Paul Graff

I would urge you and all Fusion/Deva owners to write Zaxcom about this. I started a thread in the users' group a couple of years ago. I will revive it. It would be enormously helpful to enter that informational data directly into the recorder so that a customized and complete sound report could be created without a computer. I think it would be relatively easy for them to accomplish and would be a great selling point. It would consume no processing power. Paul

Things have certainly gotten a lot quicker than that, Eric. My test file was 8 tracks @ 24/48. About 29 minutes long and it transferred in less than a minute. 30MB/sec transfer rate works out to about 1.8GB per minute. Mirroring takes longer of course, but since Fusion can mirror continuously while recording if necessary, the transferring from CF to a drive can go pretty quickly. I know things move glacially with deliverables and most of you are still delivering optical media, but I think the options are intriguing. Do a search on 8GB usb flash drive 2.0. Little keychain-size drives cost about $12.50 (less than production pays for a DVD-RAM disk). Transferring a typical day's audio onto one of these flash drives would take 5-10 minutes (about 10MB/sec or 0.6GB/minute). Anyway...blah, blah, blah. I'll give 'em whatever they want. They pay for the media; they pay for the time. Soon enough we will just upload it to a server. I already do this on some jobs. http://www.yousendit.com/how-it-works Paul

I don't know protocol regarding changing topic names vs. starting a new one. This refers to and builds on earlier posts in this topic, but the previous title is no longer accurate. Anyway, I ran a few tests transferring CF cards into my computer and got some surprising results. The gist is that the 266X Kingston card doesn't read any faster than the 133X Kingston card. The 133X Transcend card is a bit faster and, just to try all that I have, I also tested the untrustworthy Lexar Professional 133X card and that read way slower. Here are preliminary results: First of all, I used an ExpressCard/34 CF card adapter. I have an earlier generation MacBook Pro that has this slot and it is fast. This reader was really cheap and a worthwhile investment if you can use it. In fact, here's a link to the one I bought: http://www.amazon.com/CompactFlash-Adapter-Express-ExpressCard-Support/dp/B003XQS7RQ/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1286391302&sr=8-2-fkmr0 Anyway, transferring to my computer my results were: Kingston Elite Pro 133X 27MB/sec Kingston Ultimate 266X 27MB/sec Transcend 133X 30MB/sec Lexar Professional 133X 19MB/sec Using my computer, but transferring directly from ExpressCard/34 CF card adapter to bus-powered hard drive via FW400 my transfer speed with Transcend and Kingston cards was around 22MB/sec. Using my computer transferring directly from ExpressCard/34 CF card adapter my 1TB hard drive via FW800 my transfer speeds were: Kingston Elite Pro 133X 28MB/sec Kingston Ultimate 266X 30MB/sec Transcend 133X 31MB/sec Using a Sony USB 2.0 multi-card reader, the transfer speeds were much slower, around 9MB/sec directly to the computer and actually slightly faster, just over 10MB/sec direct to the FW400 drive.I don't have my other USB card reader as I lent it to a friend, so I don't know if they vary in speed. My bus-powered hard drives are all USB or FW400. My Conclusions: Presumably CF cards are rated by write speed, not read speed. Regardless, it is not worth the extra $50 to buy the 266X Kingston card vs. the 133X model. They read at about the same speed. It would be a good idea to get the SanDisk FW800 CF card reader as an option. The bottle neck seems to be the USB card reader much more than the card speed. Since my MacBook Pro has one FW800 connection and one FW400 connection, the ExpressCard/34 CF card adapter gives me added flexibility. If production provides a hard drive with FW800, my best option is to mirror continuously to CF on the Fusion, then transfer from ExpressCard/34 CF card adapter directly to FW800 drive and that should go pretty quickly.If I'm on a cart and they want DVD-RAM, then of course that is no problem. If I have to go over the shoulder only sometimes and it is a narrative project, the wait to catch up with DVD-RAM should be manageable. If I am over the shoulder a lot and they demand optical media, they will probably have to wait a bit for DVD-RAM depending on down time during the day. It might prove quicker to be mirroring continuously to CF and then burn a DVD-R at the end of the day. So many options. Paul Graff P.S. I've tried repeatedly to get rid of all the bracketed stuff, but it keeps reappearing. Hard to read, so sorry about that.

