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4,987 topics in this forum
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- 12 replies
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This is in reply to statements made in another thread Even though I consider myself very much an insider with regards to most of this technology, I think I am an outsider with a minority opinion on the subject of nomenclature. Firstly, I maintain that there is nothing wrong with continuing the use of the term "sound roll" and the use of the term "track", no matter how we are actually accomplishing our recordings. If we just through out the use of the word "track" it would make it very difficult to understand and talk about the differences in file formats, like monophonic files and polyphonic files, without recognizing that it is just a new way of recording tra…
Last reply by John Blankenship, -
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Just wondering how any of you would go about recording the effects of a car driving. The commercial that made me curious was for the the BMW x5 driving on a race track. The sounds for the exhaust, tires ect... and how do you avoid the issue of wind noise? Open to any suggestions. Thanks!
Last reply by Travis Groves, -
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During a discussion today the idea came up about the possibility of using a writing tablet with handwriting recognition software. My question, to the group, is if this were possible (tablet/software/interface/drivers) for any of the popular non-linear machines, would people want to enter metadata using a stylus and handwriting. My personal feeling is that people who are comfortable with keyboard entry would probably continue to hope for better support for a variety of keyboards (each machine, as we know, does things somewhat differently) and those who have good handwriting might prefer to hand write metadata. Independent of any analysis of how easy or difficult this mig…
Last reply by Darren, -
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I browse through Ebay a lot, and look at sound gear that people are selling. Some professional, some not. I just happened upon a Nagra which the seller mentioned had an engraving of the original owners social security number! I know Identity theft was virtually a non-issue when Nagra was ruling the production sound world, but it sure is now. I'm curious how people are marking their gear, and what kinds of information they are putting on as well? I know we've had a couple instances of gear theft reported from various members of the community since I've joined in, and I'm curious if anyone has had a marker be instrumental in the return of your stolen gear? Tom
Last reply by dfisk, -
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Jeremiah Moore posted an interesting link on r.a.m.p.s. to an as yet unreleased audio app that could be quite useful. No word yet on what metadata support or functions it will have. There is a link to a Quicktime movie which is a demo of the software. http://www.audioease.com/Pages/Snapper/SnapperMain.html The page contains a quicktime video demo of the software. I suspect the vapor-factor of this software to be low - Audio Ease has a good history of releasing quality software. No word what (if any) BWF info this app will read - we'll have to wait and see - or ask for it -jeremiah Regards, Jeff Wexler
Last reply by miker71, -
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Scott Farr posted a news item about the sale of Wexler Video. As you all probably know, I have no connection with Wexler Video, or its founder, Bob Wexler, but I have watched the company grow exponentially over the years. Does anyone know any of the details of this purchase? I really only have an interest because of an interest in companies that grow, are sold off to larger companies, and so forth. Regards, Jeff Wexler
Last reply by dfisk, -
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Just got my copy of the new Sound Mixer mag. in the mail. A lovely first issue with some good articles. Looking forward to the next. Jon Andrews CAS
Last reply by Alien, -
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Jeff, Although I think most of us kinda understand your relationship with Don. Could you describe your relationship as working partners, what you expect from each other and how you've remained friends through the years. LL
Last reply by larry long, -
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Just an observation... Out of the over 420 members on Jeff's web board, there are over 220 people that have never posted anything. Come on friends... how about introducing yourselves?
Last reply by old school, -
Is TV pushing the envelope too far?
by Guest Mick- 13 replies
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I've been agonizing about whether to post this all day but decided that at the very least maybe it will stimulate some discussion. I watched the season premiere of "24" last night and was personally appalled at the level of graphic violence. Not only by the pyrotechnic depictions of blowing up a bus full of passengers particularly, or the strafing of a residential neighborhood by two attack helicopters, but the torture of the lead charcter by a manic middle eastern villain with a variety of tools straight out of "B" movie from the fifties. It was followed a little later by the detailed depiction of a man being probed in the shoulder with a knife and then gutted to death.…
Last reply by FSBELLA, -
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Hi all, You may have caught some of the publicity surrounding the Doritos "Crash The Super Bowl" contest. Anyone who wanted could shoot a commercial (actually up to 10 spots) and submit it -- with the winner to be aired on the Super Bowl. Some filmmaking friends of mine who I've worked with before decided to make and submit two commercials. I helped out by doing both the location sound and all the sound post on both of them. We shot on Super-16 (yes, film). Out of well over a thousand entries, BOTH of our submissions made the top eight! Then, one of them made the top five. The top five were all awarded with $10,000 and a trip to a Super Bowl party in Miami. …
Last reply by dfisk, -
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hello, I just wanted to share with you an interesting approach to european production sound techniques. I have worked on several TV productions from central europe, and was supprised by the unique system of audio recording employed by those productions. The following is the setup that was used. First of all this relates to HD. The crew comprises of the mixer, boom op, and an additional mixer. Everytime the equipment package involved 2 portadats, and sennheiser mics (60's and 30's). The mixer controls dat 1 and is responsible for dialog recording. The additional mixer works dat 2, and records the ambiant sound (in sync) with a MS stero pair (senn 60 + 3…
Last reply by Bartek, -
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I have a pilot that I need a boom op for. Suddenly everyone is busy and my guys are finishing their jobs after mine starts. productionmixer@yahoo.com Lemme know. Thanks, LL
Last reply by larry long, -
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In the PAL world, where there are no pull-ups and downs, simple divisible frame rates, how much relevance does a TC slate hold, in a situation where production sound is being recorded BWF with metadata and TC, the lab does not really use TC and matches sound for dailies (this is done in a pic edit room). Could one simply use a dumb wood slate after all in this situation? best -vin
Last reply by Jeff Wexler, -
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I have 2 questions about yesterday's Super Bowl. 1) Prince's concert at half time was in the rain with no roof or protection over the stage. With all the electrical sound and lighting equipment on stage, would that not have been a huge safety issue? 2) The TV cameras had rain on the lenses throughout the game. I have seen in a rental house a motorized spinning disk to go in front of a camera lens to protect it from water. Don't these devices work and why wouldn't they have been used on such a huge show?
