OutstandingSound4Picture

ALWAYS test and A/B is best. I would also include the Rode NTG-3 in your shootout. Nice mic. I sold my Senn and the Rode now lives in my blimp. And if you want to sell your AT4073s, drop me a line. I love 'em. Nothing about those mics that a little EQ in post can't fix. Lots of detail if they are placed in the right spot.

It's a generational thing. The kids live through their LCD screens. I remember recording a live rock show at a club a few years back in Boston. The back of the room was lit up and looked like fireflies on a summer night. Everyone was texting and reading their messages and not paying much attention to the music. I get texts and emails out of the blue all the time. My stock response is "CB". No call back, then the job really wasn't there. And FWIW the text solicitations are usually for $100 a day sound gigs anyway.

I recently received a message regarding this seminar in New York sponsored by Gotham Sound and Sennheiser: http://www.imakenews.com/gothamsound/e_article001889953.cfm?x=bhvvrqf,bl1pnc1n This is a topic which interests me because I have a background in music and studio production and when I tracked an artist or band I was the person who mixed the recording, too. Nowadays when I am doing location work I am either mixing split tracks on boom and wireless lav jobs or handing over my work as an ISO multi-track. I have no control as to how my source files are being mixed in post. I am not sure the video editors understand what to do with multi-tracks or how to mix sound at all. I know the tools available in FCP or Soundtrack Pro to handle audio are fairly clumsy compared to the power built into even inexpensive DAW software. Anyone have any insight as to how to work with video editors and post? War stories maybe? Is there a need for the location mixer to become involved in post? On the picture end there are many people working as 'preditors' - shooters who are editing their own footage. That means the shooter has some say in what his or her final product looks like. Just curious.

Rubber bands. Check out Rob Rozak's video: http://www.juicedlink.com/self-booming/chapter/0 5:00 into the clip Who cares if you lose them?

There are a great many inexpensive pencil condensers available which do really bang up jobs. It's a very competitive market segment. The Octava 012s used to be a tremendous bargain, but they are up around $5-600 for a matched pair. I've used the e70 by CAD which has a street price of $100 and interchangeable capsules, the Behringer B-5 at around $70 or $80 and the MXL 603s and 604s which are absurdly good on boom. I think you can get a matched pair of 603s for $130 with shock mounts and a case. Most of these mics have either 20mm or 22mm barrel diameters. The windscreens I use with them are the Windtech US or Ultra Series windscreens - they are very substantial and protect the mic capsule very well. Olsen has them available in various sizes. Check their website. They aren't cheap (~$35), but they are a bargain compared to Schoeps foam! I rarely use shotguns on boom nowadays. Pencil condensers are my go-to mics and the advantage is that I can use them indoors and out. For great wind protection I recommend getting the Rycote Baby Ball Gag and Windjammer (around $200). I open the ball gag, insert the pencil condenser, mount the Windtech screen over the capsule, close up the ball gag and put the Windjammer on. It's good to go and dead quiet in all sorts of conditions. I have an old Rycote "rubber doughnut" softie shock mount and a Rode PG-2 I use to put these setups on boom. The audio quality is great and it's much smaller and lighter than a blimped shotgun - making this a lot easier to maneuver in the field - as well as a lot less expensive. By the way, there are a couple of guys who mod and hot rod the 012s (as well as the MXLs) to get incredible performance out of them. You might want to check out Michael Joly. I think his company is: Oktavamod. You can send your mics to him or purchase already modded 012s. He's well known in music recording circles.

Yes, more precisely the recorder is going to track the AES A source. The 552's default is that AES A is the main bus mix or "program". The TASCAM DR-680 is a pretty nifty piece of gear to have in the bag with the 552. I use it all the time for double system work with the 552's direct outs into the 680's analog inputs at line level. I wrote the [second] review on the B&H website for it: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/673541-REG/Tascam_DR_680_DR_680_8_Track_Portable_Field.html#reviews Highly recommended low cost recording solution. Not to be a party pooper on the 552, which is a very capable mixer and gets a fair amount of work when producers see it on the gear list, but the DR-680 has a very nice internal digital mixer itself and records a two track mix alongside the 6 ISO inputs. The mic pres are also very nice and very clean. This box was suggested to me by an audio engineer who professionally records classical music performances, so his standards are pretty high. I am going to take the DR-680 out stag next double system gig I land and use it as a single box solution for ISO tracking and camera mixer. Most of my jobs over the past 6 or 8 months have required wireless hops to camera, so the fact that the DR-680 has unbalanced RCA phono outs is less of an issue.