http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-133x-CompactFlash-Memory-TS32GCF133/dp/B0012Q2PD6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1286251811&sr=8-4 http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-CompactFlash-Memory-CF-32GB-S2/dp/B001ROVLX8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1286251756&sr=8-2 http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Ultimate-Compact-CF-32GB-U2/dp/B002RCQ0SU/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1286251845&sr=8-13 I used to go to newegg.com, but they seem to be thin just now. Didn't look anywhere else, but Amazon has them all. They are really getting cheap now. Under $70 for a good 32 GB card. I've had a Fusion for over 2 1/2 years and these cards all work great for long takes with lots of tracks. Haven't used Kingston that long, but my confidence is very high about them.

In MARF slot I now use Kingston Elite Pro 133X 32GB and in mirror slot I use Kingston Ultimate 266X 32GB for faster downloading. I also have and use Transcend 133X 32 GB that has worked perfectly for about 2 years in MARF slot. Many others use Transcend 133X cards in various sizes successfully, according to threads on the Deva users group over the years. I prefer to mirror to CF. I only mirror to DVD-RAM if I'm on a cart. If production wants audio on a hard drive, even a small bus-powered drive, I still mirror to CF and then transfer to the drive. It's so quick, uses less power, don't have to reformat their drive, etc. Only failure I ever had was with Lexar Professional 133X 8GB card, which I then tested in Sound Devices 702t and I got it to fail there also, so that's a bad card. Just my opinion, but fast cards have fancy, unnecessary features. Both the Kingston cards I mentioned use Single-Level Cell memory. The 133X card has a write speed well over ten times as fast I as can possibly use with Fusion at maximum capacity. Why use a 400X card? I just don't get it. This is an interesting read, imo: http://www.kingston.com/products/pdf_files/FlashMemGuide.pdf Paul

I'm a bit hesitant to reply since I don't use that brand of card, but I don't see why you would want a faster card. In my opinion a faster card is only of value in the mirror slot so that you can download it faster later. In primary slot I use 133x cards and I am fine rolling long takes of 12 tracks. The Sandisk extreme III CF advertises "30 MB/s Read/write speed". Since 12 tracks at 24 bits is around 1.65MB/second by my calculations it seems plenty fast enough for the primary slot. If you want faster read speeds, that is different. As long as my card's read speed is as fast as the speed of the card reader I am using, any additional speed is unnecessary. I find the superfast cards are not SLC, but MLC. SLC is more important to me. I'll take reliability over speed; especially speed I'll never use. I acknowledge I didn't reply to your question, but I hope it was useful. Paul

Your reply was perfect; cordial, brief, professional...with just a light touch of sarcasm. I dug it. PG

