Tom Maloney

I was told over under is from the US Navy. Rope is coiled on deck that way ,so if three is a sailer overboard when you pick up the rope and throw it there will be aknot every 4 feet for him to grab on to and pull ones self back in Tom

About two months ago I am given a young man fresh out of college as an assaitant. During the day I keep giving him instructions on cable management and wrapping O&U . I am not being a jerk to him , explain the reasons and politely explain this is how it it done and is to be expected of people working in sound in both production and stagehands. He repeatily trys half assed all day long , at the end of the day he says he tried and hands me a mess not even close to a tidy wrap. I now hand it back and say try again no good. He doesn't take it seriously and I get tired of it and tell him if you want to get into this business you better show some interest and effort. I guess my frustration here is someone trying to help a young person and they don"t even show any interest at all. I remember some 40 years ago an old lineman ( ok now I guess it's line person) riding my ass because I could not tie a bowline or a clove hitch. I sat there repeatily tried and tried with his expert instructions till I got it , could do it and still can with my eyes closed. I guess my point is, seems there is no self pride or feeling of accomplishment in some people these days. Why ? Tom

Thanks all , the producer , director are from out of town, they hired a local production company that I have worked for before and it is they that stated his cam op could not be worried about sound. I am just going to play it by ear,do my thing, tell themcamera op ,here are your hops, and for a confidence we have this G3 to feed back to me. I am also bringing Comteks so who ever is in command can listen directly from my 788T. I don"tt sweat these things, half the time they never go as planned, they will probably set up on sticks and I can just whip out the old snake. Thanks again all for all the great input Mike do you have a personal writer ? Tom

Hi all I have a job starting Sunday,The client wants wireless to camera, stated I will also record to 788t and asked that cam op also monitor ,says cam op can't be worried about audio ( sigh. ) So I have never wired up a wireless confidence return, can I simply take headphone out of camera to Comtek and send to my,input to ch 8 for a return ? My fear is the quality of a Comtek for such use , If you folks have better ideas for me much appreciated. Feel like just give them the Comtek and let them listen to camera feed. Thanks Tom

You would have to describe the noise ? I've had the same cables from Trew no problems, after 5 years did have to reterminate one xlr. Do you have a cable tester? How did you prove it to be that cable and not something else in the chain ? Cables do take a beating, should check continuity every so often. Trew has excellent service. Let us know what happens. Good luck Tom

On vacation in New Oeleans a while back I went into a Christmas store and they had old sets like these, gutted the tube and put miniature winter scenes in them , like a picture box,just an idea ,was prettynneat looking Gosh that set was made the year I was born ! Tom Maloney

Hi Everyone, When I first started figuring rates , I looked at what rental houses were charging, took inventory of my bag and went from there, adding my labor. In calls I get for corporate work from established companies there is usually no question for they understand the cost of doing business. The calls I get from people who have the greatest script ever written ( without a shot list ) that are in it for the fun of it , wanting to have fun and such, well,they usually cut the conversation short and I am sure find a student and rent or borrow gear from a college. My question to you union members out west and elsewhere, do you set rates with your gear and labor with production and the union gets a percentage ? or is there a set labor rate for a mixer, A2, utility and boom op ? Just curious how this works with your own gear. Enjoy all the input and discussion here, a very good read Tom Maloney

Here in in Chicago they get the crew down to 1 TD. You have to have more than person to have a Union. Sad Tom

Well fieldmixer, maybe but if I was to blow up piss every one off, like they would even care , but would not really change their way of their doing business. It would stress me out, it is what it is ,over,water under the bridge, I move on. I just think to my self good thing they are not running an airlines . I will pot no more on this. The therapy was good. Tom

