Jim Feeley

Remember this from SD's Facebook page in June? I'm not trying to throw shade, but looks like 833s are still backordered at some usual-suspects dealers. Has anyone seen any official word from Sound Devices on when they will (or did) start making the 833 again? Is it mentioned in the video (which I obviously haven't yet watched)?

Pete, your earlier posts about the mic played a part in me giving it a try and then buying one. So thanks.

Daniel, thanks for sharing your experiences. Just so I'm clear: You're saying it takes about one second to open the stream, or that even after a connection is established, the audio latency is about one second? And usual reliable range appears to be about 10 meters / 30 yards or so (depending on various factors)?

A couple months ago, I bought a Sanken CS-M1. About 100mm (4-inches) long, supercardioid, sounds good. Also, US$900. Perhaps more than you want to spend, but it also works on a boom. 🙂 I like compact size; so do camera operators. Can you swing by a place and compare something like the CS-M1, the AT875, and something from your homies at Rode? https://www.sankenmicrophones.com/production/shotgun/cs-m1/

Unfortunately, it doesn't. The second time my neighbor was robbed, he had a security guy with him. By all reports, a good guy. Ex-cop who was good at de-escalating situations, and all that. So the second robbery occurred on a weekday afternoon in Golden Gate Park, a big city space in San Francisco. The robbers walked up behind my neighbor and the security guy, pepper sprayed them, grabbed the camera, and ran. The rules of engagement (I don't think that's the actual term, but let's roll with it) are you don't shoot at people fleeing, especially over a property crime. And the tear gas. So he chased them... and then the robber holding the camera was hit by the getaway car and dropped (and broke) the camera. And then: Security guard for TV news crew killed during Oakland robbery attempt As mentioned above, we've been in touch with Roy Peck, CPJ, and some other filmmakers who've dealt with this stuff and have experience working with security people while filming sensitive stuff. We're planning for security, thinking of dropping some scenes, etc. And I'm one of the producers. Thanks. And yes, that's the primary goal. But for JWS, I'm focusing on gathering advice about lowering our visual profile, reducing the cost of equipment that might get stolen (vs. my current Lectros), while still getting the sound and pix we need.

Thanks again everyone. So we're usually rolling just two channels of wireless, a boom mic (as I said, sometimes without boom), recorder in a bag. And TC on the camera, along with a camera mic for yucks. But that's with me wearing a bag. If we go to two small cameras, then I'm not sure... Maybe decent mic (e.g., CS-M1) and one channel of wireless on each camera... Still thinking that through. So the Sennheiser AVX system that Phil mentions does seem cool. But the cute XLR RX would take a little rigging to work in a bag, I think. Though it might be great on a camera. See the picture below. https://en-us.sennheiser.com/camera-wireless-lavalier-microphone-system-set-avx-mke2 The Deity system would fit in a bag but the RX seems kinda big to go on a small camera. And the Sennheiser G2/G3/G4 systems kinda work on either. All those systems totally fit in the budget (and the hopefully unneeded replacement budget). I'm intrigued by the Wisycom MPR52 bundle.. (picture below_. Really small two-channel RX that'll easily work on even a small camera, good user reports, but US$3200... That's fine, but not disposable. The body pack recorder idea I'll explore some more. But not being able to monitor people wearing winter clothing wigs me out (Zaxcom recorder/transmitters would solve that problem, but not at a walk-away-price). Well thanks everyone. More discussion welcome. I'll let you know what we end up doing... Sigh...

I left the wrong impression in my first note. Sorry about that. As I just added to my original post, this isn't a war-zone or a follow-the-criminal-while-they-do-crimes doc. Just covering some public-health stuff, and we want footage of the people doing their outside work. It's what I'd previously consider just regular doc work. But this year there have been a few high-profile robberies of TV news crews around here, a few others of news still photogs, I had one extra-worrisome load out of a corp job in Oakland, and I hear stories of indie people being robbed. And there's been one recent death. That's on top of a high number of smash and grab thefts. And usually during daylight hours, and not on stories or in locations that'd I'd consider especially risky. Here's a story of my neighbor's first time getting robbed this year (and links under to similar stories). He was robbed again a few months later, that time when with a security guard: Reporter’s Camera Stolen at Gunpoint During Interview About Robberies And for yucks, there's this from last month: Bay Area Photographer Warns Others After Being Followed and Robbed of Equipment While the thieves may not know the difference between cheap gear and expensive gear, they sure seem to know where to fence the stuff. So it seems like they'll smash-and-grab anything, and some will rob people with what they guess is $1000+ worth of gear. Also, we've received some great advice and support from The Roy Peck Trust, The Committee to Protect Journalists, and a couple Frontline producers. And some cops. But still... I have insurance, but I figure that's good for one theft at best (and even one would hurt my premium). I just want to be able to say, "OK, you have have the equipment" without going broke. I just want to be able to back away from the equipment without even briefly (and stupidly) thinking about the cost... And on a fairly low-risk story in "typical" city neighborhoods. ===== So anyway, we've been doing me on sound and my partner on camera. Already stopped using a boom and cans on some days; instead, a CS-M1 on a handgrip, and a single earbud (and wireless & recorder). We may shift to two small cameras, one focusing on sound, the other on picture... Just so we can be lower profile, and maybe have a slightly increased chance of only being robbed of half our equipment... One advantage of body-pack recorders: I'm guessing they're more likely to not get stolen and then we'd at least have some audio (I don't want to ask thieves if we can keep the cards). I REALLY appreciate the comments and suggestions so far. And I'd love to read more.

