General Discussion
Feel free to talk about anything and everything in this board.
5,056 topics in this forum
-
- 3 replies
- 1.5k views
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, -
- 5 replies
- 1.7k views
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, -
- 16 replies
- 3k views
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
- 2.6k views
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, -
- 15 replies
- 2.9k views
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, -
- 4 replies
- 1.4k views
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, -
- 2 replies
- 1.2k views
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, -
- 9 replies
- 2.1k views
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, -
- 5 replies
- 2k views
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?
-
- 6 replies
- 1.9k views
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, -
- 5 replies
- 2.5k views
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, -
- 5 replies
- 1.4k views
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, -
- 2 replies
- 1.2k views
If you are, it would be great to see some behind the scenes shots.
-
A good article re: dynamic range
by Guest Jeff Colon- 1 reply
- 1.2k views
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
- 1.3k views
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, -
- 0 replies
- 1.2k views
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
-
- 12 replies
- 2.8k views
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
- 1.2k 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, -
- 8 replies
- 2.5k views
Hello - I am curious about experiences / experiments with the version 2.0 of SoundDevices 744T software.... I read that it will record, simultaneously, to 1) Internal Hard Drive 2) CF Cards and 3) external DVD-RAM, via USB.... For starters, is this working well for anyone out there - all 3 simultaneously ? Has anyone tried a SECOND DVD-RAM simultaneous mirror via USB ? (Loopthru or Powered Hub ? ) I am curious if the machine could handle it.... I am very used to the removable drive concept, having been onboard with Deva 2 for many years... it seems that the alternative recorders out there have skipped over this aspect of design ..... in favor of 80+ g…
Last reply by Philip Perkins, -
- 2 replies
- 1.2k views
I have a friend in LA that needs some help editing a script readthrough to put on cd. Anyone interested? Larry
Last reply by larry long, -
Old/New school
by Guest Mick- 14 replies
- 2.9k views
I haven't been in the film biz as long as some of you but I'm old school enough to remember mono Nagras being the cutting edge and VHF the latest in wireless. I used to own Vega and Micron systems until Lectro came out with their VHF quad box, but I'm "new school" enough to really appreciate non linear technology, UHF wireless and the envelope pushing that Zaxcom has done for our industry along with using monitors for cueing and just for the heck of being able to "record to picture". I don't lament the passing of old tried and true technology and I adopt and endorse any new advances that allow us to keep abreast of the times. The only "old school" aspect of the job I miss…
.thumb.jpg.b62d3b0667e4ee0fd0c7f8e5d8c15591.jpg)
Last reply by RPSharman, -
- 1 reply
- 1.3k views
I'm wondering if there is a good way to find UPMs or Production Coordinators in LA? I am returning to feature work in April, and after that I will be back in freelance after 22 months of a network gig. If anyone knows of someone that they enjoyed working for, I would appreciate their contact info, or a good way to look them up? Thanks, Tom
Last reply by cmgoodin, -
- 0 replies
- 1.2k views
  http://electricsheep.org/ This is an interesting project for a collaborative screensaver that David Brownlow turned me on to. I'm ready to post my first sheep, just waiting on a password. I wish I understood fractal images better. anyhoo check it out. Larry http://electricsheep.org/
Last reply by larry long, -
- 1 reply
- 1.2k views
from a popular Mac website: One of the most exciting announcements I've seen in the run up to Macworld Expo and CES (who's the genius that scheduled these over each other anyway?) is the Solid State Disk or "SSD." SanDisk has announced a 32GB Ultra ATA 5000 1.8-inch SSD "drive" (it's really flash memory). Look for these bad boys to appear in computers "in the first half of 2007." Hmmm, time to revive the thin MacBook Pro/iTablet rumors? Regards, Jeff Wexler
