John Blankenship

Following the DTV transition, there will be some changes as to where in the spectrum the TV stations will call home. In my area (Indianapolis), for instance, a couple of stations will transition their DTV frequency back to where the analog one was. In other cases, stations are moving into slots formerly occupied by yet a different station. To help sort out how the changes will affect your favorite freqs, here are the FCC's "Coverage Maps for All Designated Market Areas" as they are projected to be after the switch to full DTV is made: http://www.fcc.gov/dtv/markets/ (Thanks to Matt Mayer for posting a link, on RAMPS, leading to this link.) I don't recall seeing it posted here. My apology if it's a duplicate. John

Crew, Thanks for a great laugh. JB

Here's a Variety article that might be if interest to some: http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=awardcentral&jump=contenders&id=doubt&articleid=VR1117998136 JB

That would really depend upon the crossover or low-cut curves. They may show them in the manual. JB

Alex, Do you mean that one channel has the extreme highs, both channels, or that one channel is completely non-functional and therefore rules out comparing them? There are switches on the back for low-cut filters and others to set up crossover frequencies to drive separate parts of a stack. Only guessing here, but you may have them in the wrong position(s). http://www.mackie.com/support/downloads/manuals.html JB

Also, if a given show/mix team is nominated more than once in a given category, it can work against them by splitting the votes they receive. JB

Oh, come on, Mike. To compare the aforementioned Mr. M (either one) with Scott is a gross injustice. One of the reasons many of us hang out here is to share and learn -- about people, the industry, and, yes, even equipment. Toward that end, you've given equipment advice -- I have -- most of us here have. Your basic point is a good one to remember -- in a quest for knowledge, don't neglect going to the source -- but, however well-intended, your original post did come across as a bit of a slight. JB

Jeff, Thanks -- that was a fun journey through your cart history. JB

So, if we're on the topic of favorite films about the biz, I cast my vote for Christopher Guest's "The Big Picture" with Kevin Bacon, J.T. Walsh, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. A strong contender for a flick about making a low budget film is "Living In Oblivion." For those of us who have labored in that world, it's almost too right-on-the-money to be funny. JB

To add to what Noah said, in my experience micing too closely can sometimes accentuate the inherent vocal distortion that he mentioned. Rycote's Microphone database (http://www.microphone-data.com/) lists the max SPL of a Schoeps 641 as 132dB. A CUT 1 high-pass filter boosts the signal by (IIRC) 6dB, so, in that case, the max SPL would be 6dB less. The same is true of the blue dot version -- something like 6 to 10dB higher output and, therefore, less max SPL. When close micing, the proximity effect would boost the lows (a hyper-cardioid more so than a cardioid) which contain exponentially greater acoustic energy than the higher frequencies, so the combination of less SPL handling and more low frequencies could definitely cause problems with a close mic-ed singer who projects well. A good mantra for sound mixers: Train your ears/Trust your ears. I wouldn't recommend using the Oktava in lieu of a Schoeps. I own a couple of 319s, and they sound quite good -- HOWEVER... their response has some peaks and valleys which can make them less desirable if the voice is to be mixed with other tracks. A really smooth response curve is your friend here. It'll be MUCH easier to EQ a flatter mic to blend into a mix. I was bit by that once using a 319. It was a female voice-over to be mixed into a movie sound track along with sound effects, ambiance, etc. The voice track sounded great when I recorded it raw. Then, when I tried to mix the track I learned my lesson -- boy, did I learn my lesson. It was extremely difficult to mix and I attribute it to the less than smooth response curve. The response doesn't have to be perfectly flat, it needs to be extremely smooth -- otherwise, when EQ is added in post, it aggravates any peaks and valleys and that can play havoc with how all the elements share the frequency spectrum. Happy Holidays, one and all! ...back to wraping presents... JB

And from the President of the SAG office in Chicago: http://www.reelchicago.com/story.cfm?storyID=2201

Also, the amount of low end roll-off on each will make a huge difference in how "full" they sound. ...Apples to apples and all that. JB

He's an interesting, multi-talented fellow. A former folk singer, he was also half of a comedy duo that did quite a number of successful commercials. http://www.brownanddana.com/ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4807361/ JB

Someone was demoing a Steadicam Segway at NAB this year. It looked like a way to get some great shots. JB

Likewise, welcome back!

