Sam Mallery

I bought the wrong shockmount the first time and it's dying (I know, Senator, I know). So now I'm looking for a real shockmount, and I was recently advised to get the K-Tek K-GPS: http://www.ktekbooms.com/products.php?id=26 The guy who got hired by K-Tek recommended it. I haven't bought or used it yet, but it looks like a good one for indoor & outdoor with a softie type of work. I have Lyres in my Rycote blimp, and they're good for that system, but as far as I can tell it seems like the stand-alone Lyre shockmounts can't support the weight of a softie windshield. So I'll likely go with the K-GPS and use it as my main tool for non-blimp work. I'll be watching this thread for other suggestions too.

I just discovered that Sennheiser makes soft replacement velour earpads for the HD 25: http://www.sennheiserusa.com/serviceandsupport_part-finder_cushions_069417 I did a little searching and I didn't find any posts about them on jwsound, so I figured I'd share. Personally, I'd really like to try these out. I bought a pair of HD 25's years ago and immediately had to return them. The out of the box with the stock "pleather" earpads they gave me a headache within 20 minutes because they squeezed my head too tightly. I'm thinking that maybe with these they would perhaps be slightly less tight, and may work for me now. I came across these earpads because I was reading up on the new Adidas-ized version of the HD 25 that Sennheiser put out: http://www.sennheiserusa.com/music-dj-headphones-hifi-stereo-adidas-sennheiser_504260 The new version comes with a set of blue velour earpads attached, and a replacement white set is included too. The loud colors and the sneaker advertisement aspect is a turnoff, but I liked the idea of velour on HD 25's, so I checked to see if they made black ones and they did.

That makes sense. Hopefully the new designs will eliminate those distracting, squiggly sounds! It's an electronic indignation that a COS11D going into a 250mW SMD transmitting to a SRa 10 feet away into a SD302 can pick up noise from a worthless mobile phone.

I agree the mix could have been better, but I think the bigger problem was the lack of musicianship. I think the Black Eyed Peas are good at what they do - writing catchy songs that the kids want to hear. But it's music that's crafted in the studio, and bringing it to the stage with live vocals and backing tracks will always lack something. Putting it on the biggest stage there is won't make the problem go away, it just magnifies it. Fergie sounded like she was screaming because she was screaming. Sure, it could have sat in the mix a little better, but it still wouldn't have sounded nice. In recent years I enjoyed the Super Bowl set by Tom Petty, and a few years back Prince completely blew me away. I'm sure those sound crews faced their own set of challenges and had a few things happen that they wish could have happened differently. What the crew last night was really missing were live musicians that could tear it up on stage. You need more than just Slash playing along with recorded tracks to get that magic.

I have a 9 foot PSC Elite with an internal cable with a side exit XLR output. Before I got this pole I had used an inexpensive K-Tek with a coiled cable. I've been happy with the Elite. The thing I like best is that the collars only require a short twist or two in order to move and lock. I wish it had a rubber cap option for the base, as I recall seeing on some Loon poles. The internal cable recently crapped out on me, after only a year and a half of "weekend warrior" use. I was kind of surprised that the internal cable died, as I always go out of my way to treat my gear as gingerly as possible. Is this a normal lifespan for an internal cable? Anyhow, I've just used an external cable on the last few jobs I've worked on, and I've liked that workflow better. All in all I give the PSC Elite a thumbs up.

I just bought a Sennheiser MKE 400, but this looks like an interesting option: http://www.rodemic.com/vmp/

I don't look for jobs in the camera dept, but I do produce my own stuff. Most of the stuff I shoot isn't art. Much of it is done with the hopes of reaching cash in some way or another.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll make a point of checking out the K-GPS before I buy.

There is a K-Tek K-SM shockmount that's pretty high on my list of gear to get. I made the mistake of buying a cheaper shockmount the first two times around, and it's high time I upgraded to the real deal. Congrats on the new gig!

I've been using a block 21 SRa for the past year exclusively for bag use miking talent with an SMD and an SMQ transmitter. It's been flawless. I agree that the blister buttons can be annoying, especially at first. But I've gotten used to them and don't even think about it anymore. The only operational thing I've noticed is that on occasion it will be sensitive to mobile phones. I've been on shoots where everything is fine and dandy, then a couple of grips will stand beside me to hold a bounce board or something, and I'll pick up slight cellular noises. I can also hear people receive texts when their phones are silenced. I don't blame the SRa for this. I blame the generation of people who refuse to actually turn off their phones on set after being asked. This has only happened a few times, and the noise it created was so slight that only sound people would likely notice them in post. I wish the power input on my SRa had a screw/locking mechanism. I've also almost lost a tiny screw or two because the plate becomes loose after a while. Other than that I love it. I would buy a second one if I ever upgraded my bag from a 302 to something larger.

Three different people reported the same problem in this thread: http://www.freesound.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8056&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 I can only imagine that a very small percentage of people who experience this problem bothered to alert others about it through Internet forums. I just figured I'd post it here as a heads up to anyone who may be heading out into the cold air with an NTG3.

+1 +1 +1 Next time I'm going to get a pair of DT 770 Pro. No need to add better earpads because the stock ones are velvety smooth.

Oops... I meant to post this in the equipment section.

