Philip Perkins

Metacorder is great, but is strictly a cart or table based setup. I've never done a car rig with mine--it could be possible--ask that question over on the Metacorder Yahoo group. I got the Metacorder because I decided I needed a "sound computer" for location work for all the other ways computers are useful in production sound nowadays, and Metacorder was a relatively cheap add on that allowed me to be able to record LOTS of tracks if necessary. Since I've had it I've found lots of uses for the computer, and more uses for Metacorder than I had thought. The main issue w/ MC is that it is a bit messier than a dedicated NL multitrack, and requires a computer to run it. As the track count goes up there are increasing advantages to using MC--automatic sound report making, very efficient metadata management w/ easy entry of track names etc, its "split poly" mode which automatically records (and labels) separate 2-mix and split track poly files, records to 3 media @ once, including a mirroring drive that can be a DVD-RAM, etc. If the track count is mostly going to be 2-4, then it is kind of overkill for the extra hassle involved, particularly the DC draw of the computer and the space taken up by an open laptop (maybe less w/ Mac Mini, but then there are more wires and a separate monitor and keyboard to find homes for). So, what's your style? What is demanded of you by your clients? Do you need an unpredictable but fairly high track count pretty often? Do you need to be able to do long days w/ no AC at all? Do you need to quickly move from multitrack/cart to over the shoulder? If so you might need BOTH a multitrack rig AND a smaller self-sufficient recorder. BTW--Metacorder has been great on concert recording. The MOTU Traveler has held up quite well on the cart, and the Metric Halo interfaces are even heavier duty. We had a long discussion on RAMPS last year about the ruggedness of Mac laptops, in which many people chimed in about the abuse their computers had taken, including that dished out by all the video assist people, and they seem to hold up pretty well. Philip Perkins

I know what Take and Courtney say about porting their programs, but things do sometimes change if people keep asking long enough: Altiverb, probably the most popular software reverb at the moment, was always sworn to be a Mac only product from a Mac-only company (AudioEase). I'm glad to say that now they have announced a Windows XP (VST/RTAS) version. Good for them I say. Philip Perkins

Ok.....no ideas. Donate? Target practice? Door stop? Philip Perkins

Thanks--I changed my own profile. Philip Perkins

They both will sound great--do you care about the relative size? Will your workdays accomodate the extra time needed to burn the discs from the 744 (secret: use the fastest CF cards you can get--80 x etc) as opposed to the Deva's "burn as you go" scheme? Would you ever want to rent the recorder out to someone else? If you ever do want to do bag-rig work, it seems that the 744 is the machine that most "baggers" have voted for, mostly due to size and weight. In terms of future resale, I'd say you could sell the 744 in a heartbeat, while the Deva 2 might be tougher to move. On a cart rig both will be great. Philip Perkins

Hey Jeff--I'm still getting the posts in reverse order. Tonight on the "what's the most important piece of gear" thread your original post was @ the bottom of p3, and Palmer's most recent one was @ the top of p1. Is there a setting I changed that is causing this? thanks Philip Perkins

I seem to be seeing the new posts at the top of the forum, with the posts getting older as one scrolls down. Is there a setup where I can change this to having the original post first and the replies below (as before)? thanks Philip Perkins

SFX server? Email server? My office G3 Imac 600 still works fine on OS 10.2.8. What can I do with it around here? Philip Perkins

On an overseas doc he'd be lucky to get $6-700 day, all in (labor+gear). Travel days, if there are a lot of them are always a negotiation, as are "off " days on location. Doc days are very long, and overtime is usually not factored in per se. Make sure there is an understanding about loss and damage to his gear, and especially about what the procedure will be if he is injured or becomes seriosly ill while overseas. (ie medivac insurance etc). Philip Perkins

I thought a lot about a Mini for my location computer, but my set up changes all the time to meet the needs of various jobs, and I liked the all-in-one-ness of the PB. On solo jobs I can park the PB on a table or on the front seat of the van to burn the DVD while I'm wrapping up my little setup, on cart jobs w/ a boom op I like knowing that my Metacorder setup can stay hot for about 2 hrs per PB battery powering the computer, the Traveler (on bus power) and an external drive (also bus power) if there is no AC or I have a cart battery problem. The Mini might be the ticket for me for a new office/internet/FCP computer though. I'll be interested to hear if Remote Audio etc can come up with a DC solution for the mini. Seems like it should draw a lot less DC than the PB. I've heard of some 24VDC options for direct DC powering the PB, but haven't seen on in the flesh. (UK "Monster" battery?) Philip Perkins

