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saadasound

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Everything posted by saadasound

  1. RVD - In no way did I take any offense, completely understandable. I would gladly work for you anytime! Jim - Thanks for the kind words, as always As for 695 for me, it seems that after researching and taking in all of your thoughts, I'll most likely be holding off joining for now. As much as I would love to be able to say yes to jobs offered in that jurisdiction, it's not the right time for me. I know there's fantastic boom ops all over, and I wish them all the best! Thanks everyone, Steve
  2. I've had one since NAB. Scott from Redding Audio was kind enough to give me one to take home to use and take some pictures. (He's a fan of House of Cards and Veep, so that seemed to be his generous motivation. I absolutely love it. Super transparent and has replaced my full zeppelin on some days that I'd throw the zeppelin up immediately. Can handle rain as well, rings out just like the rainman. I HIGHLY recommend the super softie, as well as the super shield.
  3. Rich, I just may be moving out there, but at this point, I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. And NOT ONLY did Rich sell me some of him Lectrosonics kits, which are still working swimmingly... He also helped me get a hold of a brand new Rycote Super Softie at NAB, courtesy of Mr. Scott Boland! It also helped that Scott was a big fan of the 2 wonderful Baltimore shows in town, so he requested photos... of course coinciding with the rules of photos on set
  4. For the past 2 years or so, I've been booming for the wonderful William "Waco" MacPherson. He's a mixer that I would love to continue working with, whether it be here in Baltimore, or on any other project he may pick up. I've been asked by not only him, but a few other LA sound mixers to consider joining 695 in order to work for them on their next projects. Now, I have no intentions on joining 695 unless I know this work is to be had and I have no intentions of implying that I want to take any work from any locals. I'm merely trying to figure out my options based my future as a boom operator and my ability to work with Bill and other wonderful mixers and people. Crew, you're absolutely right in saying that I'd want to do the right thing and be able to take a job offered to me under the 695 jurisdiction if offered to me... Especially if it's an offer from Bill, because I don't think I can say no to him, nor do I ever really want to say no to him or any other mixer. If a mixer asks you to do a job with them, I'm sure it is for good reason... So, I believe you should do everything in your power to take them up on that offer! That being said, thanks for all the replies everyone! I did find more and more topics here, Senator, so you're correct in saying that all the info is here for the taking! NOW, let's get this national sound guild going! Cheers, Steve
  5. Hey y'all! I'm not sure yet, but looking to get my second union card for 695. Wondering if anyone had any advice or info about process before I call. Cheers! Steve
  6. Depending on the job, especially if I have a 3rd or not, this is what I'll bring along: Without a 3rd, I'll use a Conterra Chest Pouch, which comes in handy when needing to carry a lot of wires, wiring accessories, etc. The radio holder is actually a great buttoning hook for headphones, when I use them. Inside will be: Medical Scissors Sharpie/Pen Tweaker Wiring accessories (stickies, moleskin, transpore, joes stick, etc) Sides (if given them) Flashlight, which has its own velcro pocket on the bottom of the pouch I'm mostly using my Etymotic ER-4's with custom ear molds as my monitoring, but I'll throw the cans on if need be. I always have a knife, for cutting and intimidation... I have a homemade boom apple box And of course, I always bring my trusty XL VDB straight cable boom pole, which I love so very much.
  7. Hey soundies, does anyone own or use any of the beautiful Inovativ Carts? Thoughts? Opinions?
  8. Phil, As far as I know, as long as we give post 6 frames of the static shot to work with, then we can go ahead and do our thing. On HOC, we don't physically slate anything, it's all done through metadata on iPads, so once we hear the RED fans turns off, we can go ahead and drop in after a beat. As far as in Avid, I'm not sure. Crew, It's an absolute pleasure booming for Bill. He's a great boss, especially on Veep. Tons of good times over the last 2 years with him, and plenty more to come. I hear all about Milagro and the old days with Crew. Hope to be out in LA soon and meet you! Cheers
  9. Crew, I totally agree with you. There are so many different ways we've seen it done. Fincher is great at what he does, but it doesn't mean it's the best and only way to go about creating a great show. I hope the painting of boompoles catches on more and more, as well as the importance of sound quality on any genre show. If I could break frame on Veep, I'd make Waco Bill MacPherson a very happy mixer