Working on a public-affairs documentary. Almost robbed a few days ago. Neighbor, a TV camop, has been robbed twice this year while on stories. Not isolated events. Some guns. Plenty of you have heard the stories. So lots of rethinking going on. Key questions: Should we shift or just drop this story? If we continue, how can we stay safe? [Edit: To be clear, this isn't war photography, "hanging with criminals while they do crimes," or anything. Just following some public-health and similar people while they do their work. And also, load in and load out of buildings in neighborhoods with increasingly brazen smash-and-grab theft and robbery.] But the question I'm asking here: What's the lowest-profile and least-expensive wireless equipment we can use to get the footage we need? Also thinking about small body pack recorders such as Tentacle's hard to find Track E; but let's stick with wireless right now. Not really wanting to risk losing my main systems (Lectro). I'm specifically asking about people's experience here with low-cost wireless systems. What are people's first-hand experiences with Rode Wireless Go and similar 2.4GHz (or whatever) systems? By "first-hand" let's say used them in the field or worked with tracks from these systems. Bonus for small RX, btw. With a better than the bundled mic, are they acceptable for documentary dialog (ie- not for interviews, etc)? In a big-city downtown environment, what sort of range did you get when TX were placed normally (ie- not the TX clipped to front of shirt)? Almost no range? Too many dropouts? Just get some used(?) G3 systems or something? Which systems have you used successfully? If you've tried and been unsatisfied with these inexpensive systems, let me know that, too. Thanks.

I think you're right about Beato's skill with the interview. Like at the beginning where he (fake) casually says, "[Your song that] uses the aeolian mode with a flat 6..." and then pulls back to describe the notes as surprises... Seems like Sting thinks, "Oh, this guy knows what's up musically, but not in a pedantic way...OK, I'll really talk to him... And hell, this may be fun." I haven't watched the whole thing, but will check out the rest. Thanks! So great that it was a fun gig for you!

Paul, even after following the (not self-evident) mounting steps in the video Daniel posted above? That video may help avoid some potential problems... I'm not challenging your experience, just trying to figure out if the 4097 with a Windkiller will be useful to me... Thanks!

Here's a 5:35 explainer video from the Imperial War Museum. And here's a 2018 blog from Coda to Coda, the sound design firm, with some info, some pix, and a reference to Laurie Anderson. Making a New World: Armistice Soundwave

From HowSound on Transom.org (a great podcast and site, that describes itself as, "A Showcase and Workshop for New Public Radio"). A Sonic Conjuring (Rerun) by Rob Rosenthal | 11.09.21 Take a look at the photo above, the two strips of film from the collection at the Imperial War Museum in London. They document the sound of Armistice Day, the end of World War I, and the silencing of artillery. On the left, the war at full tilt a minute before the end of the war. On the right, peace — a minute after the end of the war. The juxtaposition is startling. Part of the film is missing, though. A full two minutes documenting the actual end of the war at 11 am on the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918. In 2018, for the hundredth anniversary of the war’s end, the museum reached out to a sound design company, Coda to Coda, and asked if they could produce an audio file of those missing minutes — to fill the gap between war and peace, sonically. They said yes, but the task was not easy. Those waveforms on the film aren’t actual sound. They’re just shadows depicting the sound captured on film. In other words, the staff at Coda to Coda couldn’t just take a listen to a recording, then reconstruct what might be missing. They had to learn to “read” the waveforms without hearing them. The story of what those waveforms are, and how Will Worsley and Sam Britton at Coda to Coda conjured the war in sound, on this archive episode of HowSound. You can listen to the 12:10 audio story and download a transcript here: https://transom.org/2021/a-sonic-conjuring-rerun

“I Don’t Come Onstage To Pose and Play Some Pyrotechnic Scales. It’s To Kick Some Serious Ass”: Dick Dale Talks Gigs and Gear By Elliot Stephen Cohen 3 days ago In this priceless 2017 interview the King of Surf Guitar reveals how he helped develop the sound of electric guitar music alongside the legendary Leo Fender. From Guitar Player: https://www.guitarplayer.com/players/i-dont-come-onstage-to-pose-and-play-some-pyrotechnic-scales-its-to-kick-some-serious-ass-dick-dale-talks-gigs-and-gear

The road to hell(ish shoots) is paved with good intentions. Someone wise once told me that the worst gigs are the ones where the client is spending their own money. (As opposed to their company's, their funders/investors, etc). OK, that's not universally true, but it's served me well. Hope your next shoot is cake...

