José

Yeah, your training as an A2 as you described sounds legit. And you were supervised the whole time. This one that my newbie friend described to me is very messed up.

From my experience, I know that the sound department consist of the Audio Supervisor and then his roster of sound mixers (A Mixer, B Mixer, etc.). Is an A2 position for a reality show common? I didn't realize that in one of the previous shows I worked on, production filled a spot they called an A2 position. A newbie soundmixer that is a friend of mine let me know that he had been offered a position on that same show as an A2. I told him congrats, but then he told me to hold on. He told me he turned it down and told me why. The job detail went like this: the A2 is split time with general PA work for the offices the Audio Supervisor will train him well. And if he learned everything well enough, he could hit the field to mix. That would mean running an 8 cast member 788T mule bag with HOPs to 3 cameras. He would media manage the audio files at the end of the day for the mixers and turn in all their sound reports to post. Rate would be $175/ for 12. This show is backed by one of the major developer companies in Reality Television. So is this practice happening on other reality shows? This is very messed up.

I was amazed to learn that in the 3rd season of '24' (back in '04, not that long ago) the Sound Mixer mixed down to a Fostex PD4, a backup Nagra, and 210 Lectro receivers, which are now a far cry from todays 411 and SRs. What amazes me is that I always revered the Sound from '24' as outstanding and yet low and behold the Sound Mixer was only mixing down to a Timecode DAT recorder with no need for multitrack. These days I see the PD4, 210 series wirelesses, and reel to reel Nagra sitting on the shelf collecting dust on used equipment racks like old outgrown toys. In the case of PD4, asking price for the unit these days goes for 50 bucks. Not even 7 years ago, that same PD4 was taking care of serious business on many big scale projects. The Production Sound Mixer to the shoot was Bille Gocke during that season. And he states that he relied more on the boom sound than lavs. Anyway, I thought this was a good read. BTW this article also goes into the location sound detail behind 'Amazing Race 4'. Enjoy! http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_boom_times_tv/ .

Hey Jim. I think the audio quality from the C300 camera was very good. And the return was cleaner than I've gotten on some other pro cameras. I didn't get to meet anyone in post for this project. However, the director was happy with Sound once he checked out footage the day after. On sit-downs, I tethered my mixer to camera. And once we got to verité, I switched up to HOPs. I didn't run into any complications sending audio to this camera. I was impressed with the C300.

I'm working with a C300 camera right now on a shoot. Pretty much smooth sailing going straight to camera. No hiccups. Hopefully, I'm not jinxing myself with only two hours to go until wrap.

The one pet peeve I have is working for shows that don't roll credits. But then I forget about it once I get my check in the mail.

+1. Enjoy the show and the booth babes showcasing all the new gear.

I have that same type of client as you described still around. What I like to do is pass the buck to one of my trusty up-n-coming sound mixers in my Rolodex. Wow! When's the last time I've used the word Rolodex? I mean contact list! Anyway! Why not refer that Satellite owner to a newbie that is willing to do those gigs. The owner shouldn't mind and it gives the newbie sound mixer some work. When the sound mixer works their way up to higher work rates, I'm sure they'll pay that favor forward. Tell that satellite truck owner you are really busy, but always have them call you back for other gigs since you always have very reliable referrals if you can't do it. And when shoulder season days come around (like January 3rd, 4th, and 5th in my case) and you got nothing going on, entertain the thought of working those shoots if you care to. Another strategy I used with another client which worked really well was informing them that I have upgraded my gear and I sold all equipment that comprised my old one. And I now charge as such. I must say it's a big white lie, because my G2s still rear their ugly heads from time to time on special occasions.

Hey Eric! I just took a look into my G2 receiver and I looked over the female input connector block. For me it sits in a very ginger area to solder. The solder connections are pretty adjacent to the display. So I put it back together and sent you an email.

Thank you Eric for the tips. Appreciate it. I will let you know how it goes sometime tomorrow.

I have owned an FR2 timecode recorder for years now. It is a great workhorse. However, you must always keep fresh AAs in the battery slot as a precaution should the external power connector be disconnected while recording. The FR2 DOES NOT SAVE CURRENT RECORDING FILES during ACCIDENTAL SHUTDOWNS! The unit will switch automatically to internal power should this ever happen. Working off the internal battery compartment alone will likely render these duration time results (estimates based on my FR2 unit): Fresh AA Alkalines: No more than 30 minutes before depleting. Fresh AA Lithiums: 3 hours before depleting. Rechargeable POWEREX AA batteries: 2.5 hours before depleting. What other heads up tips? Oh! It has a USB input connector designated for a PC. Do not connect it to a MAC. The MAC will fry your unit. Better yet! Always use a CF card reader to transport your Audio files to a computer instead. Good luck with the FOSTEX FR2 should you decide to buy one.