  10. CORRECTION! Brian JORDAN, not Garfield. Great boom operator and all around great guy to be around.
  11. Hey everybody! I figured I'd chime in and clear some things up about HOC and what it's like working with Fincher and our incredible set. I've been involved with HOC since the pilot and have spent time in every position in the sound dept, including audio playback and 2nd unit mixing (good friend Jim Gilchrist has also mixed 2nd unit). As for the sound crew, we ARE a full sound crew, utilizing 2 boom operators 90% of the time. Positions have flopped around a bunch the first season, but mixers have been Mark Weingarten, who completed the first 8 episodes of season 1, and Baltimore local and my mentor, Lorenzo Millan, has been the mixer for the rest of the show. As for the first season with Fincher, remember that he was only the director for the first 2 episodes and 2nd unit. Other then that, he was only an email away from department heads. I worked as a boom operator and audio playback for Fincher's episodes, and I will say that he is an incredible director with a clear vision in what he wants and he fought to get it. The crew admired him in the fact that he completed his days without really going over 13 hours and got what he wanted. He was efficient when he wanted to be, and patient when he needed to be. However, Fincher did have a strong way of running his set, and if it wasn't respected, you were gone. Certain things were a little over the top, but it was his show, so as we all do, we hunker down and get the job done. There was plenty of yelling and screaming at crew members, but this isn't foreign to us. I'd say most of his outbursts were out of frustration from other stressers. There were moments where he yelled at myself or the 1st boom op about a shadow. He'd come onto set, grab the pole and swing it around to see the shadows himself, then tell you to figure it the f**k out... And we did and it worked. In the end, he got what he wanted, and was happy with his crew, especially the locals from Baltimore. After he left directing, things were very different from director to director. Some finished in 10 hours, some in 20. It was rough, but it worked. The crew was a really positive group of people. However, there was still a lot of stress and anxiety between the crew and case because nobody knew how well the show would end up... Which brings us to season 2... After the show being really successfull, the set was a lot more relaxed, especially with Kevin and Robin, who are incredible people. The biggest differences in this season were what Fincher requested from the editing room via email. - he finally got his ACs to pull front their own monitors, and everything on the cameras was practically wireless, including video, TC and audio through his RED proprietary/beta test model Epics and their wireless monitoring system. - All background and principle shoes were to be thick rubber souls and heels, which is nothing new to us. The BEST thing he implicated in season 2, however, was allowing us boom ops to break frames and get as tight as we want. As long as it was a static shot and no one was crossing the mic or pole, we could be wherever we wanted. Took time for operators and us boomers to get used to, but was used almost every day throughout the entire season. This cost production little to no additional cost since it was able to be painted out without outsourcing to another pos house. Was really incredible to work with, and I think it's evident in the quality of the season. Other then that, I can't think of anything else to mention, except that the show is amazing to work on... Especially for myself, getting a break from booming Veep full time, wiring up to 18 people some days and completing on average 20 pages a day... Breaking frame with a 50 with a 4 page day is a dream! Anyways, here's the season 2 sound crew: Lorenzo Millan - Sound Mixer (Baltimore) Randy Pease - Boom Op (VA) Christopher Jones - 2nd Boom/Utility (VA) Steve Saada - Addtl Boom Op (Baltimore) Steve LaFayette - Addtl Boom Op (DC) 2nd unit mixers: Jim Gilchrist (Baltimore) John Gooch (Philly) Steve Saada Boom op: Steve Saada Lenny Schmitz (DC) Paul Schmitz (DC) Steve Lafayette Brian Garfield (Philly) If I'm missing anyone, I apologize and please let me know! Steve
  12. Lawrence, looks great! I'll be doing something similar soon. I was wondering how you like the PSC antenna distro? Steve
  13. Michael, awesome work! I've spent the last few days pondering new ideas that your cart inspired! Where did you get your drawers? Rack rails? How are the rack rails attached to the 8020? What did you use as your surfacing?
  14. Mike, I have the Filmtools upright sound cart and I'm looking to have 2 separate cases. Top case would probably be an 8 or 10 RU and bottom would probably be an 8 RU. I wouldn't need the top rack to be 18" deep, would probably go for 12" or 15" to save weight and space. The bottom rack would be closer to a full rack or 15" deep rack with drawers and such. I've thought about the possibility of utilizing the Filmtools shelf I got with the cart, which is a full sized shelf... mounting the top case on that and bottom one on the nose plate, of course. However, I've even considered just making a separate welded shelf that I can mount the top rack on. I want to try and orient the cases so the cart isn't on its side when in use, which is how most/all of the filmtools uprights have been used, as far as I've seen. This idea would still try to incorporate a locking pin or screw system.
  15. I've been working out the set up for my cart, and I've been thinking about the possibility of using ATA road cases, but then drilling holes in the sides to attach a locking system to the case so I don't have to use a ratchet strap to secure the case to the cart. Even if it were secured by a few screwing pins or locking pins, I'd like that better then ratcheting. I also want to make sure that drilling holes into these cases won't compromise the integrity of the case. Any thoughts or suggestions would be great! Thanks, Steve
  16. Just got the tiny Lockit, anyone think I should go with ambient timecode bi-directional lemo cable or just go with any lemo cable? Really I'm just curious to know what lemo cables everyone uses. Steve
  17. So, I have a few buddies that carry 2 IA cards, but wanted to ask all the IA workers on JW how they might know how to go about holding 2 cards. I've been a brother of Local 487 in Baltimore for 2 years now, and am thinking of joining 695 as well. Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks everyone Steve
  18. Any reason why my 702 or 788 won't take power from my PSC BDS system?
  19. Bag setup for House of Cards splinter unit.
  20. That is correct, Jim! Bill and his 49ers beanies covering our fins... Although I don't approve of the choice of team, especially shooting in Baltimore City. Go Raven
  21. First one is me booming on HBO's Veep. Second is my favorite one, booming on the feature "Ping Pong Summer" with our own Alex Altman mixing. Good times with Boozo the Clown in Ocean City, MD. Last one is from Veep as well, with boom operator Lorenzo Millan getting air during a 10k race scene from our wonderful mobile sound cart.
  22. Unfortunately, no teasers my friends! But the show does begin shooting on April 29th, with Lorenzo Millan mixing, Randy Pease booming, Chris Jones as 2nd boom and myself as audio playback/additional sound. Thanks again for all the kind words! Glad you like the show! Hope to see some Emmy nominations this year... Of course the possibility of BEST SOUND MIXING!
  23. Hey Jim, thanks for the info, as usual! I've had luck with A and F up here for sure, but was curious about E channel because I was looking to get some used PR72b's, but I think I'm just going to go with the 216 kit. As of now, I will definitely be there on Thursday! Thanks again my friend!
  24. Anyone have any experience with using E channel for comteks in the Baltimore/DC area? Thanks, Steve
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