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Tyler Hawes

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Everything posted by Tyler Hawes

  1. Thanks again for the advice. I can definitely see wanting to play with surround and ambiance recording, so it might be worth it to go for the 4-ch. MixPre II. Since my mixers are always going to have their own kit for regular productions, should I instead be looking at less expensive wireless systems? I only was looking at Lectrosonics + Comteks because it's what every mixer I've hired in recent memory uses and I'm not familiar with alternatives. Two lavs transmitting to the Mix Pre, and then one or two wireless headphones from it is all I need.
  2. Thanks for all the comments. Biggest takeaway for me so far is forget about any of this being backup kit for my mixer - got it. Primary reasons I thought of getting some comteks was because the sound mixers I hire usually don't have enough comteks in their own kit so I end up having to rent a few of them all the time anyway. So I thought I might as well just own them and stop spending on rentals, and then I have them for these other things I'm doing so I can give myself a wireless feed. Doesn't take anything away from sound and I know my kit is better maintained than any common rental house's. Reason I didn't mention 833 or 633 is because I was really just looking at MixPre line initially because it seems designed more for my level of user - a little simplified compared to the 833/633, etc. I only got onto looking at the Nova when I saw how it had integrated wireless, etc., and it seemed a very elegant solution. I guess I should look at the 633/833 now The Sanken CO-100Ks I'm just smitten with them and I can use them for music too (personal hobby). The sound fx work I'd be doing with them is just recording random interesting noises and then playing with them in post to see what tones I can bend out of them. Totally experimental. If I have a hard list of effects I need recorded, such as for something in production, I'm not going to go out and record that myself. A lot of this is just related to me planning on doing some overlanding trips off grid and wanting to grab some sounds while I'm out there. I don't know what I'll find. I'd like to have a pack with me most places I go and be able to whip out a mic and record anything I run across that I find striking. -- I have nothing but respect for sound professionals and the members of this forum. I personally believe it's one of the most under-appreciated departments in filmmaking. I really don't want to get into a back-and-forth on hot takes, but I am going to give a little more context just this once to hopefully clarify. Like I said, this doesn't take away from the work I hire people for, it's more for personal projects and little micro productions I couldn't take anyone with me on. I've been producing / directing commercials and features for more than a decade and I have always hired a professional sound crew for a paying gig and I will continue to do so. I thought I made that clear. The idea that I'm going to set and be directing and producing and then also run sound is laughable - that is not what I am doing nor could I or anyone else do so successfully. I hire professionals for their expertise, anyway, not their equipment. Like any of our valued disciplines, the best equipment in the world will not make good results in inexperienced hands. I have a DAW and JBL 7-series surround monitors in my edit suite because I want an accurate environment for editing and I like to play around with mixing and sound editing, too. But I just play - there's not a single paying project that I haven't hired a proper sound editor and mixer to finish. However, I do find I'm better able to communicate with them by having some hands-on experience with it. I also study acting, and have zero desire to be in front of the camera in any real sense. I learn about the proper way to use a C-stand and I own some stands and lights, but I'm not a grip or gaffer. I own cameras and have very deep knowledge about all things camera and cinematography, but I always hire a DP. Same thing in this context - I want more hands-on experience with recording for the joy of it, for some special cases, and to increase my knowledge of another key department I rely on as a storyteller. I don't think that is treading on sacred territory or taking anything away from talented sound professionals. I enjoy knowing a little about every role in filmmaking and frankly it's part of what I think defines me as a Director. My personal opinion is even if a guy did want to attempt to do it all himself, then by all means he should be able to. It would probably be foolish and setting himself up for failure, but to each his own. But I digress, because this is not that. I just mean that, in the end, professionals will get the jobs worth getting. I don't think they need protection from fools, as the fools won't be in business long. The types of projects I have in mind are things like traveling across Alaska with my family while I take some trails and record random unexpected sounds for fun to see what I can hash out of them in an edit suite some weeks later for no project in particular. Or an off-road trip through the desert with just me, an assistant, and two actors on a micro budget experimental with no crew and zero budget. Or a random Saturday morning favor to help a buddy shoot a video for his YouTube channel. These aren't the type of projects I do a lot of nor do I get paid for them, but they can be fun and experimental and are an excuse to get to know more about sound recording, which I am curious about. I believe in "buy once, cry once" when it comes to gear, and I don't know where this might lead me, so I'm looking at professional-level gear for my admittedly hobby-level work. Hence why I asked here and not DVXuser or Creative COW or other places that are more for videographers and generalists. I am interested in advice from real sound pros who know a lot more than I do about it. I'm also talking to my sound mixers that work with me and they are very supportive about my ambitions. I don't think they feel threatened by my interest in sound, if anything I think it shows how much I care about their work. But I wanted to ask here to get a diversity of opinions.
