saadasound

Yeah, we usually just drop them off at video village, but we personally hand them to director, scripty, etc. They've always just been kept in a small red vinyl box that would get the headsets tangled and wouldn't really offer any protection for the comteks themselves since they'd be clipped to the sides of the box. At least the caddy will offer some protection and organization. I'll be doing so drawer inserts for Lorenzo next. One single space insert for tweakers, pens, etc. and a 2 space drawer insert for transmitters and wires.

I figured I would post a picture of the comtek caddy that I made last week for Lorenzo Millan and the upcoming House of Cards season starting in a few weeks. It securely holds 16 comteks in their own individual slots, 14 headsets and a box of Duracell 9 volts. It's completely waterproof and will soon have a clear vinyl rain cover with velcro attachment, similar to the velcro rain covers on most of our sound bags. The BEST part about this project is that all the wood is completely recycled from pallets and at zero cost! This was somewhat of an adaptation of a 6pack beer caddy that I've been making in bulk and selling. Only took about 10 hours worth of work and it works great! If anyone would be interested in something like this, let me know and I can get one mocked up for you. I also make reclaimed furniture as well, so if you're interested in any of that, please feel free to let me know! I'm open to any new designs or ideas! Cheers, Steve

Unfortunately, Lorenzo has not yet become a member of JW, but Ill make sure to relay all the kind words. I will say that the painting of boom poles isn't the only amazing thing that happens on the set of HOC. Having spent a lot of time on HOC since season 1, one of the greatest developments in season 3 has everything to do with the G&E Department. No matter the shot or lighting setup, if the boom operators have a shadow that they can't work around, all that is needed is to ask any grip for some love, and it will be given to you no questions. Most of the time, it's simply flagging off some spill, but they'll take care of it. It's happened very rarely so far in my career, but when it does, it's an amazing thing to be a part of. Our key grip, Tony Marra (INCREDIBLE MAN), came up to us in the beginning of the season and introduced himself and said, "If you have a shadow problem needing fixed, please let us know. A boom shadow isn't a sound problem, its a G&E problem, and it will be taken care of." Really incredible. It's been a pleasure working on this show for 3 years, especially with my great friend and mentor, Lorenzo. I'm even trying to get some of these collaborative decisions to make its way over to VEEP to help me out! I know Waco Bill would appreciate it as much as I would! Cheers, Steve

Fisk, been looking forward to it since I saw it in Vegas last year! Hopefully I'll see it this year. Thanks!

I've been trying to find a harness that allows the bag to be set high on the body, I'd say mixing knobs almost at chest level. I've used the petrol and just got the orca harness. Thought the orca harness would be able to get higher, but not there yet. Anyone know of a harness that can do this? Maybe Versaflex? Thanks, Steve

Thanks for all the tips! I Noticed in these videos from Q5x that the clip is visible... But some other "sound fx" shows on NBA players I didn't see a clip. Have they moved to hiding them completely? Is it 1 wiring job for their warm up clothes and in-game?

+1 Marc Let the Boom Op do the work for you.

