BVS

Dan, I bought my 3mm neoprene from a diving suit repair place here in New Zealand. If you checked out a dive shop,they would send you in the right direction. Let us know how you get on. Brian Shennan (BVS)

I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with the effect of radioactive material in close proximity to over the shoulder mixers and wireless mics. This is of a personal nature and is something that I can't get away from.I know I could put a lead shield in place as protection but the weight would be prohibitive.On the other hand there may be no effect whatsoever. Brachytherapy is the name of treatment.It will happen in a couple of months and the material will be active for about 3 months. Some of you may have come across this situation already and on average 1 in 10 of us will do so at some stage in our lives. If you have already faced this and wish to comment off forum you could email me or leave a personal message on this forum's message page. Many thanks. Brian

I agree with Al. Keep it simple.Wire on Presenter and boomed with a Schoeps CMC6/Mk41 on GVC swivel. Small rig,done this shot many times,sounds great, boom it yourself out of a bag. Split to Ch 1 for Presenter and Ch 2 for Schoeps. BVS

Mike, If you are in and out of the sea,wear some light weight sandshoes, as coral cuts can turn septic very quickly in the tropics.Also a few other nasties lurk in there that you could tread on,hence the polaroids to see through the glare to see where you are walking. You should get your meds prescribed by your doctor as the stuff you buy over the counter aren't strong enough. By the way,you haven't said what part of the tropics you are going to.Some of us may be able to give some more specific advice for that area. Brian

You'll need some serious insect repellent,anti-diarrhea medication,a topical antibiotic cream,anti fungal cream,+30 sun block, a sun hat(not baseball cap)and polaroid sunglasses.Don't drink the local water,the locals might be impervious but your metabolism won't be.Be very careful about the meat you eat(chicken is best avoided).But it's not all bad.Preparation is everything and it can be an enjoyable experience. Good Luck. BVS

I saw a doco recently where the sound mixer had something that looked like a microfibre overcover with the front 1/4 of the windjammer popping out.It had a zip at the rear.It looked similar to the material that you get on a raincover for betacams that encase the mic as well. BVS

I bought a pair of Brookstone noise cancelling headphones at San Francisco International Airport for my trip home to New Zealand.The best flight I've ever had. BUT,they lack the transient response of my normal Sony 7509s and lack the clarity and depth that you need to make subjective assessments.So I've not used them on a job and never will, but for a quiet and restful flight they are great and the on-board music and films sound obviously way better than with the supplied headphones. Brian

Hi Jeff, This is what arrived in my box with the boom recorder story. Return-path: <jwsound2@bopp.lunarpages.com> Received: from fep14.clear.net.nz (fep14 [192.168.16.115]) by local-daemon (CLEAR Net Mail) with ESMTP id <0JRF0093Z2C5GTD0@local-daemon> for p/abcshennan@clear.net.nz; Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:24:14 +1300 (NZDT) Received: from mxin3-orange.clear.net.nz (lb2-srcnat.clear.net.nz [203.97.32.237]) by mx6.clear.net.nz (CLEAR Net Mail) with ESMTP id <0JRF000N92C2HP20@mx6.clear.net.nz> for abcshennan@paradise.net.nz; Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:24:06 +1300 (NZDT) Received: from bopp.lunarpages.com ([74.50.12.32]) by mxin3-orange.clear.net.nz with ESMTP; Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:24:05 +1300 Received: from jwsound2 by bopp.lunarpages.com with local (Exim 4.63) (envelope-from <jwsound2@bopp.lunarpages.com>) id 1IridP-0006t8-KB for abcshennan@paradise.net.nz; Mon, 12 Nov 2007 15:24:03 -0800 Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:24:03 +0000 From: "jwsound.net" <jw@jwsound.net> Subject: New announcement: Boom Recorder Files X-Envelope-To: abcshennan@paradise.net.nz To: abcshennan@paradise.net.nz Message-id: <E1IridP-0006t8-KB@bopp.lunarpages.com> MIME-version: 1.0 X-Mailer: SMF Content-type: multipart/alternative; boundary=SMF-ae82069d83da434d4b21eb0fbcc3536b Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit X-AntiAbuse: This header was added to track abuse, please include it with any abuse report X-AntiAbuse: Primary Hostname - bopp.lunarpages.com X-AntiAbuse: Original Domain - paradise.net.nz X-AntiAbuse: Originator/Caller UID/GID - [32570 32571] / [47 12] X-AntiAbuse: Sender Address Domain - bopp.lunarpages.com Original-recipient: rfc822;abcshennan@paradise.net.nz A bit of a mystery. Hope this helps. Brian Shennan

This tape will stick to the skin and comes off ok.I'd probably go for topstick or transpore for 1st choice skin application.You can wrap it around capsules but you'll need to allow a little time to get it off.It sticks very aggressively to any metal or plastic which makes it great for place mic use.You only need a little of it but it is a stick once application.The neoprene rig with the DPA 4071 works because of this tape and its low profile and malleability.Its quiet!! Brian

A closer shot of the resin tape.It is a Sellotape brand number 0485 made in England. This is wonderful for sticking metal to metal or plastic as it is very aggressive. To release a metal to metal grip just twist sideways.

The resin is stuck to just one side of the smooth neoprene.This rig works very well on all sorts of wardrobe and is fast to put on and take off.The cable microphonics are reduced by the neoprene and also gives you a solid attach point and base.The resin being very thin can be added to by putting on a fresh layer for each subsequent attachment.

Its then folded over on itself and a DPA windshield added.This is a mesh domed screen with the fluffy incorporated into it. No Tom its more like the sort of sticky they use to attach CDs to a magazine you'd buy in a bookshop.

