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Nima

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Everything posted by Nima

  1. Here's an easy solution to the problem, it just might be a little costly:
  2. That's usually what naturally happens when gaps between the poor and the rich grow excessively large. That's usually also one of the symptoms of a growing need for some kind of change. While I don't believe in class warfare, it does happen for a reason. Hate can never be justified, but it can be understood. That is, if you're willing to put in some effort. And by understanding the hate you may find the root cause. Seldom will be people choose the path of hating others if they are truly satisfied and happy. And seldom would anything change if we were always satisfied and happy. Do we have to hate others in order to change things? No. But by choosing to not understand why some choose to hate, we are choosing to be equally ignorant. Choosing, choosing, choosing. Although, personally, I don't see much hate against the rich here. We're talking taxes and health insurance.
  3. Regarding taxes, this could be worth a thought:
  4. Off topic here... but reading this I'm just thinking: How Americans put up with the current health care system is truly beyond me! When I was a teen, living in Sweden, I always dreamed of moving to the U.S. one day. Fast forward to a little more political awareness and having lived in Canada for 5 years, I think I'll just stay here. Unless I choose to return to Europe one day. But oh how nice it would if Canada or Sweden were tropical countries.
  5. You were born around 18-20 years ago. As of today, your mission is to set out and learn what you want/need/love the most and make a living. What would you do and how would you go about? Rules: - You can pick any career you want - You have no resources (that includes savings, contacts, previous experiences, or gear) - You have to pay your own rent soon - Loans are allowed - Circumstances, prices, technology, etc. are current
  6. Haha, no no no, sorry, I meant tutorials on the topic of location sound, for aspiring location sound recordists and boom operators. So far I've seen this one: Now Hear This: Superior Sound for Digital Video Indeed, that would be lovely!
  7. Hey folks, any suggestions on video tutorials in the same category? Lovely compilation by the way. Thanks so much!
  8. Hey there, It's down-time at my usual workplace and I'd love to finally take the opportunity to get to work with some of you maestros. If I may, I'd like to contribute with two pair of extra hands in return for... just that: the experience. About. I get along with everyone, and find it almost impossible to dislike anyone. On top of that, I'm a strong believer in good work ethics, and I carry around a positive attitude towards the day, the night, the hours, the work, the set, and the crew. Experience. I've worked as the sole sound recorder on a few infomercials, as well as the odd low-budget independent short film here and there. However, I have looots to learn. I've never worked with experienced location sound recorders. During most of 2011-2012 (my first year out of Uni), I've been working as a backup Technician on different shows on CBC Radio (News, Current Affairs, and Arts and Entertainment). And my work weeks have varied from 7 days a week to 0 days a week. Website: http://www.nimashams.com Please don't hesitate to send me a note for more (résumé, references, etc.)...
  9. I just wanted to thank you all for your wonderful insight. I ended up buying the MKH-50 (I've already gotten to use it as a rental, so I already knew that I like its sound). It performed very well on its first day out on a shoot, and I'm a much happier man, albeit much poorer too. The reason why I bought it was because reading up on the abovementioned mics made it clear to me that I should either pick an MKH-50, CMC641, or risk handling noise with the 8000-series kits. And with the MKH-50 sounding as good as it does, it was hard to justify paying for a CMC641 at this point.
  10. Didn't mean to divert from the topic there, anyways, Mirror, thanks! I'll make sure to go hunt for veterans in Toronto. Can't edit the other post from my phone, that's why I'm posting a new one.
