Jump to content

carbonhobbit

Members
  • Posts

    299
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

Everything posted by carbonhobbit

  1. Owner will pay Contractor a pre-negotiated sum per hour, per day or per project for the work to be performed under this contract. Because of the nature of film, video and audio-visual work, the work schedule will vary from project to project, but compensation will remain under the control of Contractor. The above is from a contract I have to sign for a company I work for before any project starts. The company has one of my rate cards and I bill off it for most of my work. But lately this company has been springing more and more flat rates on the crew, once after the job was done. My question is how can they do this with a clause like this in their contract? How can I be in control of my compensation if they are telling me what I'm billing them and sometimes after the fact? They are the biggest client for most in my area, so can’t really bite the hand that feeds me. How have others handled this? Scott….
  2. Sorry to say, but this is SOP in my area. My last shoot was a two day shoot; one day in studio, one on location. Because of weather, the days were flipped and I wasn't told that one of the location shots hadn't been moved. The only reason I came prepared was because I had run into the makeup artist's husband the night before. We use to get Shoot books, but those have now vanished. The quoate from the PM is, "You're grown adults, you can figure it out." The location was a State Park with only a call time. No meeting location was given, so the crew had to drive around the park looking for the sight. The rest of the day was playing follow the leader from setup to setup. You survived your shoot, we alway do. Their poor planning ran the production into overtime. They took this into account by hiring a smaller crew. Save money here to spend it over there. Enjoy you're next short day. SL
  3. The midwest is slow. Companies unwilling to pay for commercials while laying off workers. Some are still spending. We are waiting for the grass to green with spring. Scott L
  4. WARNING! Slow economy, too much time! Sort of “Who am I” Rant! This is sort of a rhetorical question. Is becoming a sound person (mixer) the top of the food chain or is it or can it be a stepping stone to bigger and better things? Another question is whether freelancing ever helps you get a better position or does working full time with a company gets you a better position? How high can you go in production? When does the glass ceiling show up? Some years ago, I wanted to be a photographer. I graduated at the time of big downsizing in both broadcasting and production. Most of the work was now being outsourced because the production companies didn’t have to pay a staff when there were slow times and all the benefits that go with full time employment. Enter the world of freelance workers or independent contractors. I start my post college years driving an ice delivery truck. It was one “cool” job. I sent out resumes and applied for any job that I found. I soon started my wall of rejection in my apartment bedroom. Friends thought I shouldn’t do this because they thought it would just be a reminder of what a loser I was. I saw it a as sign of the times. By the time my wall came down, it had over 150 letters along with one you did a good job on this project. I finally had a job in the world of TV production. My first job was being a floor director for a once a month corporate broadcast. Soon I was asked to help out with the production of the segments as a PA. This really was gripping because there were only two of us. After a couple of segments, I was shown a mixer and told to keep the little bouncing needle out of the red, mostly below 0. I was now the sound person, but only after getting all the other things done too. They didn’t like to see me sitting doing nothing during the interview. I started to like corporate production. They let me do anything I asked about learning. I could almost see what I wanted to do as I got older. (Segment photographer, editor, producer, director) Then I learned about mergers, acquisitions and downsizing. My classroom studio was torn apart, never to come to life again and I was thrown out to the wolves. I was saved by a production company that had done contract work for the corporation and a network photographer. I was both their grip/soundy; learning more things about sound, but most of it was OJT; I was the teacher and the student. As the months pasted and the equipment was beat up, I thought about buying my own equipment. My first investment was a mixer, and soon after that a carbon fiber pole and mic to get away from a steel Gitzo pole. I had a small list of equipment but wasn’t getting paid for it because they had their own stuff. I used my equipment because it was better and lighter than their stuff. Then I started getting jobs without them. I was now a CEO of a small location sound acquisition company. Now twenty years later, I want the red sports car. I want to shoot again, maybe produce or direct. Am I stuck being a sound person or can I take on new roles. I feel like freelancing as sound has pigeon holed me in. I am a SOUND PERSON. I have all of the equipment and know more about time code than most of the people I work for. I know the camera, I set them up, but when I ask to shoot something, they look at me like I was asking to do brain surgery. I have twenty years of being infused in this; I just don’t get to pull the trigger. I feel like a second class person. Maybe it’s because I work in a small market and I AM the sound team. I have nobody to back me up, nobody to boom for me, I have to do it all and some days I wish I could do better, but I’m not allowed because I don’t have the equipment or the people. Some days I get cut because it’s just a lav straight to the camera, why do we need a sound person for that? He cost too much. Why don’t we just buy our own stuff? I do like doing this stuff, but there are things I wonder if it could be better. Having a job to go to all the time. (What? And give up all my free time.) Health care, 401K’s, stock options, paid vacations, paid conferences, year end bonuses, promotions, company equipment. I guess I just need to re-invent my self. I know the economy sucks right now, but it’ll get better, it always has. Work will come again and the grass will turn green and even the sun will come back out again. So I would like to know, how many just sort of fell into this job, never to get out and how many really wanted to be a sound person? And how does this department get any respect other than being a******s. Remember the story about the body parts and who was most important? I just want to work with everybody and have everything work smoothly and be respected for my job. Later. Scott……..