You won' believe this I finally get a call...... At 12:30 for the 1:30 call time ......." did you get a hold of the DP.". Yes I got a hold of your DP and sent you a message a 9 pm asking for a call sheet..... You emailed and said you were out all day and would call me early am for details. " oh I am sorry we have been shooting for 60 days" I am saying to myself sure. You are sitting in a office. " so how long will it take you to get there" I chuckle and say where is there". Oh .............Park in Chicago". I said depending on today's traffic it could take 45 minutes to 2 hours. I am 40 miles away. " OH NO do you know any other mixers closer". I said "NO" yea like I wan't to get anyone else involved in this CF.. Well she says " well can you still go I and I will call them that you are coming". I said I Still NEED A ADDRESS. " oh I'll call them and text you with it". I shortly get an address and crank up the tunes and take my time for a nice drive ,think I better try and call this DP and make sure he is for real and actually in the City... Ha answers,, I introduce myself and explain my ETA he says fine no problem, they are at the hotel and heading out to talents location. Where might that be I ask. "Oh on LSD" ......... address ? "just a minute" Crap these guys don't even know where are going ! Get there and we head to a park," no need for hops "I am told "we can go direct to camera" (after all the worry about hops and lock it boxes). I am polite do what I am asked and don' t make any waves or offer ideas. keep my mouth shut and smile . Asked to jam to lock it box ,I do , camera not taking it, after WATCHING many buttons and switches being moved ,I say nicely batteries maybe ? Ah ah. , I kindly hand over 3 AAs out of my bag......Thank you would be nice here........ Finish the shoot. No real problems. The expected 4 hour shoot turns into 10 and will be billed accordingly.. The most funny part. I am driving in the city and I get called from production looking at a map telling where this is in the city, I am polite saying I am fine thank you They can 't send a call sheet and now want to help me .All in all was a great day good weather,good traffic. And heck , if I ever want to produce a short I have the script. You just can't make this stuff up. Smile friends. Life is great I still love my job ! Tom

Jeff, not meaning to aggravaite anyone , especially you Jeff. I'm already old and not really sweating anything. I take pills for that life takes on a different look the older I get, really know what matters and what does not. Just thought I would share this silly nonsense with you folks , a lot of whom I met at the ramps partys I enjoy hearing of others lame tales about productions and thought I'd put this one up there. Tom

News Flash ! 9:37am and no call yet . Going to take the dogs for a walk Good news is I just picked up a good gig for the golf ch tomorrow and they supply their own camera hops ! Life is good Old Men Rule ! ( that is already on a shirt ) Tom

Update 8am Monday morning ....was told shoot would start at 1:30 pm today So the lead audio tech did not answer my calls but emailed me ,up to 12 emails now regarding this shoot Guess a real conversation is out of the question So I get this " we will definitely have b roll. That could have 2 people in the scene. Be prepared for 2 wires for this. Yes there will be an interview and for that we do the standard lav on ch 1 and boom on ch 2. Lastly we send a mix to camera ch1 and have the camera mic on ch 2.". BIG RED FLAG to me This was from their audio person. At 10 pm I email the so called production coordinator and ask why no call sheet yet? She replies she was out all day and will call me early in the morning with details for the shoot in the afternoon.. So I sit here now at 8: 15 debating to answer the phone if it ever does ring ,or just think someone has gone way out of their way to FO me. I can't even imagine trying to deal with them to get paid for this job. No memo deal, no location given yet just Chicago, it's a 40 mile drive for me depending where in the city. I won't divulge the names involved for maybe there is possible a good reason for all the secrecy or stupidly. The audio person looks legit searching their name ,others not much info. The only one who I think might ever go to these lengths to FO me is a young 20 something who refused to pay me after 3 months until My lawyer threatened small claims court , was paid the next day. Anyway , not venting anymore, kind of laughing at this now Will let you know the outdone if any Tom

When I receive a work call I am very honest with people making sure I have the gear and experience for the job offer. I have to turn down jobs that are FOH for a play or a large orchestra and such. I work with a bag or cart setup. Mostly corporate work . So Saturday I get a call for an interview shoot at a hotel on Monday ( yes short notice ) 2 wireless 1 boomed mic and mixer / recorder w TC " yes fine" we agree on a good rate and am told DP will be contacting me (coming in from out of town ) so now, I have received 10 emails from the DP 1st states We are shooting on Canon-300 and we have YOU supply a tc lock box on back of the cheese plate which I have on shoulder rig system. We also have you back up the audio with time code I replied I do not have a lock it and ever job I have work on with one is supplied by camera dept. He asks If I can rent one , on Saturday NO ,can you get one Monday morning before the shoot Monday afternoon ? NO I do not have time to run all over try to get one. Now his lead audio man is going to supply one to him. Hum.... Latest email asks if I have dual channel receiver to mount on the back of the cheese plate and receive two split tracks? I answer no but I do have two Lectro's that can be used for hops. I should also state that I have tried contacting their" lead audio person" to obtain information about the shoot and get no reply. So I guess my vent is why they didn't they give all of this information to the initial caller and I would have told them that my gear not would meet all of their requirements and explain what I have and do not have. So now it's close to 24 hours away for shoot time I do not have a call sheet or any idea if I have the job or not. Thanks to pervious posts here I have studied the Canon and it's TCwoes and such. Ok I am done venting Tom

