CineStrega

I'd also say the Avalons are the best budget pole, but at the price it's going to be aluminum. If you poke around places that sell used gear you can probably find a decent used carbon pole. Alternatively, get another length that way you have options.

I've had my Vdb for over 10 years now, and it's been great, but I don't really like it for documentary work. I feel like it's more of an ergonomic pain (for lack of better words) to extend or retract if you're really moving fast since the collars can be finicky. For that type of work I really like my PSC Elite pole, which is a little more robust.

From what I understand it's the same old story of post having to catch up first. Or at least that's part of it anyways. I feel like for the time being it has more of an immediate use case in sound design where you're more likely to encounter unexpected level changes, but in the long run 32 bit seems like a more elegant solution than Neverclip.

Having pairs is really great for recording face to face interviews if you happen to do a lot of those. I record quite a lot of three way conversations too, and usually I'll have my pair of Sankens on two subjects, and a CMIT on the opposite subject. However if you want say a shorter, and a longer shogun then I would stick within the same brand/product line. That being said having a Schoeps 41, and a Sennheiser 416 is a very classic combo. Those microphones really sound nothing like each other.

At least in the US freelancing is still solidly a sh*tshow, so who knows how much anybody pays for anything. I assume it will go down like every other rate where some people actually get what they ask, some low ball, and some make deals. Unless people get real leftist real fast I don't see anyway to really organize this.

All Zaxcom discourse eventually devolves into:

Also, I used to carry around Zaxconvert on a thumb drive just in case something happened. That way if there was time a mirroring issue could be fixed on set rather than getting an email during post. I will say that when I had mirroring issues it wasn't without warning, I remember the percent mirrored counter freezing prior to the issue.

I work with one client for the most part, and I give them everything. MARF, and Wav. I've only had a couple instances where the recorder (Maxx) hiccuped, and didn't mirror properly, but giving them both is good practice even if it means a little more drive space is needed. This way you'll have the ability to re-mirror later if needed. I remember mirroring issues being more of a thing with the Nomad recorders, which were apparently underpowered so they had trouble writing a mirror, and primary simultaneously. In which case it was best to mirror consecutively to avoid freezing the machine (iirc).

Just a thought, maybe it's actually the unreasonable demands of the current production environment that's causing pain, and not the lack of owning a Zaxcom Nova. Like seriously y'all, you act like it's a gift to spend thousands of dollars so your back doesn't hurt.

I've found that some of the actual bags can weigh a bit. I know they're out of style, but the recorder specific bags from Portabrace are usually the lightest. Same goes for connectors, and cables -- they can add up after awhile.

I've been using an Audioroot eSmart distribution system with Inspired energy batteries for a few shoots now, and on our last shoot I had a couple instances of seeing all the telemetry drop out on the screen of the eSmart. Basically the volt meter, and time remaining counter went to zero for like a second or two before recovering. It didn't seem like power was disrupted to my bag at all though. Has anyone else encountered this?

Don't even get me started on what wireless systems cost per channel. I feel like there's a huge gap in the middle of market right now, we've got a lot of really cool innovative stuff at the low end, all while the higher end equipment keeps getting more expensive. When I bought my Maxx I think was sub $4k (when Zax finally just included all the options sans radio), and there's absolutely nothing at that price point currently with that kind of feature set.

This. When I bought my Maxx I had to read the manual, and ask people online how to do basic functions. I still get super lost in the Nomad menus. Plus I'd love to see case designs improve to include weather sealing and laser engraving for ports.

I used mine on a weeks worth of interviews without the battery meter moving!

I use hardwired lavs a lot, but I'd be weary of mixing them with wireless since most systems have some latency. Just make sure you're on top of when people get up and sit down.

I was in the unfortunate position of having a 788T crash on me during startup while doing a broadcast job. It wasn't my recorder and I made due with a Zoom and a 442 while someone installed a new disc in the 788, but the whole thing sucked and I got flack from the producer even though everything was out of my control. I was reluctant in taking "gear provided" shoots previous to the incident, but that day pretty put me off those for good.

For most of the shoots I do with my main client I usually send split track audio to camera on a breakaway. That's my backup for 90% of interviews. On more complex interviews that are essentially happening live I'll run a Nomad and a Maxx together.

I think thats an older Micron transmitter.

I Don't know how many people actually use them, but for a lot of non narrative work I use a straight cabled boom. Essentially it's just a non coiled XLR running from the tip to a large cable exit at the bottom. It can be a little messy when you're on a shorter pole, but I see it as being sort of a middle ground between an un cabled pole and an internally coil cabled pole. It's more economical, requires less maintenance, and allows me to do things like run a stereo cable through the boom.

If you do want a deep dive into Kubrick I'd also suggest Jon Ronson's doc about SK's archive.

Her own process was pretty interesting too. She made another film about Full Metal Jacket, but it was never release (or finished?). Much like Molly Dineen she used a one person crew approach to making these films. She attached a Nagra SN, and a mic to the side of her Aaton to create a solo rig. It's a neat approach half direct cinema, half POV.

It's been so long since I've used one, but I just remember not really liking the microphone for it's sound quality at the time. I was probably used to that growly Sennheiser sound, and thought the CS-1e was too flat compared to the 416. It's been awhile since then and I've really come to love working with CMITs and other flatter mics. Just tastes I guess.

I just bought a pair for doing face to face interviews in and I'm really impressed. I had sort a blah reaction to a CS-1e I bought years ago and quickly sold, so I was a little skeptical at first. Overall I'm blown away by the amount of off axis rejection for such a small mic.

I just looked at a file in wave agent, it's 30fps ND. The 3 and the 6 don't have clocks aside from the time of day settings so in order to get frame accurate time code you need to feed the recorders time code reader. You don't necessarily need to be connected to camera if you have a pair of small sync boxes you can set them with an app on your phone and have one feeding the recorder and one feeding the camera.

The Mixpre 6 just has a TC reader so it needs to be fed by sync box or the camera's HDMI output (still can't get that to work with my camera). Recently I've used a Denecke JB-1 to feed the mixpre though it's aux input.