josephduemig

My condolences, Jeff. He made a great impact during his life and was an inspiration to so many, especially in this community.

Congrats, Tom! Super cool of you to throw nods to your team up on stage.

It's a shame that "Location tracking engineers" have so saturated the industry that the post folks have learned to trust the "boom" track over and above the "mix" track, which in my way of understanding it is the location mixer's way of saying to the post people, "Here, use this. I was specifically hired to save you time by giving you a single track that sounds the most like a movie/show." Anyone worth their salt as a "mixer" on set should be knowledgeable enough about the physics of sound to take phase issues into account when forming a course of action for recording a scene. What Erik and I find ourselves lamenting the most on set is the pervasive lack of preplanning. We've worked on so many shows lately where the powers that be (Director, AD team, DP even!) are kind of making up the coverage as they go along, with barely a shred of actual vision or purpose for the scene. We try to ask, "Okay, y'all, how do you envision the scene playing out on screen? Are we mostly going to live in the wide? Are we wanting the audience to feel close with the characters or as if they're watching from a distance? What other sounds do you envision populating and enhancing the world of this scene?" etc. etc. And the worst possible (and more common) answer we get is, "I don't know. We'll figure it out in post." When I boom, I listen to the full mix, because the mic I'm operating is often just one in an array of mics capturing a scene. I think of it like recording a live jazz band in a studio: Sometimes you can place one mic in the room and capture all the players in a good mix achieved through the skill of the musicians and the thoughtful placement of the instruments in the room relative to the mic. Other times you just can't hear a quieter instrument over the horns and the drums, and so you decide to use a ton of mics on each instrument individually, making sure that they are not out of phase with each other, and create a solid mix at the mixing board. Either way, you have to have an idea about how you want the music to sound in the end. If you don't, you're ceding your creative control of the sound to someone else. And 99 times out of 100, that someone else has a very different definition of "good sound" than your own. If you have no pride in your work and you're just doing it to get paid, well...fine. I just wouldn't exactly feel like a bastion of integrity if I charged what I charge and then provided little more than a haphazard mess of (possibly out of phase) tracks for some poor schmuck in post to clean up (or worse, NOT clean up). I've learned to no longer be unilaterally averse to using lavs frequently, because the reality is that we have to use them pretty frequently with the way folks are shooting. And I've learned to assess a scene, form a course of action, and stick to it. If we decide the boom won't work for a shot (a big wide or a scene with lots of reflections, for example), we don't waste it recording an unusable track of far-off dialog. We find a place to position it so that it can record some nice clean, quiet air to give the scene a sense of space and rely on the lavs as our primary means of recording the dialog. Regardless of the strategy, the role of the production sound mixer must be an active roll on set. As active as the boom op's roll. To hire someone who merely slaps lavs on everyone and records only isos is a waste of money. Any PA or camera intern could do that with barely a half hour of instruction.

I use a pole with a coiled internal cable. I have found this to be the most convenient for extending and retracting my pole quickly without having to think about it. Whenever extending one of the sections, I always make sure to leave just a little slack at the end (extend to just below maximum extension) so as to cut down on internal cable noise. I plug an HM transmitter to the bottom of my pole, which acts as a nice counterweight. I like not being tethered to my pole or the mixer. The freedom this setup gives me to quickly and easily set down my pole to transition into micing actors or setting up plants etc. is invaluable. I've never been bothered by the weight of the pole. My Ktek is pretty lightweight as is, even at full extension. Having to mess with an external cable is much more frustrating to me than holding an extra few ounces.

Apologies for the repeat thread, Senator. I figured since we're here now and lookin to catch some of y'all for beers sometime this week it belonged in the "Current" section (as opposed to the Avail for Work section, where Erik posted a thread before our trip)

Hey y'all! My twin brother, Erik, and I are in Los Angeles until July 17. For those who don't know us, we're union sound guys based in Austin, Texas (Erik is a mixer, I'm a boom operator). Would love to grab some beers and talk shop with some fellow sound folk while we're out here. We have our car, so we can get wherever we need to go. Shoot me a text/call: 512.809.1464 We're pretty free all this week. Cheers y'all, - Joseph and Erik Duemig Twin Sound

Oh yes, and you did a wonderful job on that recording, Ty! Loved the shout out to Austin, TX in the song!

