Nick Jones

I've been using them as hops quite a bit. nothing exciting to report, works as you'd expect. I got the D16 package and used the wireless plug on a 416 for a few corporates where we were running around gyms and swimming pools and i didn't want cables around too much. possibly not as perfect as the considerably more expensive units but for a corporate that'll end up online it was great. This is one of the resulting videos. All wireless 416 for the subjects, the interviewer is on a cos-11 through a micron wireless.

Spent a week filming at the Lotus F1 factory last summer and was lucky enough to get to play with Kimi's race wheel from the German GP the weekend before. Had his race engineer go through all the buttons and dials and even some secret combinations that he probably shouldn't have told us about! That week was one of the highlights of my career, I love F1 so I was in my element talking cars and tech with drivers and engineers. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nickjonesmedia/sets/72157634580866029

I have the V-lok version of this distro and the 4pin is never used so I might copy this one too. Any updates on how it's working out?

Might be worth asking Greg Ovenden http://www.thesoundfarmer.com/ or Simon Fielder http://www.sounds-and-images.co.uk/index.php?cat=2 Tell them @NickJonesMedia sent ya!

Why the mini-Orange amp?

I used to mix on one of these back when I worked at the world service. It's a DK419, analogue mono, built like a tank and recently sold on eBay i believe! When I left they gave me a fader as a leaving present, the red TBU on the left. DK419 mixing desk. A modern classic by NickJonesMedia, on Flickr

Yeah they're cropped and instagrammed.

Short notice shoot aboard a cruise ship (where aircon never stops) from Turkey to Egypt. Grabbing some sploshing of waves and a little sun. Thompson 10000 Shoot by NickJonesMedia, on Flickr Taking 5 minutes during camera setup to timelapse the sunset with an improvised tobacco grad filter. Thompson 10000 Shoot by NickJonesMedia, on Flickr Resulting timelapse: https://vimeo.com/50850324

As a transcriber I can say we do care about audio quality, but not that much. The main thing that's annoying is not being able to hear the questions. Happens all the time and means I have to go back over the very off-mic mumbling lots, thus wasting my time. Having TC bleed into the track is pretty annoying. Try listening to TC blips for more than a minute. Now do it for 12 hours straight. Yeah, it sucks. In terms of the transcribers not being able to read TC, that's pretty bad. It's not hard to find software that'll do it. We use some that'll read pretty much every type of file, with or without TC. I've had files where the soundie has just read the TC into the slate mic which I've then manually set as the start point at the clap. Next time you have to send sometime to transcribers who don't accept TC suggest someone else, maybe me? £12 per 1000, regardless of turnaround time. Can't argue with that!

After almost 4 years at the BBC World Service I'm doioing my last programme, a Bengali phone-in, before going fully freelance. This is the studio I shall finish in. photo by NickJonesMedia, on Flickr

Current mics in the new World Service studios in the W1 BBC building are the RE20 for the desks/adhoc recording points and 414s for the studios. That's after about 5 rounds of double-blind listening tests of around 30 different mics.

not sure it'll export mp3's but Sound Devices Wave Agent is always worth a look. http://www.sounddevices.com/products/waveagent.htm

Personally I like timestamped MP3 with all tracks monoed. that way its small for sending to us over the internet and I don't have to listen to one-legged audio for hours on end! Some good labelling is always useful too!

Google is very much my friend! We do a lot of stuff on science but my general knowledge doesn't stretch to particle physics or the intricacies of the universe so I usually have google open in another page to quickly find the right spelling and details for a subject.

I use Transcriber2 from VideoToolShed. We've used this software since Bouke first created it and have worked with him to get features added and bugs removed. I use the OSx version but other people in the group (we're a collective of transcribers who distribute work around to get it turned around as quickly as possible, often over night) use the Windows version. We also use his other tools such as ProxyRender for the more obscure files we receive. Sometimes, and it's rare now, we get things on DVD, DV and plain old cassette! Some people in the group have been doing transcription for 20 years so we're setup for everything!