Guest Mick Posted September 1, 2006 Report Share Posted September 1, 2006 I like ENG guys. They come to our set almost every week and I try to be as obliging as possible knowing that not only do they have a tough job, but that I worked ENG for a long time and have felt their pain. In fact it was O.J., The Menendez brothers and Michael Jackson who, combined, provided me with enough hours to fulfill my medical insurance obligations while I was lugging around audio equipment for the now defunct "Hard Copy" I have built an XLR line level output into the frame of my cart so that they can plug in and set up a TX without any fuss. The reason I posted this today, other than too much MOS work on the set, is that I was told by an ENG colleague who was working for a very reputable and popular entertainment TV show, that a mixer on a very high profile show was less than cordial and obliging to him when he was trying to do his job and send a feed to the camerman during a rehearsal. This shouldn't be. Apart from us all being members of the film/video sound community, decency alone should dictate that production mixers should do their best to facilitate the job of ENG crews. I like to think that this is a rarity and that we, as a community show respect for each other regardless of the type of job we are doing. I hate to think of there being some sort of "elite" attitude that permeates around the biz, after all, producers don't do it so why would we???(insert tongue fimly in cheek here) Two posts in one day, I'll have to vaccuum the cart or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old school Posted September 2, 2006 Report Share Posted September 2, 2006 Hey Mick, how goes the war? 2 posts in one day? Sounds like your winning.... I too try to help out the ENG guys with feeds and talk a little shop talk, you know, meet the guys comming up, et all. We always check RF freq's etc and I try to give them a heads up as to what we're doing.... Way back in the day I did a little "behind the scenes" shoots with a cameraman with a 16mm Ari and me with a mono nagra and a bloop light, etc.... We called that "over the shoulder" work. One shoot was a movie called "Meteor" and I met a mixer named Jack Soloman who had at that time done a million movies, from "The Magnificent Seven" to "The Graduate", "Funny Lady" ....... A real pro who could of had attitude all day long if he wanted to, but he was not only a gentelman who took some time out of his day to give me( a very green kid out of film school)his P.O.V. about the craft and just life in general. I had a great day and learned a fine lesson as well. We all get very busy on the set with our jobs, but never too busy to be people. Screw "elites". Power to the people. Max. Respect, Old School. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecrabb Posted September 2, 2006 Report Share Posted September 2, 2006 Hey Mick and Old School As and ENG/EPK guy I can't tell you how much I appreciate your feelings. In fact, Old School, I took a feed from you a couple of weeks ago and you couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. I even got some rehearsals in what was an ungodly tight space for a dinner scene that I could not get into. Many many thanks. For what it's worth, I do believe that the story you heard Mick was an anomaly. I can't personally remember the last time that I had anything other than a helpful mixer when I show up on set. In fact I've had guys go so far as to offer to switch out wires on actors when I was stepping on their freqs. Or boom ops hang their pole out for me between takes when there wasn't enough room for me to get on the set. In return, I always show up prepared with any adapters that may or may not be needed, I always try to go out of my way to be friendly when I show up. I also like to talk a little shop if there is a chance (actually don't we all). I always check my frequencies first thing after introductions, and have no problems losing a wire if I'm stepping on something. The movie has to come before the DVD documentary eh? And at the end of our (short) day, I always say good bye to the sound crew. Let's face it we have it pretty good--show up way after crew call, eat a nice lunch, and leave way before wrap, kinda nice. That being said, There was a time a bunch of years ago-before the EPK crew became pretty so ubiquitous-that we could get a bit of attitude from crew members. Not necessarily the sound crew, but from the rest of production...sure. Since DVD extras though, everyone now gets what we are there for, and we have been accepted and even appreciated for our role in production. Anyway, I'm rambling. I love the EPK work, though I don't do as much as I used to. And I really enjoy seeing a great sound crew work together on a good feature. Much Respect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redge Posted September 2, 2006 Report Share Posted September 2, 2006 Am I correct that the phrase Electronic News Gathering covers the people who are covering the Middle East? Just want to make sure that I understand this thread. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted September 2, 2006 Report Share Posted September 2, 2006 Besides common courtesy, I think it's important to remember that the EPK guys are now a vital part of the publicity buzz machine necessary to the success of any movie, and they deserve cooperation. The only thing I ask is that they not walk in w/ their own TX on if they haven't checked their freq's w/ me first. Philip Perkins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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