  11. There's nothing harsh/attacking in that at all, actually. You're totally right. And I have never called myself a mixer. And until the day I have completed a period of working under veterans, I probably never will. And even when that day comes, I'll call myself an amateur mixer. I remember this one shoot, which were going to be shot with Red... I was available, but I bailed out. Instead I was going to seek someone else and ask them if in exchange I could shadow them. However, the shoot was unpaid... and then they switched to DSLRs... and since I had already declined, they ended up finding someone else. I always do tell people I have limited experience. I don't seek out jobs. I just don't turn them down, if I'm available on a particular date. You're totally right that I need to gain experience under a veteran. I do have a few problems, leading to limited free time, which in turn is the biggest problem when I want to work for someone else consistently. However, since I manage to do a shoot here and there, maybe I could find someone who wouldn't mind having me on their sound crew on the dates I'm not working. Maybe, I can even try to shadow the mixers for the organization I already work for. If that works, that'd be ideal! I'll investigate. Thanks for that reminder. I think I got so caught up trying to make shoots sound good, that I forgot the most essential part, and as a result I have delayed my learning further. Working my way up involves working for someone else. You're totally right. And again, I truly appreciate your words. Thanks! By the way, if anyone here wouldn't mind an extra pair of apprentice-hands in Toronto, I would love to refer to you whenever I come across shoots that require experienced mixers, and have budgets that reflect that. (Unless you're interested in the lower-budget/unpaid stuff as well, but I don't think the economy is quite that bad yet). Anyways, one never knows (I'm just being really hopeful here)
  12. I have used booms on all the shoots I've done, but I have never worked for a location sound crew. In other words, if I'm doing it wrong, I'm not aware of it. Do you think it's something I could do without prior experience working under a sound crew? I only started doing location sound little over a year ago on the side of my casual radio technician-job. And I wasn't really interested in it either, until I was asked to do it based on my experience in music and a little sound design as well. However, since I realized I had major shortcomings, I found myself interested in learning more, which made me realize I have an interest in it. That's why I am here on this forum now. If my dad was a Saudi Arabian king I would spend money on education all day long. But I'm done spending loan money on education for a while. I'll get back to you when/if my income increases. Nice stamp by the way. For now, I'll rely on the goodwill of people who have posted stuff on the internet, books, and eventual apprenticeships. Thanks for the offer!
  13. Interesting! I'll have to try that! That would be nice, and a camera that can shoot perfectly without you having to do anything... and an automated director... an automated technician... and an automated script-writing software, music composer, editor, etc. I will have to go back to school and a find a different career-path. Except... there will be automated teachers and students. I'll just move to Mars and start a new life there. But until that day, it seems I simply have to figure out how to work a lav. Now, if you were to start out trying to slowly build up 25+ years of experience, which lav would you start out with? In other words, that'll be the main lav that you will be practicing with at home, and take to your shoots until you can afford another one. Provided you think one can survive practicing on just one lav for a while. Keep in mind, I never/extremely seldom do outdoor stuff. And also, with very few exceptions, I almost never know what the talent will be wearing, as there is no wardrobe department, and if there is, it usually means bigger budgets, which usually means I'm not the sound guy. Looking at the recommendations above, and, after having started this thread, I searched for the COS-11 here, and this forum seems to have lots of info on mounting options and other recommendations related to that mic. Now a user here (not sure if I may name them) sent me a remarkably detailed guide to a rig, using a DPA-4071. The options are many. Having used the B6, and I'm sure, many others, which one would you use as your start-up practice lav-mic, and why (I have a job that allows me to save up for these things, at least during the summer -- but I would like to focus on getting to know one mic at a time, if that makes sense)? It'd be nice to go to the gym and learn from an experienced sound-instructor. I'd totally get a membership. I'm not sure if I would have thought of that if you wouldn't have brought that up. Thanks so much for that! With my producer, on her request, I just leave all the touchy stuff to her, if we deal with women (which is pretty much 80% of the time at this point). That's how she has always worked, and I'm not gonna argue with her on that one. With guys, it's me. But kids are another issue one has to take into consideration. I haven't dealt with kids so far, but if I happen to deal with a kid, even if the kid is a boy, I will take your recommendation to heart. I'm really glad you brought that up! Thanks! That's the key I'm looking for, to know the characteristics of my mic, that is. Great advice there! But you're making it difficult for me. I have a book that shows some mounting options for the Tram (Location Audio Simplified). Regardless of which mic I go for, it seems vampire clips is definitely something I must gain experience with. Great advice on the layers there too! Thanks so much! You know what, I was just referring to that FLAME-ON!-line, but having read them over again, I totally agree with you. No one here has expressed any anger. So I retract that statement Would someone really ask a professional mechanic what wrench to buy in order to be a professional mechanic? No, because in that situation it's obvious that he/she needs a complete toolbox and the experience to know how to use them. You're right, but it's hard to resist the temptation of asking the professional mechanic for advice on a start-up toolbox to practice and learn with. In this case, I could not resist that temptation. [...] BTW: For lavs, I use many, including Sanken COS-11, DPA 4060 & 4061, Countryman B6 & EMW, Tram TR-50, Sennheiser MKE2, and a few others. I agree that the Sanken is a good choice and is one of the most common quality lavs in use. DPA lavs have a bit better sound but are trickier to hide successfully. I seldem use the Rycote Undercovers but deploy Overcovers (including under clothing) and Hush Lavs on a regular basis. I don't use the Stickies too much as I find they don't hold as well as some of the other options such as Topstick. First of all, thanks for the encouraging words, preceding the quote above. And secondly, thanks so much for sharing your list of lavs, as well as some of the tools you use. I'll definitely make sure to buy some overcovers to experiment with, once I've decided on a mic. And again, it looks like the COS-11 is the strongest contender. Previously, I was thinking about the DPA's, but it looks like I may have a hard time with them (given my limited experience). Sort of like trying to learn the piano by choosing a really difficult virtuoso-piece (which may also have less alternative scores, and YouTube videos explaining how to play the piece), and the discouragement that may follow. If that analogy makes sense. Thanks again, John! Boob tape! Never heard of that! I'll look into that as well! Wireless! Luckily, most of our talent stay stationary, which means I can hard-wire them. I don't think I can afford to buy a lectro-kit for practicing-purposes. I may or may not gor for a G3, one day, but I prefer to buy a lav and a mic at this point, and rent on shoot-by-shoot basis for now. I do get to use the lectros/microns/g3's every once in a while, albeit seldom, but still... for the next one, I should look into being equipped with something like that. Thanks so much for sharing that! Great! I don't usually do anything that needs to be waterproofed, and 98% of the time I'm recording testimonials, one person at a time. So that makes choosing a mic much easier, at least between the three you mentioned. Thanks!!