Faster and easier w/ a single mic, but more expensive. I've had a Neumann RSM 190i for many years, lots of great recordings, but mostly SFX and music. 2 single mics are more versitile of course, but require fussier mounting. Stereo roomtones only make sense if the scene was recorded in stereo. Sound editors are always interested in extra new ambiences that seem to have something to do with scenes, but those are probably best recorded when the rest of the crew is gone. Spot SFX are much more useful in stereo. Getting key sfx in stereo on the set where the scene was recorded is really great, but is tough to schedule. Philip Perkins

Sorry, yes, category. PhilipPerkins

Can you ramp it into a van, does it require a lift-gate? Do you have a van or a cube truck etc? Philip Perkins

I'm talking about the "flatless" type. My cart isn't all that heavy, so they've been great. Philip Perkins

This is the one w/ the 6 rotary volume faders. Any hard experience re build quality, headroom etc? Philip Perkins

I think you are on to something with having a separate forum for those posts--it would emliminate a good chunk of the stupid vitriol that is present on RAMPS and directed towards anyone from a company that makes gear we might own. Really tiresome. What you propose might be seen as safe zone for those people, and those who object to manufacturers posting cold just stay clear of that forum. You would also have justification for excluding posters who still attack the manufacturers on that special forum. Philip Perkins

I read that the early G5 iMacs had very noisy fans, or fans that would become noisy. I guess this was more of an isssue than on the (very noisy) G4 towers, since the IMac sits right in front of you. Anyhow, these complaints seem to have died down. I was wondering if you'd heard of any fan noise issues w/ the Macintel Imacs? I actually need a new office machine--my location-audio Powerbook is only a few months old so I'll stay with that for awhile. Philip Perkins

This spring? Philip Perkins

Well, there is a whole school of thought that the way to "get through" cheap shows like that is to wire everybody and split out all the mics to separate tracks. The result will sound like a Reality TV show. If the producer and director are good with that, then let's go. If they want their film to sound like the great films they studied in school, then they need to look at a more "classical" approach to their production sound. Some of these people understand this and figure it is just another compromise they have to make to get the film done, others either don't know the difference, or actively like the lav mic sound. Anymore, I often feel like I have to do the "lav on everyone in sight" thing so that then I have "permission " to also record the scene the way I want to (w/ booms and plants). Generally, the booms end up getting used, even if they are maybe a little too far away, unless the situation has made it really impossible for them. It's just so much faster to deal with (and cut. EQ, compress, NR and level) fewer tracks in post. On a big film with a big sound crew, some post people feel that they just need clean words, and they'll do the rest. I can see this for big action movies, but for a more intimate "actor" film it seems like the wrong approach, but it is a popular one. Philip Perkins

24 and 23.976 TC are always NDF. 29.97 can be either. What is the project framerate? Philip Perkins

Cool, thanks. Philip Perkins

Just as being a sound-editor made me a better location sound mixer, I'd think doing some mixing would make boom ops much better, or at least understanding of the totality of the task of location sound. Philip Perkins

Jeff--what do you use for the internal shock mounting of the cable? One of my poles has some softish rubber doughnuts around the cable, but I haven't been able to find them at hardware stores etc.. Philip Perkins

Specialized plant mics: go look for Conrad Slater's recent post on RAMPS about his recent experiences using plants on the huge epics he works on in Thailand ("Suryothai" etc). Conrad's a great sound man, and his solutions to odd camera angles and very noisy period costumes are extremely inventive. My fave plant mic these days is a Sanken CUB-1, usually thru a wireless. It is basically a directional PZM. Philip Perkins

Most doco sound people use the shorter poles these days, internally wired, and usually with an XLR connector built into the "butt' of the pole or somewhere @ the back end. This is often connected to the mixer via a shortish coiled cable with a right-angle XLR @ the boom (female) end. This keeps things relatively tidy while moving around and changing the length of the pole. Philip Perkins