What will the distance be from the attenuator to the equipment that it feeds? Your only real issue is that if this line is too long, its output impedance could be an issue. If it's a really short distance (say, three to six feet or less -- the less, the better) then there's no issue. A 10k (audio taper) pot would work well. It'll give you a sufficiently high bridging input impedance, and using an audio taper pot will make the volume change more even across the adjustment range. Connect the input to one side of the pot and output to the arm/tap/slider (whatever you want to call it) which is normally the middle connection. The ground in, the other side of the pot, and the ground out are all hooked together. If, at the highest output, the signal is way too high, you could put a resistor in line with the input going to the pot. With a 10k pot, a 10k series resistor would give you about 6dB attenuation (when the pot is wide open) -- a 30k resistor would give you about 12dB attenuation -- a 91k resistor would give you about 20dB attenuation -- and a 1meg resistor, about 40dB. These attenuation figures are for a 10k pot and are at the maximum position, then the pot would attenuate further from that. Having the higher impedance at the input would not affect the operation at all since this is a bridging input (the output of your mixer, which is a fairly low impedance is feeding a higher impedance). JB

Ouch!

The part I remember about going from floppys to installing that first 20mb hard drive was the feeling that this was sooo much space -- it would be able to handle all storage requirements forever and a day. Yesterday, I ordered 5TB more and found myself wondering if I under-bought. That's about 250,000 times the storage of a 20gb HD. JB

I had a cameraman give me grief one time about being too upbeat. My response went something to the effect of, "I just don't want to become bitter and jaded like you. If I hated what I'm doing that much I'd get out of the business." That got his attention -- he stopped cold and looked at me with disbelief. Surprisingly (and to his credit, I'd say) his attitude changed and he was much nicer to work with the rest of the shoot. Hopefully, it was because I reminded him that this was what he WANTED to do, not just what he HAD to do. JB, cas

First clean the sticky off with Goo-Gone, then use alcohol to clean off the residue from the Goo-Gone. NOTE: Some of the alcohol sold in drug stores is only 50% and doesn't do a very good job. Denatured alcohol that is 91%-99% is much preferable. http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=95226-82-GGP16 JB

Alan, Been there -- feel your pain. In my case I got cheated out of part of my (meager to begin with) payment due to the prod/dir's incompetence. On set, he had zero patience for sound, and -- from my perspective -- even worked against me several times. Since he wasn't paying the crew much to begin with he thought nothing of showing up an hour or longer late on most days -- inconsiderate, at the least, and certainly unprofessional. I always let him know when "you'll have to ADR this" due to noisy sets, etc. Later he claimed he never, ever heard me say this -- other crew members know better. Early on, I viewed some of the synced footage on his Avid and told him that the sound transfer was distorted. I offered to come in after the shoot and help him sort out the problem so his audio would be as clean as I knew the original recordings were. He never took me up on the offer. So, when he took those distorted tracks into post, naturally they had to redo most everything and, naturally (it's this person's M.O.) he blamed me. I've since learned that he's done the same thing with other departments and even a film lab. He had the gall to ask me to work on a subsequent film. Guess how long it took me to say, "NO! You must be kidding!" John

You can easily tell if it is the newer version yourself. Look into the connector end of the microphone. If there is a ground plane (copper metal) around all the pins, then it's the newer version. JB

For a boundary mic, the size of the mounting surface primarily affects how far the low end extends. For movie dialog it's not as big an issue as it would be for music. JB

On a Schoeps capsule, the number is written in ink on the plastic disk up inside the capsule (looking in from the threaded end). Perhaps applying paint thinner, WD-40 or a blowtorch to the inside of a Schoeps capsule might be ill-advised. JB

The CUT 1 filter has two filters. A fixed 70 Hz cutoff at 24 dB/octave and also a gentle 6dB/octave adjustable rolloff. I always keep the rolloff in the lowest position (essentially off) and use the CUT 1 just for the steep 70Hz cutoff. I imagine that's how it's used in most instances. If you are in a situation such as Jeff where you consistently have the benefit of one of the best boom ops in the business, then you probably don't need it. Let's face it, the best "low handling noise filter" in the world is a great boom op. If, however, you're in a situation where your boom ops vary in skill and experience and you'll sometimes even be doing an amount of run 'n gun with the mic, I'd recommend it. In that application the CUT 1 can be quite beneficial. I haven't used the LC-60U. JB