The 552's internal recorder basically makes a copy of the main bus mix going out of the box. If you need ISOs or any other mix of your inputs, you have to take direct outs and run them into multi-channel recorder and take it from there. The internal recorder is useful when doing wireless hops so that there is a backup in case of radio interference or drop outs or when the DP or shooter wants to dispense with any connection between the camera and the mixer. You can run the main bus mix to the Red and engage the recorder so you get better audio quality. The camera tracks would be for reference or scratch. Your editor would import your 552 files, line them up to picture using the Red's audio as a guide, then mute the camera tracks and mix production sound from there. I would suggest you read the 552's manual and this article about audio with the Red from the SD website: http://www.sounddevices.com/notes/cameras/red-one/

I was on a shoot last month in upstate NY and the crew from Ghost Hunters was there doing their usual paranormal exploratory thing looking for ghouls, apparitions and other spooky stuff. There were two sound mixers there with the production. One fellow was from Las Vegas and the other guy was from Miami. The mixer from Miami helped me out when the batteries on one of my Lectro sets suddenly nose dived. He saved my butt. I wanted to thank him but we wrapped as they were just getting into their shoot so I didn't get a chance to. Anyone know who he is? I figured someone here would either know him or know who he is. Really sweet guy. Thanks.

I think this gig is already set for sound.

I am wondering if anyone can give me some guidance as to what works where. I'm soliciting work in the mid-atlantic and didn't want to run into a wall of interference with the wireless sets I plan on bringing along. Thanks!

That's a really great article, Noah.

I think this discussion is VERY interesting. The comments beg the question... how come there isn't someone who's in charge of audio soup to nuts? From production recording to design and final mixdown? In the real world and real life (like for example, most successful businesses) there is usually someone called a "manager" who is responsible for things like efficiency, consistency, quality etc. That guy's butt is on the line to make sure things work right and are done correctly throughout. Forgive me, but I have not found this at all in the film sound biz. Maybe it's out there someplace but I haven't seen it. The culture of our industry is to not plan or spec things out and hope for the best or let post worry about it.

Warms my heart that all the hot cameras the kids are going gaga for stink for audio. I remember my first shoot with an Arri 16BL in school. I was the kid holding the Nagra and the blimped Sennheiser because everyone in the class wanted to be the cinematographer and I came up with the short straw. I tell my clients I learned how to do location audio when videotape was made by Kodak and had sprocket holes and no sound track. Audio should always be done double system... even if the camera has audio inputs. The difference now is that with these new $100 wonders producers don't have much choice. Don't forget to slate the takes!

It's a nice field recorder. The built in XY stereo pair is very very sensitive and you will no doubt pick up EVERYTHING in the car's passenger compartment. It's also not that cheap. You can get a Zoom H4n for a lot less and the H4n is a four channel recorder. The H4n can also take in two conventional XLR condenser mics with 48v phantom whereas the D-50 only has a stereo mini jack with PIP. Instead of the D-50, I would suggest you use the H4n and put a couple of small lavs like the Countryman B6 on the talent. You can also simultaneously record using the H4n's XY pair, so you get a "field" recording of the car's interior. Then mix to taste. I'm in production on a documentary right now where I am using the D-50 (which belongs to the producer) alongside my H4n. I am hooking the D-50 up to the tape out of my field mixer and recording 2 channel backups that way. The H4n is doing utility as an ambient and supplemental recorder during the shoots. I wouldn't worry about SONY memory sticks. I just use the D-50's built in storage and offload the files via USB. I haven't run out of space yet.

It sounds better than a lav.