I've been catching up on my jwsound and read this great thread. I'm also in the market for a good, flexible VOG system which can also serve for lighter playback situations. I've used a power amp and speakers system for playback simply because I've owned a nice system for many years from previous musical pursuits. It is powerful, but certainly way less flexible and more cumbersome than powered speakers. I have a couple of requests for feedback from the group. Obviously an AC-only speaker like the EON gives you a lot more bang for the buck compared to one with built-in battery power. While AC is nearly always available, do you Anchor owners find that it is a major advantage to not have to use it? Does it also sometimes allow you to avoid dealing with ground loop hums even when AC is available? The ability to avoid potentially noisy AC seems like a nice advantage. Also, like Kevin mentioned, I am intrigued by the Carvin Stagemate S400 as an alternative to Anchor Liberty. Nice size, rugged, 4 inputs with EQ, etc. Battery playback time is much less than the Anchor Liberty, but they sell an additional battery you can easily install to double it (from "up to" 3 hours to 6 hours). I'm guessing we would get pretty good use time as VOG, as it would tax the battery much less than a four-piece musical combo. Price is $429 and $36 for extra lead acid battery. Does anyone use one or know someone who does? As far as wireless I am contemplating using a Lectro VHF system. I can get two systems for a good price with UH187 plug-on as well as bodypacks. Useful for VOG and other purposes with bodypacks, such as intradepartmental communication. I really like George's solution, but if I can put this in VHF and get another thing out of UHF frequencies, that is appealling. Plus, two systems for less than George's Sennheiser system. Of course, it is VHF and non-diversity, but for the purposes I want it for perhaps that is okay. It would not be used for anything recorded. Last note: I get what Glen Trew says about push-to-talk, but an easy slider switch like Sennheiser e825S seems like a nice option. Easy to slide on and off. I suspect true push-to-talk might get tiring sometimes. But it would never get left on. Just read Steve's post after pasting this in. I have a lot of IFB's (receivers and various transmitters in Bl. 27) so I am intrigued by that. To get away from the bodypack perhaps a used UH400 in IFB mode straight to an R1a. Wonder how that would work for range? The Sound Projections system sounds awesome. A reminder that you get what you pay for. Also that you need to decide how big a crowd you need to be able to handle. A lot of thinking aloud, but this is where I am at so far. What y'all think? Paul

verrry niiice!! Sure made me smile.

The pro stores are in North Hollywood for the product lines you mention. I live in Santa Monica now and it is definitely a trek to go to the valley. If I had to go there frequently it would really be a problem. I certainly don't swing by as often as I used to to when I lived closer. I don't make a point of renting gear, but a few of us who live over here will help each other out if we need something extra (slate, Comteks, wireless) on short notice for a day or two and don't want to drive 50 miles to rent it and THEN to return it. It's just not practical or often feasible. I don't even know if that is what you are getting at, but it's nice to get to know some mixers who live close by when you live far away from LSC/Coffey/Audio Dept/Wilcox, etc. Your subject line says Hollywood. Good to know what is available at Hollywood Sound, Ametron, Pacific Radio and other places for emergencies or the odd need, but no pro location film/TV-oriented sound places there or on the west side. PG

Great idea putting the transmitter upside down. That might help. Like Scott, I have gone to all MM400 transmitters and have no issues with moisture. Don't miss the UM or SM at all. The vamp clip is most secure, but Trams and Sonotrims will sweat out and fail, in my experience. They usually come back to life when dried out, but that is not a solution until you've swapped out the lav. I might try Gorilla tape to the jersey to secure below the vamp clip or even over the head of the mic with a B6 and the sound comes through the jersey. Gorilla tape stays sticky through moisture like nothing else. If you do this and secure with tape around the neckline and wire down the back to a snug Neopax that might last as long as anything. Back before Neopax were invented and I was doing a workout show with rented UM200 transmitters in condoms I bought the sports pouches from this place: http://www.avnow.com/Sports_Pouches_s/35.htm I went to a tailor and had them modified to remove the Fastex buckles and replace it with Velcro to make them lower profile. These are made for aerobics instructors. Now I use MM440 transmitters with B6 lavs and have had no moisture problems in years. I understand your goal is to make it work with the equipment you already own, so hopefully this will help. Also, on "Running the Sahara" we had Champion modify their clothing with built in pouches for the transmitter and channel through which to thread the lav, so that might be an option, at least for the lav. In our case the guys were constantly adding and removing layers of clothing, so we went to having the lav/tx built into their Camelback which they alway wore over whatever clothes they had on. Sewn-in place for the lav would probably be the best. Good luck. PG

Ahhh...I just saw that you immortalized my original post before I modified it to make the last sentence a bit more gentle. Oh well...