Bit OT here , taking a mini vacation to New Orleans next week . Any of you been there? Looking for must see places and must eat locations. Thanka all Tom

I Don't get as many looks with the bag as without. People often ask me if I am going parachuting with they see me with just the harness on. A month ago I was in a plush building on the gold coast in Chicago, I had to go up to the lounge and deck near the penthouse and there was a group of potential renters taking a tour. WhATS THAT ! I said I was going to demonstrate the new safety chute for high rises that comes with each apartment by jumping 40 stories off the outdoor deck. The looks I got were awesome. Don't think the the realtor liked me . Hey at my age I kike to have a fun day. Tom

Here is one in Chicago, A student what ? I can't even pronounce it Student Camarographer (Chicagoland) Date: 2012-09-04, 5:20PM CDT Reply to this post I am an up and coming reporter looking to work on a couple of stand-ups and two packages for my demo reel. I don't, however, have the adequate camera/equipment. I'm not sure how much something like this could cost, but e-mail me with your asking price, and camera model and we can hopefully work something out! Location: Chicagoland it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests Compensation: Negotiable

I cuise in a Honda Element, they quit making them last year I think I got it because the rear seats fold up or can be removed, Giving about 75 cu ft of space I can tip a PSC sound cart in, lay it in flat and secure to the rear seat brackets which are bolted to the frame or place the cart up right and ratchet strap it to the passenger seat, of course with no passenger. The car was rated one of the safest on the road with air bags everywhere, Hope I never test them. I have been told it looks like a silver toaster on wheels ! Works well for what I do, holds the PSC cart, a Rock& Roller follow cart ,, couple of Pelis and such What is totally amazing to me is how much gear one does acquire in this craft. I started with a bag couple of radios and a boom , now it is carts, c stands, cables , chargers, blankets tapes, slates. can never leave anything behind because if I do I know I will need it Tom

Too much print for a shirt but the other day I am on a gig Following the camera man and producer and someone shouts out " Ha the sound guy is always the old guy " Really struck me as funny and mostly true Tom Maloney

Have been reading this thread with great interest and trying to put it to use Got a call the other day,fellow says he is shooting a feature for 2 days this month and 2 days next month ( red flag 1 ) I politely ask what camera and am told Canon, not sure of model. ( red flag 2 ). He goes on and says there is NO script ,it is all going to be improv with theatre actors ( Big Red Flag 3 ) He asks what would I charge a day for sound ( he also told me there were about 12 actors) I took a minute and told him I would do the job for $1800.............a day He said is that price negotiatable ? I told him not really due to the fact of his large cast being like a reality shoot that I would have to bring in Two other professional sound people to make sure we cover all the action and capture the very best sound For his film, as the action happened and not interrupting the creative work of his actors. I explained we MUST capture the dialogue as it happens , because we only get one chance He said that was really not in his budget said thank you and the conversation ended politely I really did not want to even get near this ,sounded like a train wreck. But. You really don't know who you are talking to on the phone I assumed this was just someone with a poor plan to make a movie for fun but it could have been a person With a lot of cash and backing ,I figure just go with the flow and see what happens And if he does call back with the money I'll be scrambling to meet some other soundies in Chicago ! Tom

Mark it's from custominkdotcom Expensive to make just one ( will have to put on XMas list) Price not too bad for a 100 Later Tom

Ok Marc , Here is what I had in mind Tom

No Tom

Gosh I thought I was the only one dealing with these people ! Are you by chance in illinois also ? Tom

I am not associated with them in any way. Custominkdotcom will do custom designs and such Great ideas you all put forth Think Inam going to make one fr myself sound is speeding Tom