  5. Scott Harber: Is this a spreadsheet a program you can buy or is it for free use? Any type of instructions on using it for small productions? Looks like a great idea. Thanks. Scott L.
  6. First off, go find a company that does TV docs and offer to do a free internship with them. Learn as much as you can. If you're a good student of at least six months, start asking how the business works and the cost associated with the productions. Two post asking these type of questions will get you eat'en alive. It's like asking how much a car cost and not knowing what kind of car you want. Put your money away for awhile and go do some more learnin' about the business. Your not ready yet. You can't learn everything from the net. SL
  7. Last Saturday night I responded to what I thought was an example of another bad ad of looking for somebody to work on a festival bound film and only paying in credit. I mocked the post by writing about wanting to paint a house for free to also enter in a contest. Guess it was a real post for a job because the post has been wiped clean of this board. Was I wrong for showing how asking for credit pay work in another field, seems so wrong. This business seems like the only work where a lot of people seem to think that working for free is the best way to get ahead. How long can you survive giving your work away for free and pay for a place to live and pay for the equipment that you need to perform your job? Any other job you get thrown out on the street for not paying your bills, but here seems status quo. And when someone mocks you, you pull your post? Craig list jobs are shot down all the time, I thought this was another one of these. If it was a real posting, I'm sort of sorry for making fun of it. I'm just tired of seeing credit paying job offers. I'm in this business to make money to pay my bills. I'm just sorry the posting was pulled. Was I wrong for mocking it? Or maybe thin skinned people shouldn't post. Some days grumpy mid-aged sound man. Scott L.
  8. I work with a DP where we joke that we are using available light......every available light on the truck and then some. Scott L
  9. I finally had a Red come to the midwest. The picture is great, can't say the same for the design. Since I was only working as a day player on a multi-day shoot, I had to play by their rules. TC was set at 23.97 for both the camera and the SD 744T they supplied. Was told this was the only way they could keep things in sinc. The tech said they had drifted after two hours, so we jammed a couple of times thru the day. Audio feeding camera had to go in mic level only as line level has been deemed too hot. Have no idea what the camera levels were set at. Just the first white line of two, so when I could see the level on the monitor just made sure to stay between the two white lines that were hard to see from three feet. I survived the day, but am glad I had a backup recorder going at the same time. I just would like to know why the audio design seems like an after thought. Small connectors, no scale, no audio output to see except during record and the headphone out sucks. Oh, well life goes on. Guess I'll have to buy more micro xlr to xlr cables. Scott.
  10. I run three lectros, a 442 and a 744T all thru a BDS system and can go about seven hours plus. My battery is an IDX 14.8V/ 71 watt hour lithium. Without the 744, I can go about three days. Since your using a battery of one half this size, I would guess you would only go half as long. I tried to use my older metal batteries (50 watts) and they would poop out in twenty minutes or so, so I never even tried to use them with my 744 package but they work fine without the recorder. So yes, you do have a limit. Seven volts shared thru five units that normally run on 9 volts each would make me nervous. Scott L
  11. For EFP out in the midwest, I can get from 500 to 600 for 10. That's me and equipment. If it is double system or film I go for 600 to 700. I have lost some jobs because the price is too high, but don't miss any sleep over it. There are only three of us with equipment and one doesn't have a TC recorder. Have had people go quiet when I give a quote and then they tell me that is more than they are paying the shooter. I've asked, so are you getting the camera for free? The answer was no and then I had to tell them the price is for me and the sound equipment. They still didn't like the price. I would like to rent out my equipment at a higher rate, but alot are not willing to pay the price. My equipment doesn't cost any less out here and I'm not able to work it every day, but still have to rent it like a three day week. I'm just trying to pay for my equipment, insurance, storage building and a car to get it to location; plus be married and raise a family. For national news, my camera operator gets the rental. I just work for rate and if I take my equipment along, it's because I know my stuff and know it will work and don't have to take any time to de-bug their gear. I know I'm not getting rich, but I can't stand working at a desk. Later. Scott.
  12. How are they selling a Fisher? Did it get released by Fisher? Most of their stuff is lease only. That is true for the Dollies. Scott.....