  3. Hello, Longtime lurker, first-time poster. Thank you in advance for your help! I didn't realize how long this post was going to be when I started, so my apologies I'm a Director/Producer who usually has a sound department and a regular crew with rented equipment, but I have decided to own a bit of kit for smaller productions to get a little more nimble, have some more hands-on experience with the operational aspects, and for the sake of enjoyment (I dabble quite a bit in sound editing and mixing during post, as well as music, and I have a pretty decent home music studio). I am hoping to get some feedback on my proposed kit and a couple different choices I have to make. I want to invest in professional level equipment, but ease of use is also important. I'll still be hiring my regular sound crew for my regular productions, but these items could augment their kit or serve as backups. Here is what I'd like to accomplish with this kit: PRODUCTION: Interviews, auditions, indie narrative. wireless lav mic on 2 actors (may increase to 4 later) boom mic for dialogue, both indoors and outdoors, often held stationary by a c-stand on tiny shoots where it's just me and 2-3 helpers recorder with wireless receivers, wireless to director/clients, camera hop transmitter to camera will not be able to ride the levels attentively so is almost a "bag drop" in terms of how much we adjust the mix during production smart slate for TC? SOUND RECORDING: I am also wanting to capture some raw sounds for building my own personal library. matched pair of mics for stereo and surround recording possibilities high-frequency recording (96kHz) to preserve detail when I play with slow-down effects in post PROPOSED GEAR: Lavs: Sanken COS-11D Boom mic: Sanken CS3-E, K-Tek KP9CCR 9' KlassicPro FX mics: Sanken CO-100K (pair) Wireless & Recorder: Option A: Sound Devices MixPre-10 II Lectrosonics SSM + UCR411a wireless <> lavs (2 ea) Comtek M-216 transmitter + PR-216 receivers (4) camera hop? Option B: Zaxcom Nova w/MRX414 receiver module Zaxcom ZMT3 wireless transmitter (2) Comtek M-216 transmitter + PR-216 receivers (4) camera hop? As you can see, the main choice I have is between Sound Devices + Lectrosonics vs Zaxcom. I don't want to make this a this vs that thread, but would love some opinions on the differences for my specific use and experience level. I see the 32-bit float recording of the MixPre helping with being a little more idiot-proof on mix levels or when it's a bit of a "bag drop" with no one actively riding levels during recording, or maybe even helping with sound effects recording when I'm late on adjusting levels for an unexpected sound. OTOH, Zaxcom's integration seems like it could make it all more elegant to setup and use and keep the bag lighter/smaller? I also do like the solid state recording in the Zacom transmitters as a backup. I don't have experience with either of these so would appreciate if people can help me know the real practical differences I'm going to have going with either option. Aside from the recorder choice, I'm open to input on any of the above. I listed Sanken out of some familiarity with them, and there aren't many alternatives I know of for field recording at 96kHz. I've heard enough compelling work done with time stretching of high-frequency recordings to know that I want to be able to play with that myself. OK, that's it, thank you again for any help.
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