After troubleshooting in my spare time regarding a distortion issue I was having with one of my G2 wirelesses, I learned that the female input connector to the G2 receiver was loose. I've delved into replacing antennas on some of my G2s and they all worked out great. I found very useful information on this site as well as the JW facebook page as to replacing the antennas, BTW. However, any tips on resoldering the 3.5 mm female connector on the G2? Or has that process proven to be too intricate that it has to be sent to Sennheiser for repair?

Oh wow! I didn't see the optional wiring schemes for the optional connector at the website page. My bad. Version A with the 10 pin Hirose scheme (if it has the same identical wiring connections as the Alphamix and 442) works out well.

Absolutely! All last summer on a show I worked on, It converted exceptionally well and fast all my bwf wav files to MP3 with readable timecode preserved. Unfortunately, it is PC based however.

Yeah, based on the conditions you are looking for in a 3-channel mixer. I looked around and couldn't come up with one besides the FM-3 that provides two balanced L and R outputs. I was wondering about the Sonosax SX-M3, but their optional 7-pin output connector is for direct outs. And then I stumbled upon and got curious about a mixer made by Tascam called the Kamesan KS-T2000 3-channel mixer, and that mixer fell way short on spec. It does have an extra camera out, but via RCA jacks, which is a weird feature to have for a professional mixer in my opinion. I don't think there are any other 3 channel mixers besides the FM-3 that would offer two balanced L and R outputs. I think you have to bump up to the 4 channel mixers in order to meet those same output specs. In any case, that XLR5 aux input is a pretty cool feature on the FM-3.

I got a few credit card offers with 1-year 0 APR, but can't take advantage of them. Can't use them because I have to transfer my old CC balance over and the credit line offered in all of them are much lower than the one I have right now.

No finance charges over 12 years, that is impressive.

Thanks guys for sharing your opinions on this topic. And thanks to those of you that shared your personal experiences as to how you actually went about collecting your first ENG kits. @Jim Feeley. Thanks for the app. I will definitely be checking it out. @Paul Graff, Wow! You definitely were 'all in' for $35000 on wirelesses. I too would be worried about the well-being of my star actor. Glad your actor was able to remain accident-free for the entire show. Awesome to hear your risk turned out well. I do agree that my decision will certainly be up to me as to how I will acquire more gear, However, your opinions and shared experiences is a good way to pick up on any arguments (pros and cons) regarding using CCs and loans that I may not have considered prior to reading this thread. Cheers!

A few years back, I once walked into a Museum with a surveillance system that completely hogged the whole frequency group B for Sennheiser. Luckily, it did not occupy group A so I utilized my second wireless instead. Be careful out there working in the city. Sennheiser G3s can get the job done, but you may want to consider more than one wireless for the sake of having another handy should you need a cleaner frequency block.

I don't see a thread on this here at JWSound, but I think it's a worthwhile topic: Do any of us sound mixers frequent the practice of taking out loans or pulling out credit cards in purchasing gear as opposed to saving up your money first no matter how long that may take? For the sake of conversation, I am talking about the more expensive investments such as multitrack recorders, soundcarts, wirelesses, etc. I've been deliberating back and forth about busting out my credit card for the sake of investing in more wirelesses. Thanks in advance!

+1 on Tom Visser comment.

@Derek H., For me RH houses that we know, usually aren't much of a problem for me. I charge a little more than what they would after they tax for a 3-day week anyway. And the one I go to in New York really do work with me, so that I can rent what I need to make a gear deal happen. What I do have an issue with is VER. I've come to perceive them as a corporate monster for lack of a better term. What's a better describeable term? U tell me. They are in every major city in the US and easily win out so many rental deals from reality production companies, but at such lowball bids and they have so much inventory. It's crazy.

I do the 'percentage times the street price' approach. For me it's so much easier to deal with. I determined my percentages based on what I found in going rates here in New York for simple owner/operator ENG packages and Rental House rate cards. So my percentages can lie anywhere between 1.2 and 2% to the cost of that gear. With recorders, I have them always fixed around 2% (sometimes a little over). I not only charge for the mixer/recorder, wirelesses and shotgun with this system, but also down to the iPolymer 9 Volts as well. I also priced out and charted all scenario packages from one wireless kit up to 10. Instead of figuring out a price while having the production manager on the phone, I already have it listed with minor adjustments of adding an IFB or two. My chart also helps me to not leave anything out that should be charged like a second set of receiver HOPs or the 4th NP1 in my kit, i.e. For me, this approach also keeps me from underbidding too low as well as possibly overbidding too high. As long as I am not hitting the field more than a 100 work days to get my return value for a given piece of gear, I am satisfied with my kit rate.

I see in Mapquest that the Satay grille is away from the strip by no more than a mile if you're by Bally's. Is the Satay location walkable or separated by major highways? Going anyway, but will we need to cab it?