  13. I haven't ranted for awhile so....... I live and work in a small market here in the midwest. Out here, sound people with equipment are few and far between. In my town, there are only two of us with NLR's and another sound person I sub rent to. In our world, some months there is not enough work to go around and the next day every production wants to shoot on the 15th, the date is set in stone, can't be moved and they are calling two days before the shoot. I've survived this for the last 20 years. So here's the rub. Guy from LA calls, he's in another state 170+ miles from me. He can't find a soundperson to save his life. The city 50 miles from him with sound people is all booked up, that is why he is calling me. It's Thursday and his shoots starts on Saturday. He shooting PSA's on 16mm. He wants a DAT Machine. Mine was last used 6 months ago. He has make-up, wardrobe, camera assist, gaffer, a couple of grips and a PA. He's just missing a sound person with equipment. We're from the midwest, we go out of our way to help productions out of binds like this. Then he drops the bomb. He only has 350 a day for sound. I know he heard the pin drop. Excuse me? Didn't he just say he was having a problem finding a sound person. I think I know why! Where do these people crawl out from? Sure in LA you can pick up some sound people for that, but out here we can't survive on that. It's hard to keep up with what's new and improve and only come home with 350 a day. Lets see, I have to buy the equipment, insure it, keep it up, buy a car, have a place to stay, eat, save for my retirement and save money for new equipment that I seem to need every year just to stay in business. And in the time I've been doing this, average just 12 days of work a month. I have a hard enough time just making it on 600/day and retiring is out of the question. I'm an independent contractor. Shouldn't that mean when someone comes to me for work, I get to set the rates? If that person doesn't like the rate, they go onto the next person, but there isn't another person to go to. So they have to come back and pay my rate. But it just doesn't seem to work that way in the land of film oz. They throw out the line of "I can get a sound person out here for xxx." Well, bring him out with ya, and I'll just go slap burgers at the king. I see it as you're selling your house, you're having an open house on Saturday and the drain in the basement has just started flowing the wrong way at 3 am. After finding a plumber willing to come out, you ask him to do it at this set price because your neighbor is a plumber and that's all he would charge you. Have a nice day........I'm booked already. Scott
  14. As a one-person sound-band, I like to be as close to the frame line as I can get so I don't have to go the whole distance of my booms. This means I'm looking for any holes I can find without casting a shadow or being block by a flag. If I get on set too soon, the joke is always on me about standing where the key light goes and then start doing the dance of where can I go next before the grips set something else up. They all know I have to be there to do my job, but do I have to stand "there"? Time for a trip to crafty or try to find out who needs wired. Come back later to find a forest of C-stands blocking the way, leaving an eighteen inch hole to stand where nobody behind camera can see you. Now I'm just a voice that says I'm ready and is only heard from to ask if they are wide or tight? And to hear a few "Boom's In!" Ahh, the life of no respect, but if there is no sound in post, watch out! Later, Scott L.
  15. Are you using a recorder now for your work and want to get the rental yourself, or are companies asking if you can double record for them? In both cases, I would go with the 744 just to have the extra inputs when you need them. Having two machines hanging around later isn't always fun and the costs always increase. Spend now and not; spend now and spend again later. If your work has two people talking, you already need three inputs. Unless you have never taken a hit on a paired-up set of wireless. And if they throw in a third person, you have got them covered. For little more money, you can't go wrong. And yes, I use all four of my inputs on commercials. Not every shoot, but more than not using the extra two inputs. Scott L.
  16. So I have a four day commercial shoot. The shoot is on 35mm and all the subjects are on green screen. I've had my 744 for about nine months now and the hometown company takes my files off my flash card straight to their computer. This would be the first time I would be burning a disc to send with the film, off to the land of OZ. I tried to explain this to them and asked how they wanted to deliver it. I told them I would be recording at the standard rates for 24 fps film; 30 fps, 24 bit, 48 k. The only reply back I got was to send them cd-r's. Day one is here and we record our first shots and go to pack up. I get my slate back and notice the second had covered my 24 with a 30. I asked, really? He then told me the whole show was running at 30 fps. My eyes were bugging out. I had just been F****D. I went to production and tried to explain that in my 10 years of film sound, I had never heard of anybody rolling film at 30 fps. They wanted to know if I had a problem with my sound. I said no, but I didn't know if my sound could be matched up with their pictures. They looked at me like I was talking greek and they said they shoot at 30 all the time and never have any problems. Said they were sorry about not telling me about the speed change. It is now day four plus. They have my files and I haven't got any calls about my sound not working yet. Should I be sweating or will this all work out? Anybody else shoot film at 30 fps with sync sound? Scott.