  14. Nima

    shockmount?

    Toy Robot, have you ever had a chance to compare the invision to the MINIX? And to all the people who vote for the Cinela systems, which systems do you use, or have had experience with? I'm curious on how the MINIX performs with the mics that, according to some users, are more susceptible to handling noise (eg. MKH-8040/8050-series)
  15. Thanks so much for that! And I actually made the text red after I saw some of the posts above. No need to feel sorry though, I have myself to blame for the nature of the question. But looots of COS-11 recommendations up here, so it must mean something. Re: Taking things personally... Sorry if it came off that way. I don't take things personally (or at least I try to never do so), I meant that sincerely, i.e. that I will go to Gearslutz and my retailer. However, you did raise a good point. I had only searched the equipment-forum for posts on lavs (EDIT: actually I'm not sure how I had searched, as I see 3 pages of pretty good stuff even just searching for lav in the equipment-forum, I remember only seeing 2 pages earlier, anyways...). But now I have more than 100 pages printed out from various posts on lavs. And to your point... I need to read them, and if I still have questions I will ask them. Some people may choose to ridicule, so be it. I don't care, I need to learn. But someone here once pointed out that I will get those kind of answers if I have uneducated questions in this forum. Point taken. Back to the drawing board for some research. Nonetheless, even by asking an uneducated question here, I was pointed in a good direction by many helpful users. Your last post being one of them. Thanks for taking the time. Thanks a great deal for sharing your choices and the points you raised! So does that mean you find yourself using the COS-11 less for run+gun-situations and if so, why? Wow! A minute! I have a lot of work to do! If it's a woman without cleavage I end up spending maybe closer to five minutes to figure it out, and many times it's because I run out of time and simply have to live with rustle on the lav, and rely on the boom. The RM-11 isn't part of the rental I believe, but maybe I can add it next time I rent them, or just try them in store, before I purchase them. Thanks so much! Thanks so much Chris! Great suggestions! I really have to check those overcovers out, I find sometimes the undercovers don't help me out at all. I also have to practice finding that perfect balance between too much slack and too little slack. Also, I'm not the one micing the females (my producer does that), I only mic males. Which may seem odd, but that's the way we work. We deal with a lot of people who have never been on camera before, and so it's the best way to avoid conflict. So basically what I do is dress the lav, and give it to the producer. If undercovers don't work, I'll try moleskin, if moleskin doesn't work I try something else and so forth. But now I want to buy one to practice at home with, and it looks like the strongest contender is the COS-11. Good point! Thanks! Actually I'm the one who should be apologizing for totally ignoring that it was a joke. I was too focused on being serious (never a good thing!). Thanks for checking man! Yeah I really have to try the vampire clips. Do you use tape to not poke holes in the clothes of the talents? Or what do you do when they don't want holes in their clothes? ------ Folks, all of you, I realize I posed an uneducated question, so I am candidly grateful for the answers I've gotten. Yes, even the angry ones! You've helped me research the topic much better, and one wonderful user even sent me pictures and a description of one of their fast lav rigs. This is a great place to learn and I hope to contribute with more educated posts in the future.
  16. That's disgusting, I'd prefer super-glue. I tried it once, but it sounded a bit muffled. Someone told me of this trick where you replace the upper wisdom teeth with lavs. It's supposed to sound really good. And you get a nice stereo image.