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Hi folks, Just curious how aware other mixers/boomers are about their own bones creaking during takes? I find there are times I have to be really careful about the sound my own arms make. I'm not talking about sloppy low end rumble from poor handling, rather, it's a mid-frequency creak transferred through the pole during normal operation. I'm a skinny feller, I have to wonder if my lack of an insulative layer is making me work harder for clean tracks.
Last reply by JP Evans, -
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Just finished a shoot yesterday where we had to be outside for half an hour. Now, i live in Montreal, Canada and yesterday with the wind chill it was -46 degree celsius ( no jokes ). I power my set-up ( SOund devices 442 with 3 Lectros UCr411 ) using a IDX NP-1 Lithium battery. Now the battery is new and was reading a little low ( one light left on the 3 reading ) but the lectros were telling me it was still 14.8 vdc. I went outside and after 10 minutes the battery was dead. My set-up turned itself off and i was left dead in the water. Any idea?? Is lithium not suppose to be the best thing in the cold??? I was wearing the battery against my jacket. Thanks P…
Last reply by taylormadeaudio, -
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Has anyone ever treated a 2 camera Betacam shoot as a multitrack situation? Scenario: Good morning America Interview, small room, tons of lighting, no room for booms. 2 guest side by side on one cam, 2 hosts side by side on other cam. Each person miked with a lav. 2 audio tracks availiable on each camera. Time code transcription required. Cameras locked with TC. In this situation, it is typical to mix each couple to one channel on the camera having redundant audio on both cameras, making it as easy as possible for post to edit. MY thought was to use direct outs on my 442 where each person would get thier own track on each camera, while still using the f…
Last reply by Rob Lewis, -
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If you are, it would be great to see some behind the scenes shots.
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A good article re: dynamic range
by Guest Jeff Colon- 1 reply
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In responding to the thread Re: books etc. I came across this article that really articulates a lot of the irony I have felt in trying to deliver an optimal signal... knowing it might not be as "optimal" when released... http://proav.pubdyn.com/2007January/2007JanuarySoundInsight.htm this struck a chord with me. Jeff C
Last reply by Jeff Wexler, -
More Taxes
by Sonny- 3 replies
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First of all, everyone congratulate me on my first year as a full time production sound mixer (no waiting tables, no temping between gigs)! I just hope I can keep it up in 2007! It means, however, that I now get to dive into the not so friendly world of self-employment taxes. On to the point...In October I did a feature on the cheap...really cheap. The producer is an old friend who gave me my first break and is responsible for getting me the gig that kept me working all last year...I felt like I owed him a favor so I cut him a deal. <b>Here's the question: Can I claim the difference between my usual rate and the rate I charged as a tax deduction for "invest…
Last reply by Sonny, -
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Hey we got our picture in "Mix Online" ! Take a look. http://mixonline.com/news/headline/lectrosonics-debbies-house-012307/
Last reply by Simon Paine, -
hello, I was wondering If I could get some advice from you guys. I was prepping to do my taxes and as it turns out It looks at the moment like I will have to pay about $6000. Ouch! I am incorporated as a "S" corp. Another thing is that it has become apparent that last year my previous accountant wrote off all my equipment costs in 2005 rather than depriceating the cost, and that is hurting me this year. What to do? Shall I try to "fix" the depreciation issue or will that come back hurting me more? Any comments or ideas are welcome. Bartek
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I find myself ever frustrated with the day jobs I do anymore. Most of the subjects we interview are people unfamiliar with the news/tv interview setting and usually have the "deer in the headlights" look when a producer and 2 crew members walk in the door with all this gear. This leads to extremely softspoken, low energy interviews by a producer who's only concern is that they make his/her flight at the end of the day. Just about all these jobs take place in poor locations where the shot choice is bad as well as the ambient noise level. My frustration is high gain settings with soft talkers, fighting ambient noise levels no matter what mic is used or how close I c…
Last reply by Deaf and Blind, -
M.I.5.
by Guest Mick- 1 reply
- 1k views
I'm a member of A.T.A.S. and as such receive quite a few DVDs each year that I watch and vote for in their respective categories. A couple of years ago I watched an episode of a British show called M.I.5. (Spooks in the U.K.) and was immensely impressed with it. Great stories, powerful acting and innovative directing and camera work. I'm guessing that "24" took at least a significant leaf out of their work book, having made judicious use of split screen editing and lots of hand-held cameras. The sound of this show is first rate, having an intense mix of dialogue, music and FX and I wondered if the production mixer was known to anyone in the forum, or even if he/she is a c…
Last reply by larry long,