  17. I received this by e-mail yesterday. Anybody having these problems? Sound Devices would like to make our 7-Series owners, users, and resellers aware of a know issue relating to WAV files generated by 7-Series recorders. ISSUE *************** Wave files (Broadcast Wave) recorded by a 7-Series recorder with the attributes below may not properly import into the latest release of Avid or Pro Tools. These files may appear to the application as unreadable. File attributes must include the following for the condition to occur: - 24-bit depth, - 1-track (monophonic) or 3-track polyphonic From our experience, files with the above attributes fail to import roughly 50% of the time. SOLUTION *************** Until a new release of 7-Series firmware is available correcting this bug we recommend selecting either two-track or four-track 24-bit files when recording material that will be posted in Avid or Pro Tools. Two-track and four-track files do not have any issues importing into these applications, nor do any files recorded at 16-bits. This behavior exists with all Sound Devices firmware releases up to and including the present version, 2.10. BACKGROUND *************** Wave files use a RIFF (Resource Interchange File Format) structure to represent their file metadata. One requirement of RIFF file chunks is that they must be word aligned. This means that their total size must be a multiple of 2 bytes (ie. 2, 4, 6, 8, and so on). Most audio software applications do not rely on even byte RIFF chunks to parse metadata properly. The latest releases of Avid Technologies Inc. software, namely the Digidesign ProTools and Avid family of products, do require WAV files to meet this part of the RIFF standard and can have difficulty properly importing files which do not meet this requirement. Sound Devices Wave files generated with odd track counts at 24-bits have the possibility of producing an odd byte RIFF header. Problems do NOT occur with 2- or 4-track poly files, or ANY file that records at 16-bit, since the number of bytes for these types of files will always come out even. If you have additional questions concerning this condition please contact our support staff at support@sounddevices.com. Support Staff Sound Devices, LLC Â Â Scott.
  18. Â Â Â Just slow down the film camera to 23.976 or 23.97 since it's the "new" problem in the work flow. Lease amount of work all around and just burns up a little more film. Can still sync up at the lab and also edit can sync too. Could also pass the sync at the lab and have edit do it all, but edit is probable more costly than the lab. If the film camera can't or won't slow down, then you could slow the files down in BWF widet pro and then edit would end up doing the sync. Â Â Â Just have to pick what's best for everybody. I've done it both ways since the company I work for never sends audio out with the film and is married after it gets back to post. Â Â Â Â Scott.....
  19. Â Â Â Where was the other sound person or people? Did the network cut them and leave you as the lead and only A1? If so, they left you in a pickle. The four seperate channel system sounds the best to me so edit has non-mixed sound to use with a full mix for transcript. Â Â Â If you had a second A1, I would let each camera crew operate as a team and only worry about what the camera is focused on. That is assuming one camera was on hosts and the other is on the subjects. Â Â Â If more cameras, it's becoming a zoo and then one sound board would feed all the cameras and they would get a mix of everything and then edit just matches the pictures they want with the sound that is on all of the tracks. Â Â Â Otherwise, just do the best you can and go on to the next job. Â Â Â Scott.......
  20. Scott Lynam, Omaha, NE Sound Person I got started almost 20 years ago when I started free-lancing for one of the baby bells. I’ve been a PA, grip, electrician, sound recorder, camera operator and truck driver. On some shoots, I can still end up doing all of these jobs. Two of my favorite questions are: What’s your other job? Can you do enough of this to make a living? Most people don’t understand free-lancing, but then I don’t understand why people go sit in a cube everyday. And yes, I do make a living at this and no, I don’t have another job. I got started in sound after having a boom put in my hands, told to hold it over somebody’s head without hitting them, watch the meter and make sure it doesn’t go in the red. From there I started buying equipment to make sure it was all there and working after using stuff abused by others. Now I have a DAT system and a video system and its all one man band over the shoulder work. I’ve learned it all by OJT, reading and running into a few sound people through the years. I do mostly Commercial work both in film and video, corporate videos and news. The work and money are lean at times. I’ve thought about getting out or finding something else to do, but I just can’t find any other job like this.
  21. Please include my name in the short list of Midwest Sound people for the ramps party. See everybody after the show. Scott Lynam
  22. Â Â Â First, I would like to thank everybody for this forum and RAMPS. I'm learning alot from them. I'm a soundperson located smack dab in the middle of the US. I've been a sound person for over a decade learning on the old beta format. I've done it all from news to small movies. I've been doing sound on DAT's for film and straight to camera for video and HD is just starting to show up here. (The horses are slow and we roll up the sidewalk at night.) Â Â Â I'm trying to decide where to go next. Film is beening used less and less and nobody has asked for back-up recordings yet. Once client has the Panasonic AG-HVX200, the other has the older 100's. I'm thinking of getting a SD 744T, but time code won't jam with these camera. Thinking that I would have to go back to shooting the slate like in the film days. Â Â Â I'm with you all on rates and production pulling fast ones. I'm a one man band flayling away out with the rest of the sound people. Production doesn't think much of us, but when it doen't work in post, they sure come down on us. Somedays I would much rather be a grip/electrican where the worry is done when the truck doors close. Â Â Thanks for your time. Â Â Â Scott Lynam
×
×
  • Create New...