MatthewFreedAudio

Any metropolitan area has some degree of production work. However, it may or may not be the type of work you prefer or with the contacts you have. If you only want to do features or scripted TV your options will be limited. However, a lot of metro areas have a considerable amount of corporate or commercial work, some reality shows, indie shorts and features, and occasional union work. Houston is a large area so if you like the area and want to stay you should be able to find enough work. Production Sound Mixing for Television, Films, and Commercials. www.matthewfreed.com

Holding for space shuttle. Production Sound Mixing for Television, Films, and Commercials. www.matthewfreed.com

Bump Production Sound Mixing for Television, Films, and Commercials. www.matthewfreed.com

BK-that would be fine. I'll PM you my email and phone number in case you want to contact me that way.

Between Rycote and Rode... Rycote every time. Hands down. Not even a fair fight. I own two full blimp kits and a couple softies. I have never regretted spending the money.

I highly agree! I love the idea of what an iPad might be able to do in the future but right now it isn't there. I wouldn't dream of using an iPad as a TC slate because it isn't stable, it can break easily, the screen blur is a pain, and the battery can't last a whole production day. It also isn't rugged enough to be used as a slate. When a producer is paying for a slate rental they will laugh at you if you show up with an iPad as your slate...then they will replace you. A proper TC slate isn't that expensive and they last a long time. Buy one.

And if anyone is curious about pricing... I'll do comparable pricing to Trew, Pro Sound, LSC, etc. I'm happy to make package deals and long term rental deals.

PM sent with a local contact who might be able to help you out.

You passed with flying colors! Your certification is in the mail. Once it has arrived present it, along with your reel, to any would-be directors at their home after 10pm. Now I'm curious as to how and why colors can fly.

I have decided to offer a certification process for those who wish to have the credentials. Simply mail $300 in cash (twenties will do nicely) to my PO box and answer 10 questions regarding sound for picture. In return you will receive your shiny, new work papers in the mail. The questions you must answer: 1. What is the correct spelling of LEMO? 2. What is the first sound heard after the AD yells "that's a wrap" on set? 3. How many days should a new piece of gear be used on a job before you read the manual? 4. What is the proper response when a line producer tells you the rate is $400 for 12 hours, no overtime pay, gear is included in the rate, you must work as a local in Podunk, USA, the needed gear is a 788, 7 wireless, 6 IFB receivers, wireless camera hops to 3 5D cameras, boom, and it is a run and gun shoot. 5. When is the best time to present your reel to the director? 6. Is a local PA an adequate boom op? 7. How far above 0dbfs should your mix be? 8. Which microphone is best? 9. On a Zaxcom Deva where do you load the tape? 10. Have you <hat'ed>?

Sounds like it's time for production to have a dedicated gear package and sound mixer. There are solutions but relying on local mixers from week to week to have the needed solution will be risky.

BK- Yeah, I am happy to ship gear within the US for rentals.

Me and the gear are in Dallas, TX. I am from Los Angeles but will be in Dallas until April.

I wasn't sure what category to post this in so I'm putting it here. I am on a gig in Dallas, TX until April of next year and, unfortunately, the production company insisted on providing their own equipment. So, all my gear is gathering dust for the coming months. I am making all the pieces of my kit available for rental. Standard rental guidelines will be in place. Replacement or repair costs if damaged during the rental period, discount given for long term rentals, etc. Here is what is available: Zaxcom Fusion 12 Zaxcom 900LT transmitters (block 21, 3x LT and 1x LTH) Zaxcom QRX100Q receivers (2 units, 4 channels total) Zaxcom 900AA with STA100 stereo adapter, block 26 Zaxcom 900S stereo receivers, block 26 (2 receivers available) Zaxcom IFB100 transmitter Zaxcom ERX IFB receivers (4 have timecode option, 2 do not) Sanken COS-11D lavs for all transmitters Sanken CS-3e shotgun mic Neumann KMR-82i long shotgun Sanken CSS-5 stereo/mono shotgun mic Rycote blimps and windjammers for all shotgun mics Rycote softie for Sanken CS-3e 9ft K-tek carbon fiber boom pole with right angle, internally wired Sony 7506 headphones (multiple pairs) Petrol bag for Fusion 12 PSC RF SMA (cables available for both Zaxcom and Lectro receivers) Zaxcom BlueFin antennas, 2 available Lectrosonics SNA600 dipole antennas, 3 available Versa-Flex harness Denecke TS-3 timecode slate Denecke TS-3EL timecode slate (colored sticks, backlit display) Sound Devices MixPre-D PM me with questions or to set up something.

