ptalsky

I filmed in a herring processing plant up there a few years ago.  I believe the plant is now closed, but it was a really cool location.  The only problem - I had to throw away every cable I used.  You just cannot get that fish smell out of the cables, no matter how hard you try.  Maybe it's better now.  😄

I always presume that, unless the ad says otherwise, that everything is sold as is.  If something arrives DOA, then I will get in touch with the seller to see what s/he is willing to do about it. Otherwise, I assume the risk of buying unseen gear.

Hi,

I have G3's and Lectrosonics wireless, and I have Countryman B6's and Sanken COS-11's and the same lavs work with either set.  The plugs are different, but I have adapters that make them work with both.  One of the things you have to be careful with is frequency ranges.  Not sure what is legal in London or the UK, but make sure you know so you by wireless kits that fall into the legal range.

Phil

Laurence, the best now is that there is a KOA campground next door to Shambala.  I hear that some of the employees there don't warn the campers about Shambala, and they get a bunch of freaked out people at 2am when the lions all start roaring.  :-)

One of the general signs of a scam for me is when the capitalization in the email is incorrect, as it is in this message.  And, the fact that they are requiring that you have a checking account. That should never be a part of a job requirement, nor should you ever give them any information.  In addition to the check scam mentioned above, they might also try to tell you they'll wire the money to your account (which of course requires detailed account information).  The only problem is, instead of the money going into your account, money will be leaving your account.

I love hearing these stories.  I'm actually at Shambala (the former location of the movie) once a month or so.  Tippi turned from the craziness to rescuing abused big cats.  I sponsor one of the lions there, and the new mountain lion cub they just got from Fish and Game.  It is now an amazing place to be - and the irony is that it is now a completely hands off facility.  The handlers are no longer allowed to interact with the cats without a very strong fence in between.  And, yes, I've seen Roar (bought a copy of the DVD many years ago) and it is a terrible movie.  :-)  Here's a short clip (forgive the camera work...) 

Jeff, I'm so sorry for your loss.

Hi Rob,

You've probably already tried this, but have you hidden it in the knot of their tie? That always works well for me when the gentleman is wearing a tie.

Phil

I just directed a short "movie" yesterday with a small crew and even though we sending sound directly to the camera (no double system on this) you can't believe how many times I called "roll sound" which of course really got me laughing the first time the mixer called back "sound speed".  :-)

Phil

So I haven't posted for a while, but am going to jump back into the fray.

My primary recorder is Boom Recorder, usually mirrored recording (external HD and internal HD on my Mac).  I also run an HDP2 but have been thinking about going with the new ZFR200, jamming it and just letting it run since you can get 12+ hours on it and the Zaxcom software can chase to a specific TC point (so I've been told).  This eliminates the need to "run" a backup since it will always be running.  Has anyone tried this or given it any thought?

Thanks, and hope everyone is doing well...

Phil (the other Phil from Northern CA)

I just checked on Oleg's Facebook page and he said someone hacked his gmail account and sent it - he's okay.

Phil

Mike, if you're asking me, it was about 30 minutes of hands on time at the launch event.  Closely supervised by two Apple people, but I had pretty much a free hand to try out the things that were installed (obviously carefully tested and loaded before the launch event).  It was funny to watch the apple folks get nervous as I strayed from their "demo script".  :-)

Having just published my consumer/twitter research report on the iPad, for me personally I see it as a replacement for my iPod Touch, and that's about it.  I'm not even sure I would replace my Kindle.  I have serious concerns about the reflective screen when trying to read.  Although it would be cool if you could protect it sufficiently to be able to use that TC slate app.  And, at the risk of offending some, (my apologies in advance) the working title of my report was, "Is the iPad a Bloody Mess?".

Phil

Thanks for the feedback everyone!  Much appreciated.

Hi all,

Is anyone using this for wireless boom?  Anyone have hands-on experience with this yet?  I haven't seen anything on it...

Thanks!

Phil

A friend of mine on Facebook just posted this link - it may have been around for a while but it's new to me so I thought I'd share...

Have a great weekend!

Well, a better way to say it would be stuff that I heard on set and was told not to worry about it (i.e. let's move on and fix it in post).  :-)  Now I'm watching the director sweat out that decision and it's kind of fun (in a slightly sadistic sort of way).

Phil

Hi all,

I was just reading the headphone level thread and for some reason this triggered a question in my head (well, many questions are always floating in my head, may be this one just floated to the top).

Do you ever participate in the post-sound process?  I recorded a feature earlier this year and am participating in the post process with it and I'm finding it enlightening.  Things we worried about during the shoot being a non-issue, and things that weren't heard on set that have created a problem, ADR, foley, etc. 

Just curious to see how often others sit in or participate in post.

Thanks!

Phil

I bought 6 a couple of years ago (when they first popped up in the audio forum on DVXUser.com) and I think they're great.  My last use was in a short shot in a bar with a Bart station immediately outside (underground).  We used them to block off an air vent that went out to the street, as well as the window and door to the bar.  Cut the Bart noise significantly.  I recommend them.

Phil

Vin, that happened to me fairly early in my mixing career and since I wasn't feeling as comfortable about my standing I basically shut up and sat.  Now I would handle things much differently.  And, from what I understand, this AD has a pretty bad reputation and doesn't work much any more.  And, shortly after the AD had berated me, one of the producers came up to me and apologized (apparently the rant was heard via the boom).  That same producer has hired me numerous times since due to my professionalism under strained/poor circumstances.

I've grown a lot in my life and my career and now tend to take the attitude that your bad day can't make my day bad unless I let you.  It really boils down to some sets are very collaborative and some are dictatorial and that's just a part of this business.

Phil

Interestingly enough, there is a lot more in Tweets than just "what I am doing now".  In my day job, one of my responsibilities is analyzing tweets to see what people are saying.  Here is one recent analysis:

Enjoy!

Phil

It is definitely a case-by-case basis.  On the last feature I worked on, many of the leads would actually pop over to my cart between takes to make sure that things "sounded" good.  (Not the performance, just the sound).  Of course this is the same shoot where one of the actors actually requested that we hold the roll for an airplane that no one else heard (this only happened once...the director had a brief chat with him).

But, I've also worked on projects where I followed protocol and made a request to the 1st AD that a line be said either before or after a door close (it was being delivered on the slam) and was told to get back behind my "fucking cart" and not ask stupid questions.  Oh well, note made on the sound log and I didn't say a word the rest of the shoot - just noted everything very carefully in my logs.

Phil

Phil

I agree with everything said above but why not add a second boom even if it is an intern.  Since I live primarily in the low budget world, I can't tell you how many PA's I've trained to be boom ops.  Most have worked hard to get it right.  And, I always use mics that have less handling noise and a more forgiving pattern.  I've generally gotten good work from them.  And, even if they're off on occasion, it's still better than not having it up at all, right?

Phil

While I'm on Twitter, I have yet to "tweet" anything.  But, I am on Facebook and it has been a great way to connect and reconnect with people.  I just came back from my 30 year high school reunion (yes, I fall in the "old fart" category) and I probably would not have gone had I not reconnected with more than 50 of my old classmates.  And it was an amazing time (Shanghi Reds in the Marina, and then a picnic the next day at Uni). 

Phil

Cinetj, be careful when looking at Sennheisers - you want a 416 or a 60 - NOT an ME66.  Some less reputable dealers will position the ME66 as a professional mic.  It's not, really (IMHO).

Look at used 416's (and don't shy away from T-powered, there are lots of inexpensive options for T power).  Deals pop up all the time - just plan on sending it to the factory for a check up and cleaning (about $50) then run with it. 

Phil