director couldn't hear what the actors were saying about him. I built a box with a switch that disconnected the Comtek feed and flashed a blinking red led while the feed was off. Having an open mike of the general set sound is a good idea though and wouldn't work with my box. Maybe "On Hold" musak would be good :-)

I worked with a director who kept his Comtek headphones cranked up pretty high and he would always go right up to the actors with his phones down around his neck and if the actors' radio mic was still up we'd get a big feedback squeel from the lavs and his phones.

Anyway, as we have learned, it's probably a good idea to only send that feed when we're actually rolling.

(Mixer discrestion is advised)

I thought about doing the "box-w/blinking light" thing but figured I'd end up not seeing that too if distracted by something else.  I like the idea of Muzak to the Comteks during the "coldski" periods a lot!

Philip Perkins

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I know this is topic we've discussed before, but here's my two cents with regards to the TV commercial world.

I think that every commercial director I work with expects privacy when they confer with the talent.  This is especially true after they've just been given notes from the agency or clients - it's a given that directors are likely to say something derogatory about the people pulling their strings.  Many producers listen to Comteks specifically to protect their director and I know mixers who have lost clients for not being diligent about muting the director.  The same goes for muting the set between setups and during re-loads. Add to this the loose lips of clueless actors and you've got to be on your toes when mics are hot.

That said, I find myself using the PFL buttons a lot.  I too use an ambient mic (usually at low level) to avoid the "these aren't working" complaints. However, when I take my phones off and leave the cart I always bring down all the mics. When we're standing-by I will bring up wires briefly, when appropriate (often guess work), and will sometimes will keep them up, also if appropriate - with my fingers never far from the faders. I rely on my boomers to help keep me honest by giving them same feed as video village.  If I have problem mics that need attention I can route a seperate feed to the boom person while they work on it.  On set we use the term THX - meaning the audience is listening - to keep ourselves honest about open mics.  I think, ultimately, controlling the feed just becomes another work habit.  Although each of us approach our set-up checklist differently, IMOH being diligent about the audio going to the people paying the bills is a very important part of our job... and our job security.

Bruce

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" every commercial director I work with expects privacy when they confer with the talent. "

I think the word commercial can be removed from the above statement...

and both the Directors (all directors) and the Actors deserve that privacy...

TMZ has Comteks and scanners...but this really is not a new concept, or even a new issue.

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In commercials this is now SOP. Got to give the people paying us what they want. I bring them all down and listen to the boom and whatever other mic I want on pfl. My Cooper pfl switches are not momentary and stay engaged until I turn them off. The only downside is I alone have to listen to all the bs at play.

CrewC

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In commercials this is now SOP. Got to give the people paying us what they want. I bring them all down and listen to the boom and whatever other mic I want on pfl. My Cooper pfl switches are not momentary and stay engaged until I turn them off. The only downside is I alone have to listen to all the bs at play.

CrewC

Yeah, after realizing that I just had to spot check the wireless channels and leave them closed otherwise I found that I didn't actually miss hearing all that blow-by.  I have my boomist keep their mic well away from everyone when they are waiting.  The ambiance mic I try to park where no one is sitting, so I can hear the AD etc but no conversations. 

Philip Perkins

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In commercials this is now SOP. Got to give the people paying us what they want. I bring them all down and listen to the boom and whatever other mic I want on pfl. My Cooper pfl switches are not momentary and stay engaged until I turn them off. The only downside is I alone have to listen to all the bs at play.

CrewC

I'm about to have my 106+1 ripped apart, and that's a great thing to do while it's on the bench. My PFL switches are momentary, but locking PFL switches are a great fix for a problem I've been having as well. Not to mention pretty economical! Although the elevator music insert on monitor b via an external switchbox is another appealing fix.

Best regards,

Jim

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On my newest cart configuration (which I'm still refining), I have a one-rack-space wide control panel just above the recorders. 

One of the custom controls is a Comtek kill switch which can select an Auxiliary input into which I normally feed an MP3 player (also located on the control panel).  When the switch has the normal Comtek feed off, a red LED indicates this condition.  A second red LED signals if my cart speaker feed is on.  I don't use the speaker very often, so it would be easy to forget if it's connected.

When we roll, I make sure both red LEDs are off.  They're located just above the recorders which I normally check when we roll anyway. 

This setup also offers the advantage of being able to feed music (or old-time radio programs, or whatever I feel like), into the Comteks during setup.  That way I don't have to field the "I don't hear anything" pleas before I've even had the chance to connect up a mic.

John B.

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I'm always fade down when not rolling as well.  I learned that the "hard way" when I got a little too loose with the standard(for me) rule.  I have my boom op wear a lav that is routed thru my comm line so I can hear what's going on on set.  I'll use pfl's if I am concerned about a mic b/w takes.  When someone asks why they can't hear anything I politely reply, "because we're not rolling".   

Charlie Slemaker

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As many blinking flashing lights as possible would be an excellent idea for me - I've forgotton to unmute so many times (more in a playback-for-drama situation, as is my experience), and unfortunately don't have the excuse of the 'senior' moment! More and more commercials are coming up for me now thanks for the advice on the subject!

I have been asked by the AD to kill the sound to the clients between takes etc, and encountered the same problems, in that I hadn't rigged anything to listen to the mics other than momentary pfl, or physically unplugging the IEM tx. so Now I see this is an across-the-board requirement, I'll put more thought into it. Some great tips here.

I can see this place is going to be a wonderful resource to aid the learning curve!

Chris.

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What a pain in the ass this is.  It's hard enough sometimes just remembering to kill wireless mics when a talent goes off set...

I had something like this recently, where I was using a G2 to send a feed to a display monitor in video village.  The Mute switch on top of the G2 worked perfectly for me, and also saved the DPs butt when he made an off comment about the clients.  He looked over at me with a concerned look - and I told him I had it covered, I had already muted the send.

-Greg-

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Another ruse we use is to just hook another boom/mic in the rack on the cart straight to the console and raise it up in the air--it hears a lot of indecipherable walla and ambiance and nothing else....use that as the

"on hold" audio so everyone hears something all the time but hears nothing incriminating.

Philip Perkins

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I like the muzak idea.  I was a DJ a looooong time ago (when being a DJ meant working at a radio station) so maybe I could have a little fun entertaining the folks. LOL

Here's a great visual.  The other day during a long re-set I walked by video village and noticed all of the agency and clients had their comtek headsets on.  Panicked I sprinted to the cart expecting to find an open mic. Relieved that everything was down, I then saw that every single one of them had the phones plugged into their laptops. I guess if it keeps them from talking to each other they might not come up with any more alternates to shoot.

Bruce

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I guess if it keeps them from talking to each other they might not come up with any more alternates to shoot.

Hehe. When I worked in recording studios, the joke always was that the lava lamps were to distract producers from coming up with ideas. No offense to producers of course :)

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