The neoprene is cut to just over a 1 inch size and a loop made in the base of the DPA 4071 secured by the resin tape.

This is the resin type tape and the neoprene rubber.

Bernie, I run an external 2.2 A/H gel cell for my 302 and get no issues with my CMIT 5U. I think when you are using other channels as well it does put a bit more of a strain on your internal batteries ( in my case Energiser Lithiums).The internal batteries stay in all the time. I also have a mixpre and a AD146 6 in/4 out. The 146 will run on 12 and 24 volts, but I know from experience that I will always run on 24 for preference as I get a much better transient response. I suspect if you are just relying on your internal batteries,you are not getting the best out of your mics. I'm not suggesting that the 302 won't run the mics successfully but you will get a better result with the external supply. You could try metering the 48 volts from one of the other channels when in using your mic to see if there is any fluctuation but I think you would need a fairly sensitive setup and you might not see much. Have you tried another 302 or any other mixer to see if the CMIT works better on them? You shouldn't have to run your other mic with a 160 HP filter in. Thats a sure sign you don't have enough oomph in your power supply. Brian

I'm just about to go away but will post some photos soon. Brian

I don't know the name of that product but I have been using this resin bonding tape for my lavaliers for many years with great success. http://scapana.thomasnet.com/item/all-categories/industrial/0485?&seo=110 I use it in conjunction with 3mm neoprene foam. I'm using DPA 4071s. Make a loop at the base of the capsule and enclose it in a sandwich of a small square of neoprene held closed with the resin tape. Add the fleece windshield to the capsule and attach some more tape to the exterior of the neoprene on one side only and secure to the inside of clothing.There is a rough side and smooth side to the neoprene.Use the rough side on the inside of the sandwich so the smooth side can move freely. This is my main rig for very fast attachment.It is impervious under clothing to most wind situations that you are likely to encounter. Don't try and remove the resin tape after each use but just add another layer on top. With each layer going on,so you get better isolation. The tape is very thin so when it does get a bit too thick make a new rig from scratch. Brian

I have owned an 805T but gave it to the film school for their projects. It doesn't compare to the modern day mics performance in any way.It is a lot noisier,its frequency response is fairly limited in the top end and has a boomy bass end.It is an interesting relic along the path to the development of what we have today. Brian

Jason, Why don't you make one? Go to a local air con shop and buy some white P400 airconditioning filter.Cut it to fit over your softy,glue the edges,then slide it over the existing softy and secure with what ever is at hand.I'd be surprised if it took more than half an hour.Its totally acoustically transparent and resistant to even the highest winds that you could hold your pole up in. I made one up for my Rycote modular windshield and it worked a treat.The only thing is that it will be subject to wear and tear but then it is so cheap you could make up several at a next to nothing cost. Regards, Brian

Hi Bartek, This was posted on our "nzsound.net" awhile back by Dave Madigan.I know Jeff Wexler had trouble with them here in New Zealand when they were shooting"The Last Samurai".He might be able to give you some advice from personal experience.Anyway here's Dave's advice- - - " I can't claim that there's anything original about what I do to get rid of cicadas. 1) Cicadas are a pest that munch their way through the forest. In NZ, just think of them as minature possums. 2) They tend to live in the trees that they crawled up after the larvae hatched in the ground below. 3) Be prepared to kill any cicada that's within killing range. I use my bare hannds, cans of inspect spray and a pump sprayer of pyrethrum. 4) Go to the site one week before the start of the shoot and start hosing down the trees. The purpose of the exercise is to encourage them to move to more distant trees. Most tend not to come back. 5) Get production to hire a cicada wrangler or preferably two wranglers. They should lay out hoses ever day of location production and continue the spraying. I also equip them with water filled super soakers and very long mic booms to bump individual cicadas out of trees. Do not use VDB's or similar thin construction booms - they will break. 6) Use microphones with a smooth off axis response such as an MKH 50. 7) Pray for a cloudy day and cooler weather. David Madigan Auckland " Many thanks to Dave for his advice. Best Wishes, Brian (BVS)

I agree.It's a lovely sounding mic.I still use the CMC641 for most of my I/Vs but am on a project where I'm recording 90 year olds and their diction is not as clear as younger people.I've A/B'd the CMC641 and the CMIT with the 10k boost on and have, on results and my best judgement, gone for the CMIT. BVS

Many years ago when I was younger and less aware of what happens on set,I was recording a dramatised sequence in Greece with a largely Greek crew.I had been calling "Speed" on turnover for a while when the Greek camera assistant said 'Why don't you call what we use for a change". So he told me the words"Traaki o ehos" or words to that effect.I thought yeah that sounds a possibility- "traaki" could mean "tracking".So on the next turnover I call out"TRAAKI O EHOS" in a loud voice.The Greek female 1st AD falls about laughing as did the rest of the Greek crew.It was some time before order was restored and we shot the scene.Some years later I was relaying the story to someone who spoke Greek and he said I'm not to sure about your pronunciation but basically it means "I've got a small dick".

Greg, I tried one of these out at Sound Techniques and was pretty impressed.At the moment they are for indoor use but I did hear that a windshield version was in development.They are very light and the construction looks excellent.The XLR plug is part of the mount and there are different types depending on the size and weight of your mic.It all hinges on balance. Regards,Brian Shennan

Trying again,I think my file size was too big.The PSC short mount seems to work well for me with the MK41,GVC,CMC5U combo.I put a twist in the front and back orange bands which locks it in there tightly.The pop filter is a Dr Scholls toe protector held on with an O ring.The cost of these is about $7 and works as well as a more expensive Schoeps one.I change it regularly for moisture and dirt.I think many people have overlooked this as another source of noise in humid situations. Brian

Not having a lot of luck with posting the image. Brian