+1 to everything said. For me, it all depends on what job it is. For instance, the 2 show I mostly work on are completely different from the sound perspective. On Veep, it's a lot of ad-libbing, 2 HH cameras whipping 360, mostly 9-14 wired cast in each scene (all with scripted dialogue), and our DP lights to be able to shoot in any direction. As a boom op on the show, I wire everyone and I boom problem wires (scratchy beard, noisy action, etc) or if the lighting and frame permits it, I can sometimes just boom entire scenes (but this brings in the sound of our wonderful "sound stage", which is home to our construction department, who love working through takes... but that's a whole other topic). As for wiring, I usually do it all in a pretty short amount of time and try to get talent to come to the follow cart or our wireless tree, which is located right outside of set rather than another 100 feet away by my mixer. But, most of the time I'm waiting right outside of set to wire or at cast village. I carry 2 small tackle boxes with all that I need to wire anything and anyone with me and it works out great. Some actresses get wired by our costume department before they even get dressed, depending on wardrobe. I'll talk to them every morning about what they'll be wearing and we decide either to do it before or after wardrobe. Our wardrobe department is awesome. Also makes it easier that we made spanx with transmitter pockets so its even faster! A lot of things change constantly on that show, and we always have days of either no script/call sheet at all, to about an average of 25 pages of scripted a day with alt's (Most we've done was 54 pages in 14 hours... for a 30 minute comedy...just saying...) I kind of have to just wire whomever I see right on set during last looks and final adjustments... so, usually about 3-5 minutes to wire average 9-14 talent... For House of Cards, its the exact opposite... Instead of shooting 30 pages a day, we shoot maybe 3-6 a day, so its not as much of a circus act... but it is in a different way. Post paints out boompoles on the show whenever the cameras are static, so wiring gets cut out A LOT, but we definitely still wire from time to time for the same reasons as any other job, but we just get a lot more time to do it. As I said, it's all about the job you're doing and the flow of the show... At least in my eyes.

Just curious as to how we've all wired basketball players for in-game/training scenarios? Couldn't find any other forums covering this in the brief moment I searched the site. Thanks! Steve

Plan B seems like an interesting tip... you know, just in case you impregnate your talent at the wrap party or something...

That pouch is perfectly sized for a flask... Thanks everyone, got one in the mail already!

I tried on the Orca harness at NAB last year and was great, but I don't want to get rid of my PS614... Anyone know if the harness works with the petrol, or is it proprietary to Orca?

Great work. Simple and sturdy. Thanks for the info! Hope to find one available soon

Also, what did you use to make the bracket?

Jeff, looks awesome! I'd love to get my hands on a 306, but I'm sure any mixer would want to hold onto it as long as possible.

Was just curious if anyone is still using the Cooper CS 306 and how they like it??? Also, before someone asks, I did search JW and all searches seem to lead me to the wonderful "Cannot find the site you're looking for" page. Thanks! Steve

Thanks Larry! Very informative! Just before I read this, we went ahead and purchased a new mute switch, SMQV and B6 lav. Should work really well!

Please send me a link to that page on the lectro website, because I haven't seen anything that answers that question for me. If you do see answers to any of my questions, can you possibly relay that information to me.

I've been working out some issues at Towson University's football stadium recently and was curious to know if the the Smv or smqv could work with the lectro ref mute switch? I've wanted to incorporate the variable mW settings on them to give us a little more RF power. We are currently using the REFum transmitters and they're pretty weak (50 mW I believe)... I've tested the RF and audio quality with my SMv at 250mW and sounds great and no RF issues. BUT, the mute switch won't work. Is the lectro mute switch only compatible with the lectro REFum transmitters? I thought it was just a passive mute switch.

Call Andrew Uvarov 804 245 4805 One of the best I know and have had the pleasure of working with. Steve

Much excitement for my great friend and mentor, Lorenzo Millan for House of Cards!

I'm going to be using the Teradek Clip on my next show to send video to my iPod touch with a battery I'm my pocket and cable running out of sleeve. Works well to get a look at framing before, but using it during takes is helpful as well, but obviously not as a primary source.

Thanks for all the quick contacts! The job has been filled!

Hey brothers and sisters, Looking to help out a production company doing a Red Bull Formula 1 doc in Trenton area this Friday. I had to pull out for family reasons. Asking $750/10 with one wire at this point... PM or text me if you can do it! Steve Saada 908-601-5805

Wanted to congratulate all the Emmy nominees for best sound mixing this year, specifically my local nominees: House of Cards Lorenzo Millan (sound mixer) Randy Pease (boom operator) Chris Jones (sound utility/2nd boom) Veep "Waco" Bill MacPherson (sound mixer) Steve Saada (boom operator) Travis Groves (sound utility) Here's the full list (page 37-38) http://www.emmys.com/sites/default/files/Downloads/66th-nominations-list.pdf