I've only worn aviation headphones as a passenger in small planes. The ones I wore seemed to boost the high mids, perhaps to cut through... But I'm no authority on aviation headphones. However.... Remote Audio modifies aviation headphones with a Sony 7506 driver. Here's their short blurb: HN-7506 – HIGH NOISE HEADSET These surprisingly comfortable phones have been a big hit for professionals who want to protect their ears while monitoring the quality of their recordings. Sealing off outside ambience by as much as 45dB, the HN-7506 is designed to sound like the industry standard Sony MDR-7506, and allows the switch from one to another without loss of monitoring standard and reliability. More details here: https://remoteaudio.com/products/hearing/high-noise-headset/ About $340 without a boom, more with. Available at most of the usual suspect dealers.

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — The howling gale forces winds, whipped up by a potent atmospheric river, whistled through the railing grates of the Golden Gate Bridge, creating an eerie sound track for the storm as it ripped through the San Francisco Bay Area. [snip] Is it a hum? A ghostly wail? A Brian Eno-style soundtrack for the world’s most beautiful bridge? The noise is not easy to describe. Howell had been chasing the source since April. Rest of the story: https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2021/10/24/video-howling-atmospheric-river-winds-making-golden-gate-bridge-sing/ And from yesterday's storm:

Same. Not much more expensive, IIRC, than the 1900 versions...

You might find more Rode wireless users on DVXUSER. And I mean Rode wireless users who know what's up. https://www.dvxuser.com/forum/filmmaking/location-sound-post-audio

Thanks. My main/only interaction with A&H has been with their mixers. I'm on their Qu-series boards fairly regularly... for small FOH, they sound decent and are fairly workable (and no more quirky than similar mid/low-level boards).

My sense is that this could be really good. Especially for parts and financing. If SD doesn't need to spend time on that sort of thing, they can spend more time developing products and supporting gear (or more darkly, just returning more profits to their new owners). And as SD continues to reach into music-industry retailers such as Sweetwater rather than "just" their original location-sound dealers such as Trew, Gotham, and Pinknoise, being a part of Audiotronix could help. Here's something from the press release attributed to Matt Anderson of SD: "In a way, it will be ‘business as usual’ at Sound Devices, as we will carry on doing the same thing we’ve been doing for the past 23 years: focusing intensely on making the best sound products we can. However, the Audiotonix group brings us more strength in terms of access to capital, depth in manufacturing, knowledge in engineering, sourcing of parts, and expanding our sales and marketing expertise." Audiotronix recently bought Austrian Audio. [That's wrong. Audiotronix distributes Austrian Audio, but doesn't own them. So the rest of this paragraph is less relevant, but perhaps not completely irrelevant. --jim] After AKG got bought by Harman, they dropped lots/all of AKG's Austrian employees. So those people started Austrian Audio. Their mics and headphones are supposed to be cool. And AFAIK, the original engineering and other core team members are still running that. I think they're now smaller than SD, I think, but the apparent "carry on" appoach it's a good sign. And Allen & Heath had their ill-fated reach into headphones a few years ago. I don't know if that was before or after Audiotronix bought them, but it's an experience in the company about the downside of stretching brands too far. That too will be a good lesson for SD. Also the way Audiotronix's SSL has reached into the home/project studio is pretty cool, imo. And Allen & Heath has experience with the low and midrange boards (I regularly work on their Qu-series mixers and like them)... So maybe we'll see some more-affordable control surfaces for SD's 8-series and MixPre recorders. That'd be cool. Also, not much we can do about it but wait and see. And hope for the best.

Great rundown Dave. Ya, Atomos stuff seems to break down even more than BMD stuff. But, as Fred just mentioned, Smallrig makes US$100 (or so) cages for the several Atomos and BMD monitors. Some/all also add HDMI clamps and 1/4-20 & 3/8 holes, so some strain relief possibilities. https://www.smallrig.com/products/monitor.html

Larry, you're terrible at this retirement stuff. Which is pretty inspiring. 😀 ❤️ All my best, Jim

I found this on the press release: IFBlue Introduces Value-Priced IFB Receiver & Dock Charging System New brand of products is designed to reach a broader range of customers in production, film, broadcast, videography, live event, and houses of worship https://www.lectrosonics.com/press-releases/1302-ifblue-introduces-value-priced-ifb-receiver-dock-charging-system.html ===== About IFBlue IFBlue is a new professional audio technology brand designed, distributed, supported, and warranted by Lectrosonics, Inc. and manufactured by a Korean firm in ISO9001 certified factories in South Korea and China to the highest standards. The IFBlue value-priced line of products are designed to reach an even broader range of customers in the production, film, broadcast, videography, live event, and house of worship applications. www.ifblue.com ===== Seems like a smart move by Lectro...

Thanks everyone. I ordered a Sennheiser CA2... If it doesn't work out of the box, it looks like I can mod it. If I come up with anything both clever and useful, I'll post a picture here...

For the few who don't know, Bouke does know what he's talking about. Sometimes he gets a little feisty/cranky (like all of us), but he's more than clever and more than generous (like just the best of us). Check out all the great software he's built: https://www.videotoolshed.com