rodpaul

Thanks! I'll know more in a few days.

Thanks, I'll give them a call once I get the tape out of storage.

I've got an 8 track master from an Otari machine, almost certain it's 1". It was for a multi-image show and has priceless (maybe not...) recordings of famous Southern musicians, like Piano Red, some recorded in our studio. Anyone have any suggestions of where I could get this tape transferred to a digital file? Thanks.

I started my career in 1975 with a company that owned a Bolex Pro - an amazing camera for its time. Worked flawlessly except once on the top of the John Hancock tower in Boston when the radio and tv antennas created some electronic madness in the camera. And a bit heavy, especially the over the shoulder battery; but it made terrific pictures and was relatively quiet. Also a beautiful thing to look at, as Aatons were later.

I used the Panasonic stereo mics on my P2 cameras for years and found them excellent - for ambient sound. Dialogue was recorded by my audio guy, but in mix, the stereo tracks gave great options for texture, and on a run and gun doc in difficult locations, he had enough to deal with to get clean voice tracks, and the camera mic a painless way to get stereo ambience, necessary as the deliverables for Discovery were 5.1. I'm looking for a comparable solution for my F55, and the only good option appears to be the Sanken CMS 50. If I'd known how much I'd have to spend, I would never have included the Panasonic mic with the camera when I sold it, as the buyer probably didn't care. Definitely not a mic for dialogue.

I've spent a good bit of time in the Amazon rainforests (and boy, does it rain). 416 always worked. Better than I did.

Make sure you have plenty of paperwork, in duplicates - they will want to know the value of what you're bringing - be creative. A good fixer can help you in customs. Note - Kenya has a list of approved fixers they allow, and they are very expensive. If you have any gear sent in (strongly recommend against this unless absolutely necessary, the airport is a zoo) make sure it is documented as "rental" not purchase as the duties are very high. Customs guys there google gear prices to make sure you're not putting one over on them. On your gear, make sure they know its very used... Other than terrible traffic in Nairobi, Kenya, it's a great place. 

The Eagle Eye is nice because it has a removable rechargeable battery that lasts four hours and USB external power as well. The Hollyland deal is pretty nice - I don't know how many devices it will link to, but the biggest difference to me between it and the Eagle Eye & CineEye is size; the latter two are very small. Although I'm a DP, I find the video tools pretty useless and they can be removed easily .I prefer the iPad for monitor as the image is great, client friendly, and audio easily monitored, all without the receiver/battery/calibrated monitor required by TerraDeck. Nice to have so many new options, all with less and less latency.

I believe the difference is that Cineeye has an internal battery only, and the Eagle Eye a removable one. Both feed up to four devices.

I’m no expert on how Terradeck works, except it works well - someone usually sets it up, not me. Eagle Eye has its own WiFi network with a selection of channels to use. The advantage is that on smaller jobs you don’t need the Terradeck receiver, power, and powered monitor, and the iPad image is excellent and they usually run all day. I haven’t tested the latency, so can’t comment. Not much to lose on a small well made unit for $150.

PFY Eagle Eye, compact, well made HDMI to iPad/iPhone, removable battery or USB charge/power, 300' range, nice image, easy to use. German co., but probably made in China. $149, hard to beat.

Pelican Air cases do appear less sturdy, but I've shipped them maxed out with gear to several third world destinations and never had a problem - they're made from some new material that has flex but doesn't break. Pelican also has a partition system for them that helps make the most out of the space.  I've got two of the Airs that are exactly the max allowed size for baggage which is handy, and I switch to run bags once unpacked. I've got a bad back and always look for anything lighter.

If they can afford ADR to fix production recording, then why can't they pay for a boom op? Have they priced ADR?

I must have gone to the wrong tab - I could have sworn this was an audio forum.

As a DP and camera owner (no Reds now or ever), I concur that digital cinema cameras are not simply designed for recording audio - which is often integrated almost as an afterthought. In fact early digital cameras weren't great on time code either. I'm impressed with the knowledge most audio guys bring to shoots as I guess understanding the various models is a fact of life now. Note that Mr. Jannard came with a background in sunglasses, not film, which is probably why his designs excelled at sensor design but were (and maybe are) among the least user friendly and reliable cameras around. For contrast look at the stories around this week about Arri, a brand now 100 years old. Not to pile on Reds anymore, but my old Auricon conversion recorded better sound. And if you got the mic far enough away, you could even avoid hearing the camera occasionally... and it never needed rebooting.

Had a BlackMagic recorder with mini BNCs and they malfunctioned or broke regularly. Not the kind of connector that belongs on a camera.