  17. I did use the hushlav as well, but I couldn't get it working (EDIT: i.e. I would still get rustle). Also tried the undercovers, but didn't have Joe's at the time. Hmmm, I already know I need more experience, but this does remind me that I do need to search out some sort of apprenticeship. My apologies about the question, but thanks for answering it anyways. I fully respect that, and sorry to offend you with my question. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be many books that detail mounting-methods. I have not had a chance to shadow someone like you here in Toronto. But if I find the opportunity, I will jump on it. To begin with, I want to buy a lav to learn with, and to use on shoots. The recommendations above will suffice as a starting point, and I am grateful for that. Thanks for your time. Cool product, thanks for that! Indeed, but I do need to start somewhere. Or do you suggest I decline to do shoots from now on and tell them to go increase their budgets and go look for professionals, as I simply have way too much to learn and prefer to stay in my bedroom on my days off work? I need to start somewhere, and all I was stupidly asking for, was some sort of a starting point. I did describe the nature of the shoots I do. And everything else I could detail at this point. I need to buy a mic, and learn with it. So "which mic do you people as professionals recommend given my situation". I don't expect the gods to do miracles and wonders, but I do want the best possible mic to learn with, rather than something I will want to sell in a year. Sorry to offend you, I'll go back to Gearslutz with questions like these or will just ask my local retailer instead. Thanks. Thanks for the great reply! I truly appreciate it!
  18. Short version (if you don't have time to read the whole thing): I've been looking at the threads on lavs, and one thing I don't see discussed is which lavs are well-suited to mount to talents as fast as possible, with as little consequence as possible? (eg. as little trial and error as possible before I can get rid of muffled audio, clothing rustle, etc.). I will need to look at the following: - Accessories that will work wonders with the mic in question (eg. COS-11 Vampire clip). - Flat vs. other versions? - Cable noise? My budget is unlimited (since the most expensive lavs I know aren't more than $600-700). Background info (If you have an extra minute): I'm still pretty inexperienced, and have only used the COS-11, Trams, and some larger Sony ones (all of which were mostly impossible when it came to clothing noise! The only place I could get them working is in the middle of women's chest, if they had larger chests.). I will always, always boom as well, but I rarely know what the interviewee will wear beforehand, and I rarely know their body type, whether they have body hair or not, etc. Usually, I find out the details on the spot 10-20 minutes before we have to shoot. I'm gonna try to wear the worse possible fabric I have and go try some lavs out at the store, and/or rent a couple. I'm thinking about trying the following: - Tram -- I've tried it, and I may have been lucky on that shoot, but it worked really well! -- Some pretty good advice were given on mounting the Tram in the book Location Audio Simplified - COS-11 -- I've already tried it, and it took me ages to get it right, and with some of the talents I was taking too long so I was asked to just boom (but I didn't have the VCLIP and didn't know about it either. - EMW - B6 - DPA 4060 and 4061 (if they have them in store) - Any other recommendations? Note: I know the question/scenario is stupid, and I know that if I was more experienced I may have been able to get any lav to work with anybody. But I'm not, so if you find this thread stupid, please ignore it (and let it die), if you choose to answer, I will appreciate it.
  19. Great answers folks. Thanks! That all answers my questions.
  20. I was 100% decided on buying the CMC641, I'm gonna have to go into the store and try them all (MKH50, MKH8050, MKH8040, MKH40, and CMC641). Most of what I do requires quiet backgrounds, and full focus on the person talking.
  21. Well... at the same time one could argue that much more people rent 7d's, and there are much more people available to do shoots with 7d's, don't you think?
  22. Hmm, perhaps you're right then. Our gear lasts longer = cheaper rental prices Your gear would take a few years to pay for itself. Hope they increased it significantly. Otherwise, you might just as well have paid their production costs.
  23. Well then, shouldn't wireless gear be super-expensive to rent as well? I mean sure an rx/tx kit may cost a total of $80/day but they also cost a total of 4k together. So the rental price is still nothing in comparison to a 7d. 7d = $1700 (total)/$100 (a day)=17 days to pay for itself 1 channel of rx/tx = $4000 (total)/$80 (a day) = 50 days to pay it for itself
  24. Compare the rental price of a 7d (minus lenses and crap) with the price of a $2000-microphone.... the 7d rents for more than $100/day whereas the mic rents for less than $30/day. In other words, if you buy a 7d, it'll take you less than 15 shoots to make the money back. The microphone will take close to a 100 shoots. I'm not complaining, I'm just wondering why the camera-owners can charge so much more for their gear? What's your theory?
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