Hi Zack, I figured I would answer one of the questions you sent me today in a thread instead of another private message so it is part of the archive. You mentioned not being able to see output meter screen when recording. One great thing about Fusion/Deva is that you can assign anything you want to the home screen meters. I have the Fusion 12 and since I rarely/never use twelve inputs, I have extra meters beyond the channels I am using for pre-fader input levels or outputs. Go to Meters page and touch Meter Assigns and you can assign each main screen meter to display what you want. Normal is the Disk Bus of that channel, or you can choose any analog input, any digital input, or any output. I find this to be very handy if you are sending a feed to a camera to watch those two outputs or to monitor a pre-fader input level if the disk bus is post-fader and you want to see both. It is really great, and unique compared to what is possible with metering on other recorders I have used. Paul

Hi Dan, Yes, that's correct; sticky to the shirt with mic facing in. Like you say, it depends on many things; anatomy, material, how open the shirt is, etc. I've cut a hole in the Stickie before, but actually not in quite a while. Like everything in our world, if it doesn't sound good I try something else. These are not flat-head mics (like a Tram or EMW), so the in vs. out is not very pronounced, in my opinion. The head of the mic is oriented about the same whether taped to skin or to clothing. I usually try to tape to clothing if possible, especially in documentary situations with non-actors, but the skin is always an option. Great point with having the adhesive remover available. PG

I have had great luck with this lately (although I have never thought of fur as particularly "fun"). I use Rycote Overcovers with the fur of the Overcover facing the chest hair. The dissipation of the chest hair noise is truly remarkable. This technique works great with B6 or with COS-11 with button-up shirts, polo-style shirts, or T-shirts with some sort of logo that hides where the Overcover is attached to the shirt. With a thin or plain T-shirt it will be visible and taping on the rib of the shirt (better with V-neck than crew-neck) or using a mic-bra type arrangement will work better. I prefer whenever possible to have the wire go down the back (some moleskin to the plate of the shirt over first inch or two after the Overcover), but sometimes it works better to have the wire go under the "breast" and down the side. Two reasons not to go wire down the front are 1) chest hair noise on the the wire. B6 is quite microphonic close to the head of the mic. 2) I'm a big fan of strain relief. Wire is less likely to get pulled and fall if it goes down the back (tacked in a couple of places). Also, the more naturally the wire rides, the less likely it will be visible. Anyway, give it a try. Truly a case of paying it forward, because, if you are like me, you will love this technique. Think I got it from Von or Dennis years ago when I day-played utility on House. Undercovers are worthless, by the way (in my opinion), but the Overcovers are great for this AND for wind protection. Another thing people do is have the talent wear a "wifebeater"(hate that term)-style undershirt and mic-ing on that and under the hero shirt. Good luck! Paul Graff

No problem with pro line level to camera. I not only monitored return (on days when I didn't run multi-track), but listened back to many takes with levels peaking -8 to -6 dBFS and they sounded fine. This is the first Canon I've encountered that seems to have decent audio. Anemic headphone amp, of course, but that is par for the course (i.e. normal). DP really likes it. I expect it will be pretty popular (around $8000), but there are soooo many cameras out there these days. PG

Shooting promo webisodes for a Disney movie on this today, so I thought I'd let y'all know the deal while I wait for talent. Basically, the good news is that it is straightforward like a Panasonic of this size (e.g. HVX-200). XLR inputs, external line/mic switch, manual/auto switch, level wheels. Level meter with legend (dB numbers) in LCD window on side of camera; not just in the viewfinder, which is nice. Unique feature is level wheels can lock, so you don't have to tape them down. Not much to say. Definitely an improvement over Canon's old video cameras (whichsets the bar low). Perfectly servicable camera. And accepts external time code on a BNC and can jam. That's all. Paul Graff

I disagree about the Portabrace AO-4. I think it is the perfect bag for the Fusion. No pressure on DB-25 if you use the one with the 45 degree angle. The one provided by Zaxcom is useless in a bag anyway, imo. It weighs a ton and each XLR is 3 feet long. In fact I find the design of the bag protects the DB-25 perfectly. I keep the NP batts in either side and they are easily accessed and changed. The only modification required is a bit of melting with a retired soldering iron to make sure there is no pressure on the time code lemo. Here's a picture from a previous thread on this subject. I don't really use the Fusion with that many wireless, but it shows the layout in the bag and potential capacity. http://jwsound.net/SMF/index.php?topic=4654.msg46446#msg46446 Paul Graff