I've got a Mozegear TIG28 which works great except for the lack of display. As a camera owner, I don't want more cables. The single Hirose on the Sony cameras are often used for start stop buttons on handgrips, making them unavailable for ext power. Just picked up the Betso TCX 2, which ticks all the boxes - nice display, one cable, long battery life and a simple AA batt which I have plenty of already. Looked at the UltraSync, which looked fine until I saw the Betso next to it - looks like UltraSync missed the teeny TC memo.

My F55 gets AES from my 633 just fine. This was enabled quite a few firmware levels ago. Haven't heard that complaint on any of the Sony boards.

I've bought two of the big Pelican Airs. They are exactly the size of the largest cases most airlines will accept. Agree with the comment about flex, but I have traveled internationally several times with these filled to capacity and they did fine. The cases are made from a different material than the original Pelicans and presumably they are equally tough.

I discovered the lack of limiters on 4 - 6 the hard way also, although it is explained clearly in the manual. Less intuitive is the location of the trim control for those inputs, however I have adjusted to using 1 - 3 for situations where the limiters may be needed - and they work well, and I'm very careful in the rare cases where 4 -6 are needed. I run the gain up on the Lectro transmitters as Larry F has suggested and find the limiters sound OK. I keep the mixer levels low enough on 4 - 6  to ensure there is no yellow ever with peak display, and it sounds fine. There are tradeoffs with all gear, and the 633 is a terrific mixer in a small package. Reading the manual carefully helps get the most out of the machine. If you regularly need more than 3 inputs then there are probably better options.

Great cross to the 633 Dugan thread - having a decent track recorded in camera can help immensely, and the better the tracks sound in edit the easier client approval is. I would think this would also make final mix with the ISOs much easier.

Speaking as a shooter, there is little to like about the collection of accessory gear now on digital cinema cameras, so frustration may actually be less with the mixer than at the operator's unhappiness at carrying more boxes. There is also a good time and a bad time to check code in the camera, like not right before a take - seems obvious, but it's happened. The few audio guys I haven't clicked with seemed in a world of their own, not hooked into what's happening on set. This is where the prima donna stereotype comes from. Luckily most guys (and ladies) are great.

Thanks, guys, very helpful.

Not sure about the implanted mics, sometimes I think people i see speaking on television lately have something more sinister implanted. But as long as there are lavs to be placed outside the body there will be a sound dept. Always in awe of the ingenuity I see to make them work, and despite my old school preference for the  shotgun sound, I find my engineer in final mix often liking the lavs better.

I've bought a TIG which I've velcroed myself on the top plate of my F55 and try to persuade audio to use it. There isn't much available real estate on many cameras, especially Canons, and the if the op is moving hand held the box needs to be secure. The new smaller TC units make life a lot easier. I'm a big fan of TIG. I wish I had a good answer, but every camera is different, and as camera accessories are added as needed, the box can often get in the way of something else. More argument for good communication with the AC or camera op.

Can someone point out the advantages/differences between Sound Devices' Automix and the Dugan product?

From my standpoint the auto mix might be a real timesaver for rough edit if sent to the camera giving a much better mix than just a scratch track. I can't see any impact on crew size or ability.

From a DP/camera owner - one gripe is I've had is having guys stick velcro on my camera for the lock it box - piece of advice - ask first about whether and where. Not everyone is thrilled to have industrial velcro stuck somewhere without knowing first.

I've found that the PAG batteries, which have a UN "safe" sticker affixed to them, cause less problems. This saved me in Nairobi. Also the concept of having a battery attached, thereby allowing it to be checked is not ironclad, with a camera, for instance, in which the battery is clearly not integrated. This has resulted in some heated discussions. My advice is to allow plenty of time at airport, especially in Africa, where they are especially touchy. You may end up in a negotiation and discussion of manufacturing standards. Non of this would be an issue if cheap LI units weren't around and often packaged poorly - the UPS crash at Birmingham, AL blamed on a pallet of Chinese batteries, for computers, I believe. All of this as if air travel wasn't unpleasant enough already for those of us who can't go anywhere without mountains of cases. FYI, Pelican has a new line of Pelican "light" cases which are significantly lighter. The largest conforms exactly to the largest size allowed by most airlines. I have two that survived several rough international journeys - they're expensive, but cheaper than additional cases.

Yes, never stop a take - aside from ADR or other options, talent is often fragile and and having someone they may not have even seen disrupt a scene can be jarring. Give the DP or director some credit - just as with a blown line, I usually notice a plane flying over, but in the interests of performance I'll wait until the next take to deal with it. You sound guys ruin us by being so good most of the time, despite often being left out of prep. While I try to find out what will work for sound, I confess I spend a lot  more time with lighting and talent. I do believe there is renewed appreciation for good audio lately. As picture technology has improved, sound is noticed a lot more, and both at home and in theaters, reproduction is a lot better, and when audio isn't up to the picture, it's noticed. Most of the time the audio is consistently one of the most professional departments; it's just that the less professional tend to get noticed more than others.