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José

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Everything posted by José

  1. I always struggled to express myself artistically in what I do as a sound mixer. I have been only able to express myself technically. Thank you Jan for showing me that it can be done.
  2. Sorry in hearing the news about the loss of your Dad. My condolences Jeff.
  3. Good idea Frias. Simon, here is a pic of my bag setup. I'm not too worried about where to put my Hawkwood NP1 adapter since I can route and place it in the belly pouch of my soundbag.
  4. Hey Simon! Thanks for getting back. I believe both. There are many users here in New York with UCR411As between a 3 to 6 count of UCR411a receivers connected to NOMAD. I use up to 6 on mine due to some of the reality shows I work on. But yet, there are nevertheless other NOMAD users who have SRBs connected to NOMAD as well. Typically 3 dual SRB receivers. I personally don't have a need for spacing for a BDS since I am in the minority who use Hawkwood NP1 cup adapters instead. Thanks Simon!
  5. Hi Simon! Is a bracket for a 6 set of UCR411A receivers in the cards for a NOMAD? Will your company manufacture a model suited to my UCR411A to NOMAD setup? I would love to buy one. In any case, your entire dashboard catalog is very sexy work man.
  6. I am absolutely guilty of this. But from time to time, I'll wrap my lavs around the transmitter and place them in Lectro cases for the day. Just saying. Any spares are in my Countryman cases.
  7. Hey B Sharp! If you get lucky right off the bat with the guy having long hair past the neck and you have small hairpins on hand, see if you can rat a B6 lav thru his hair from the back up to his hairline. Any time you get away with miking successfully through the hair, it'll sound fantastic. Better than miking to shirts in my opinion. In a tux with a black bowtie, I've had great success sticking a black DPa 40 series, Countryman b3 or Countryman b6 lav on either the left or right flap of the bowtie on the backside. No rustling there. And sounded sweet! Tough luck if the guy has a big double chin. Miking through the tie works well 90% of the time also. Tough luck again if the guy has a big double chin. I'm thinking that if the new Lectro miniature transmitter is small enough for blazer breast pockets, I would try miking from there too. The lav head would protrude just from the inside top corner of the pocket. You would have to get confirmation if the guy will be wearing the blazer for the entire time of shooting of course. Another idea is owning different colored lavs for camouflaging especially a B6. I would poke the B6 out in the open through any of the top button holes. Not a good idea however in windy conditions. It's an art. There are other creative ways out there for sure. Cheers man and Good Luck!
  8. A few weeks back I was on a job where production was offering me lodging in Manhattan, but at an airbnb. Airbnb is something I have yet to experience. I was already a local to the area and decided to pass. Of course the airbnb ads will tell you that they are far cleaner than regular hotels. I have my doubts on that. Is airbnb a new alternative for production companies to lodge their crew in? I have issues with this. I am hoping that this doesn't become a rapid new trend amongst LPs and PMs to offer their crews all the time. Thoughts on this topic thanks! And what if you waive your stay at an airbnb? I take it producers would still be required to put us in a hotel. Atleast I figure.
  9. Hi Denielle! I too have B6s in my arsenal and will use them for the tightest discreet miking situations. However, I am always under the impression that people sleep on the sister mike, Countryman B3. And I don't get it. I'll go to some shops and they won't have them in inventory and I always have to special order them. But I tell you what: I own 11 of them now and I couldn't be happier with them. The lavs sound fantastic. Great sensitivity. Highly water and sweat resistant. And as you know with the B6, the B3 also has mike caps to vary the frequency response. And they are very rugged for reality shows. I've yet to experience any of my B3 mikes go down for good in anyway. --I've had the TA5F connector break from time to time, but that is completely solderable and fixable. But all the mike capsules to my B3 lavs are still functional and going strong. And the cable attachment to the mike head for all of them have been tugged on forcefully here and there but have remained attached without any signs of damage to the lav. They're not mountable with an R-11 mount. So I make my own sandwich mounts out of Dr. Sholl's molefoam with topstick on the bottom side. Another mounting option is to use B3s with Rycote undercover and overcovers, and they work great together. For the record: I bought the first 6 all at once about 4 and 1/2 years ago, and all is well to this day.
  10. I carry Taylor and Taylor insurance for my equipment. I do carry Worker's comp for myself for the 1099 contractor jobs, because it's the law in New Jersey. And my insurance is Utica National. When the production company runs me through payroll and takes me on as an employee for the duration of the production, then I don't need my worker's comp. And I don't carry liability insurance. Production is required to always have film insurance.
  11. Damn! I just got back from Gainesville last night, but in any case, I would like to refer John Van Der Does. He worked with me in Gainesville and local to the area. Team guy and years of great experience. And yes he has his own ENG equipment if needed. John Van Der Does: 904-476-5911, jvproductions@earthlink.net
  12. Yep! My accountant after reviewing my taxes says I'm good. And he'll be working on it. He plans to take all my gear rentals that I have under RENTS and run them under Schedule E. And he isn't the first accountant that I've come across to tell me this. I attended the Tax and Finance seminar the great folks at Gotham Sound threw this past Sunday. I asked the very same question to the CPA on the panel whose resume included a Masters in Taxation and 25 years of practice with many production companies as clients. She too said the same thing: Equipment rental under RENTS and RENTS reporting on schedule E to avoid SS tax deduction. Like everyone else on this forum, I'm no expert, but I've now asked a good number of CPAs about this very same question. And every one of them said 'Schedule E'! Crazy stuff!!! And confusing. But I am confident in my CPA's handling of my taxes. Thanks Sacarnon for wishing me luck. I still need it. .