Very nice. Put a smile on my face. I want to know what was in that "joint" to make it burn so well and with such consistently prominent smoke. In my distant memory I recall them always going out if not...uhhh...tended to. Great job! Paul

By the way, for those not familiar with this forum, this Glenn is Glenn Sanders, the President of Zaxcom. Paul Graff

I have always used two vertical antennas on the Stereo ENG receiver. I have never experienced a "hit" in over five years of use. I have walked far from the camera op to test range sometimes before we roll, but the range is so much greater than I have ever needed while shooting (and consistently greater than the range of talent wireless) that it has not been an issue. Since I use Lectro systems on talent and Zaxcom as a camera hop, there is never a question as to where the range issue originated. If the camera operator hears a "hit", he knows that I heard it too, since Zaxcoms don't take "hits". With Zaxcom wireless it is either perfect or quite obviously muted. Thanks for the interesting information Billy and others regarding the logic behind putting one antenna horizontal. Paul

Hi Justin, While it does not sound like the source of your problem, fyi there is an intermittant bug with slate and camera return trim levels. Per Deva users group just recently, the cause has been found and a fix is imminent. I have this bug sometimes and it is just that the levels do not stay where they were when you reboot although it reads that they are until you adjust them, then it corrects.. Sounds to me like you need to pad the return if camera trim attenuation is insufficient. -Paul Graff

These containers are great for Bongo Ties, Lasso ties, the big canopy ties that go around set rugs, etc. The ones I use are called Viewtainer and they are perfect. as Jan sez, "it's the little things"! Paul

I've done this with no problem many times. One of Fusion's many outputs to one side of STA-100 and timecode to the other side. Use meter on TRX-900 and trims to set tc level. STA likes line input, so I don't recall having to pad it, but a switchable barrel would handle that if necc. Just make sure post knows how to deal with tc on an audio track. One thing to note is little Panasonic cameras have only stereo jack, so camera op will have to use stereo buds and snip off the one with time code and listen to the other. I use redundant RX900S on both cameras when I've done this. You mention using a tc slate with other camera, so i'm not clear why you would not just slate both cameras. Anyway, have a good shoot. PG

In my opinion, here's the deal. In any negotiation, you have to be willing to walk away or you have no power. And you have to be willing to lie peacefully in the bed you make. No whining once the "ink is dry." If you think you will be bitter or resentful on the day, then it is best to say no. There is no greater recipe for resentment than a flat rate. There has to be some incentive to stop shooting; some incentive to make a plan to get it done in X number of hours or pay the price. Flat rates lead to very inefficient productions. And a very grumpy crew. Jan's quote is gold. She wrote, "Only when you decline to play at that level will you rise to the next." I would add that people respect you when you stand up for yourself, because that's what professionals do. You will lose some jobs, it's true. But you will be surprised how often you don't and they come back to you. The other thing I always consider is opportunity cost. Countless, countless times I have turned down a bad job and then been available when a good one turned up. There is a cost to being tied up on something you wish you weren't on. There's also a cost to bailing on the low-rate job when something better comes along. I've known mixers who make this their practice: say yes to everything and then bail when a better offer shows up. In my opinion, this is a dangerous game and you can burn some bridges, but it is not cut and dried. Everyone must find their own comfort level with this. I always want to find someone good to replace me on those rare occasions when it is necessary, and obviously it is hard to find a replacement when you've made a bad deal. Something to consider. Anyway, I feel your pain and wish you luck. I urge you to continue to separate your "rate", which is labor and subject to overtime, and equipment rental, which actually IS a flat. Another thing that happens on ENG jobs is producers will directly compare your rate (WITH gear) to the camera operator's rate (which is without gear) and say such things as "I'm paying you more than my camera guy!" Grrr. Be strong in 2010! Don't let recessionary rates become the new normal. Okay, enough with the rallying cries. Paul