I haven't experienced this myself (I don't own any Rode gear), but there's a lot of evidence that this is a real issue. Found this thread at www.dvinfo.com today: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/all-things-audio/488419-rode-ntg-3-ntg3-cold-weather-issue.html

I hadn't heard of this company before, but they put together a pretty interesting portable recorder shoot out: http://www.wingfieldaudio.com/portable-recorder-noise.html#samples I found this link over at www.dvxuser.com today. I can imagine how this may not be scientific enough for everyone, but I thought the variety of recorders they tested is more through than usual. I think it's interesting how different the built-in mics sound (and how poorly the Tascam mics sound). The 702 is the clear winner to my ears, but there are a number of inexpensive recorders that hold up well, especially going line in. Also check out the battery life shoot out on that site: http://www.wingfieldaudio.com/portable-recorder-battery-life.html The PCM-M10 kicked butt.

I did a shoot recently with a 7D, and I used an H4n as my back-up recorder. My "main" recorder was an Edirol R09HR. After a few days the H4n started acting up. It would get stuck in record/pause. I would often pause between takes, and the H4n started to not wake up out of pause. I would have to hit stop, and then start recording again. It wasn't a huge problem, but it was disconcerting enough to leave a bad taste in my mouth. My personal experience with this model is that it's just a bit wonky. It's clear that Oleg gets on just fine with his, but I'm not going to use the H4n again in a serious shoot. If you're going to use a consumer level portable digital recorder, I think there are better choices out there. To the original poster - you could conduct tests where you're trying to hear the difference between a H4n and and SD, but it's really pointless. The only test I would be interested in between the two is seeing how well each one could operate after enduring a 6 foot drop to the ground on solid concrete.

Another vote for this. Every time I visit the forum I wonder what I've missed, but the Recent Posts thing only shows me smidge of the activity. I tried clicking on the icon thing, but that split the info up into several pages of stuff. I'd rather have a larger Recent Posts section. Clean, simple, to the point. I'll try out Robert's "show unread posts since last visit" thing.

"10 gigabits per second in both directions simultaneously" Woah.

How about a Sanken CMS-9: http://www.sanken-mic.com/en/product/product.cfm/9.1000300 Get the Rycote RWS-4J windscreen system Sanken suggests under option accessories, have the assistant hold it off camera (while wearing headphones, and being mindful of the live mic). Get a short graphite boompole, and a decent shotgun (Sanken CS-2), and a couple good XLR cables in case you want to shoot some footage with dialog. Sony MDR7506 headphones. And even though the AF100 is the flavor of the week, I get the feeling it's going to be one of the main cameras used in 2011 & 2012.

I get the feeling that the overall smallness of the display is going to be the thing that sticks out to me when I see one in the flesh.

For microphones I use Canare Star Quad as well, but to be specific, I use Canare Star Quad model L-4E6S: http://www.canare.com/ProductItemDisplay.aspx?productItemID=53 "L-4E6S The premier Star Quad cable for all handheld microphone applications. Flexible, satin smooth to the touch and extra strong, this standard diameter, 21 AWG cable fits perfectly in all XLR-type audio connectors. Forty separate strands in each conductor eliminate breakage due to flexing. Available in 10 beautiful matte finish color jackets." If you go the Canare route, make sure to get the L-4E6S. It's sold with in bulk or finished with XLR connectors attached. Another thing I really like about these cables is that they come in different colors. That makes it a lot easier to help you remember what is plugged into what.

I'm glad you brought this up. I've been trying to read your hat for the longest time, and I can't make it out. Duct Me Redpepper?

Senator, Oleg, CrewC and Marc... a million thanks! One last question, in the event that they're not planning on using a crystal-sync camera, is recording the sound separately impossible? Is it a suicide mission/waste of time, or is there a workaround?

I may be doing the sound for a short film next month, which will be shot on 16mm. It's a friend of a friend's low budget independent short, and even though the day rate is lower than normal, I still want the sound to come out as good as possible. About a year ago I was researching double system sound for 16mm, but that shoot never ended up happening. As far as I could tell, the workflow was fairly primitive. Basically, I would record the audio at 48kHz 24bit WAV, and make sure to clapper slate at the beginning of every take. Before production I would speak to the post people, and make sure that this works for them. Is there anything else I should take into account? Do I have the right idea? Thanks in advance, Sam PS - I read through the script and thankfully there isn't a fight scene in a boat bathroom - so I got that going for me!

Howdy everybody, Panasonic announced the GH2 camera this week, and I'm interested in maybe picking one up. The worst thing about the camera is the audio input (sub-mini mic only). I know, I know. 2.5mm audio inputs are evil. But, it's a super small camera and its video performance will likely out gun all of the other video-enabled DSLRs. The GH2 has the ability to send video out of its HDMI output during record, including the audio. Since there is no headphone output to monitor, it would be possible to monitor the audio from a connected video monitor that features an HDMI input and a headphone output. My question: Does anyone know any other way to get the audio from the HDMI output without having to use a separate video monitor? The main thing I like about this camera is how small it is. You can get a tiny pancake lens for it and carry it around everyday like a point and shoot. I'm wondering if there is any compact gizmo out there that I could also carry around in order to enable me to monitor my audio from its HDMI out. Thanks!