Are you serious? Production Sound Mixing for Television, Films, and Commercials. www.matthewfreed.com

Yeah? Really? You know someone who is experienced, good, and has a good amount of gear in western South Dakota? Production Sound Mixing for Television, Films, and Commercials. www.matthewfreed.com

I have also owned quite a bit of Sound Devices, Zaxcom, Lectrosonics, Denecke, VdB, K-Tek, Rycote, and a ton of other gear. At some point everything has needed some repair, upkeep, factory trip. It's part of the business. I currently own a Fusion 12, handful of Zaxcom wireless, IFB kit, etc. It's worked wonderfully the entire time. Sure, it's needed some repairs due to use and abuse but that's normal. I've known people with brand new Lectros or SD gear that had a bad component. No need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. All these companies make outstanding gear that makes our jobs easier and enables us to earn a decent income. I would love gear that works perfectly every day of its entire life and never have a hiccup. But, that's not reality. We work in extreme climates, long days, the gear gets packed up, packed in, tossed around, abused by cast, crew, and production...and it still keeps on tickin'. Production Sound Mixing for Television, Films, and Commercials. www.matthewfreed.com

I was asked to do a gig at Sturgis over the summer and didn't get it because the production company found a "local" who would work for a cheaper rate and not charge hotel or travel expenses. Really? A local sound mixer with 6 wireless, boom, IFB, camera hops, and a multitrack in western South Dakota? Perhaps I'm under estimating the market in Rapid City, SD but I find it hard to believe a qualified sound mixer with the proper gear list actually lives in that area. Even if you're in a smaller market you should be charging larger market rates. As the previous posters mentioned, you are in more control than you think. Production Sound Mixing for Television, Films, and Commercials. www.matthewfreed.com

I have a bit of experience with every single piece of gear and manufacturer you mentioned. The mic pres on both Sound Devices and Zaxcom gear are top notch, especially for dialogue recording, ambience, or live music recording. I built a couple music recording studios in the Minneapolis area and I always found it funny when musicians would say they only want Avalon, API, Neve, Great River, or whatever else they could name. All of those mic pres, and many more, are absolutely top quality and they give an accurate picture of their poor musical abilities. Same goes for any professional-grade A/D/A converter. Mytek's sound great. Weiss sounds great. A 192 sounds great. Lynx sounds great. There esoteric differences and tiny nuances but absolutely no one could confidently pick out the difference in a blind test. We are a bunch of audio nerds and frequently dwell on those esoteric differences. At times they might be important but generally not, assuming the gear is of the professional caliber put out by Sound Devices, Zaxcom, Lectrosonics, et al. I've recorded amazingly quiet ambience in the jungles of Mexico with Sound Devices mixers and recorders. I've also recorded insanely loud gun shots, explosions, hammers, and fighter jets with Zaxcom gear. You know what? They all turned out great and I was thrilled to have the quality gear from both companies at my disposal. I will admit that I nearly chucked a Zoom H4N out the window of a moving car because it infuriated me so much. Production Sound Mixing for Television, Films, and Commercials. www.matthewfreed.com

Either they cover your gear under their insurance or they pay a substantially higher rental fee. And no 3 day week rentals...they pay full rate every single day with an additional amount for not covering the gear. You have insurance in case you break the gear or it is stolen from your home or business. They have insurance to cover the gear they are renting for their shoot. Production Sound Mixing for Television, Films, and Commercials. www.matthewfreed.com

Oh...and to answer the OP... The 552 and Nomad are both great machines, but very different in terms of how they operate. At a basic level they all do the same thing: audio in, mix, audio out. However, their feature sets vary quite a bit. The sound quality of each machine is excellent and will do you right. If you are trying to explain the minute sound aesthetics to someone who is hiring you...good luck. Production Sound Mixing for Television, Films, and Commercials. www.matthewfreed.com

Absolutely nothing wrong with Glenn touting the benefits of the Maxx. Not to mention the Maxx hasn't even been released yet so the folks at Zaxcom are the only ones who can speak about its abilities. And, Zaxcom has been a cutting edge company in the audio for picture industry so they have to do some explaining of their products because no other product on the market offers what theirs do. I'm glad many folks from Zaxcom, Lectrosonics, K-Tek, Sound Devices, Trew Audio, LSC, Pro Sound, etc all participate on this forum and offer their perspective. We all benefit greatly from it. Production Sound Mixing for Television, Films, and Commercials. www.matthewfreed.com

I also use BlackBerry cases for all my ERX units. But, I had to make cases for my 900LT transmitters. I used 2 inch wide heavy elastic and a couple clips. I put them together from stuff at a fabric store. Material for each one was about $1.50 and time was about 20-30 minutes per case, including the time to figure it all out and stab myself with a couple needles. However, I'm sure the leather cases would look pretty darn nice! I'll be curious to see how they look and how the belt clip functions. If the price were a little less I'd be game. Production Sound Mixing for Television, Films, and Commercials. www.matthewfreed.com

On the bigger days, which seems to be most if my gigs lately, I'm using my Fusion 12 and 4-6 wireless plus boom, IFB, and camera hops. So, the Maxx seems like a perfect small bag setup for what I typically do. I'm looking forward to picking one up when the need arises. Production Sound Mixing for Television, Films, and Commercials. www.matthewfreed.com

Then buy a Nomad 6. It's exactly what you described. You have built in Zaxnet, mixer, and recorder. If you need wireless camera hops you can add that quite easily. Or, you can buy any number of other products on the market. None of which come close to the feature set of the Zaxcom line of mixers, recorders, and wireless. Production Sound Mixing for Television, Films, and Commercials. www.matthewfreed.com