  13. Hey Guys! I have been getting pretty accurate 1099 tax returns thus far for 2014. Yet I still have a few production companies that have filed my tax return incorrectly. One of them really do stick out like a sore thumb, because this one production company incorrectly filed $1800 worth of income for my gear as Nonemployee compensation instead of Rents. By doing that, my accountant may have to file the $1800 on schedule C as opposed to E. If my rental income is filed under schedule E, then social security tax is not deducted. Under C it is deducted. I spoke to the accountant of that production company to exhaustion. And he was stubborn as a mule. Unbelievable. He kept saying that they filed correctly because by paying me they were paying toward my income. And they needed proof of receipts as to where I rented the gear from? I own the gear I told him. They were renting from me. And he would not move from that reasoning. I felt like I was talking to a brick wall. Anyway, I'll see my accountant tomorrow. But doesn't the production company face any penalties if they file 1099s incorrectly? Frustrating!
  14. I have taken in the discussions well. I will break my bad habit and begin working at line level at +5 on my receivers with line-in as opposed to mic-in to my mixer. I will kiss my mic level -25 settings goobye no matter how good it may have sounded to me. OK Thanks guys!
  15. OK I looked at the schematic and it does show the amplifier before attenuators at the output. So yes, I see line level. I admit I'm wrong, I will put it to rest. Thanks!
  16. I am completely open to criticism for my preference of mic level over line level for my wirelesses. It's all constructive. But Rick! What does optimum settings and removing lavs in the middle of a scene have to do with gain structure at the transmitter? You adjust the gain at the transmitter to the relative output level of the signal coming in. And it's all dependent on how that source is wired. If it is wired at line level, then I'll let it pass on through the rest of the way at line. I get the argument that once you achieve line level, maintain line level through device to device through the rest of the signal chain, but not with my receivers. I rather keep mic level until the signal arrives at the preamps of my NOMAD mixer. And by the way, Leaving them at mic level before mixer sounds excellent.
  17. I'm on the other side of the coin. After adjusting the transmitter gain to the output signal of the lavalier mike (to just where the transmitter will seldom clip), why increase the signal within the receiver all the way to max at +4? You add a lot of unnecessary gain noise right there. Why not preserve the low level signal by adjusting the receiver's output level to where it's suitable for your mixer at mic level range? From there you have complete control of how little or how much gain you need in bringing up or attenuating down the signal?
  18. What are the advantages of setting wireless mikes to line level vs. mic when it comes to dialog scenes? My preference is to always set them to mic for any show where I am the main mixer. About 60% of the work I do is in reality TV and when I day-play for other reality shows that have their workflows already established, I've noticed that most of them have their mixers switched to line level for their wireless receivers. I am not one to disturb another show's audio workflow, and so I will mix the wireless mikes at line level for the whole day--No problem. However, what my ears tell me is that low level passages of dialog do sound very faint compared to when wireless mikes are at mic. The only thing I can fathom is that line level may help in mixing audio levels for talent that may shriek and yell a lot. If the sound mixers in the scripted field can chime-in on this also, that would be great. Thanks in advance!
  19. There is one safety concern to bring up that has to do with freelancers and not the production companies; The concern in getting rest for those of us who jump from project to project and dealing with different production companies one day to the next. Got to always be careful when ABC News hires you for Monday, wraps you at 1AM and then NBC News hires you for Tuesday and expects you on location at 5AM. Got to have a replacement for yourself planned out whenever that kind of scenario pops up.
  20. There is always a snag. LOL! Nothing's perfect. Pascal, Hold on to the 788T, buy the 664 and keep both. Why not?
  21. Hit my email too! Looks very, very impressive.
  22. Wow! Don't know how much different they are from Sennheiser G2s, the model versions I use. Anyway, I would say definitely keep both receiver and transmitter polarized to each other. Make sure their antennas are parallel to each other as much as possible. I always make sure antenna and audio cables aren't tangled with each other on both transmitter and receiver. Regarding hearing distortion, make sure the phantom power is off since the receiver audio cable is unbalanced. And with my experience in working with G2s (not sure about G3s), I suggest try manual tuning for clean frequencies instead of autoscanning. Hope these suggestions help.
  23. Is there a line producer or production manager attached to this project? Didn't find them listed at IMDBPro. And then what would be the rate of course? A boom op buddy of mine may be interested in the project if all logistics sounds good.
  24. It was from Tom's previous posting where I learned to adopt this percentage system about a year or so ago. This system has been working for me immensely. I itemize all my gear down to little stuff like NP1s and the charger, shockmounts, etc. Most of it at 2%. There are some items I calculate no less than 1.65% in price breaks. It works for the client and it definitely works for me. It's so straightforward. It's hard to cheat yourself when you look into the numbers like this. The client ends up paying a fair deal into my kit and I'm happy.
  25. If you snapped that picture, Eric, then it looks like she was really into you. Awesome! Boy, Florida sounds really, good right about now.
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