I agree, that probably would've worked out a bit better for reigning in that resonator and bringing her guitar up some more. To be perfectly honest, though, she isn't much of a guitarist. The band dynamic is such that she's considered sort of a "lead singer who happens to play guitar" and he's more the "guitarist who sings backup vocals sometimes" - it's not as much an even split duo. I felt the touch of brightness her guitar added to the overall mix of the song was aesthetically pleasing and not wise to bring up to high in the mix, but admittedly it does sit pretty darn low in there. I could've stood at least a little bit more of her guitar. If I'd have had my CMC6-41 back then I definitely would've used that. Would've had a better polar pattern for the situation and also would've been able to get closer, as the mic body is so much smaller. That being said, I'm still pretty happy with what I got.

Funny enough I just bought a CMC6-41 a week after I finished this gig! My original plan was to use my Oktava MK012, which at the time was the only cardioid mic I had with me. But with the Oktava the resonator guitar drowned out her Martin almost completely, and the vocals didn't peak out as well over the guitars. A super/hyper like the 41 would've probably done the best job, but ya gotta use what you've got.

At the beginning of February, I went out to Marfa, TX with a two-piece band called The Wind and the Wave to record a series of acoustic videos to be released on their Youtube channel as they roll out the release of their new debut record on RCA Records. I recorded the song in the above video in a very small vintage trailer with only one mic: a CMIT-5u positioned on a fishpole holder above the band, slightly closer to the girl than the guy (picture provided). She was quieter than he, and his Fender resonator guitar was significantly louder than her Martin. With this positioning of the mic, I was able to bring the Martin out in front a bit more, highlighting its brightness, while simultaneously naturally attenuating the resonator guitar and giving it a nice warmth (it was about 35 degrees off-axis, which on a CMIT doesn't color the sound too intensely). This mic placement also helped to bring out the girl's voice, which was pretty quiet, as the verse of this song reaches down into the low extremities of her vocal range. There's something special to me about recording music with only one microphone. The performance happens the way it happens, and the recording is true to that and can't be altered or remixed effectively. The rawness that this approach produces lends a degree of authenticity to bands like The Wind and the Wave, who tend to spend too much time on their studio recordings polishing away all of the aspects of their music that give it life in my ears. This was a super fun project and wanted to share it with all y'all fine folk here on JW. Enjoy!

Doing some car riggin' today! Got some moving car shots on a hostess tray. No process trailer or tow rig - just two actors driving the thing with the windows down. Got a CMC6-41 rigged to the center console with a zep/dead cat globe on it. Transmitting to our 664 in the trunk. Got the comtek antenna all rigged up to transmit the audio to the director in a follow car (my mixer, pictured, is in the follow car as well, listening to our own T4 IFB feed via an R1a). Been a fun day on set in Elgin, TX!

Very sad news. Bummed I never got the chance to meet him. Such an incredible talent.

My twin brother and I will be coming up from Austin!

+1 There's no job in the world I'd rather have! My girlfriend works a full time job as a preschool teacher and still has to have a second job as a hostess at a classy restaurant to make ends meet. We're both musicians (in different bands), and it's a cruel reality that she has so much less time to devote to creative endeavors than I do.

And of course, I forgot the most important of all: FRANKLIN BBQ - probably the best BBQ in the world. It's a bit of an ordeal though. People line up outside the door two hours before it opens. They are open Tues-Sun from 11 AM until the meat runs out, which is about 1,000 pounds of meat, give or take. I've never seen them open past 2 PM. It's a level of good you didn't know existed until you taste it. Trust me, it's worth the 3-hour wait.

Not sure if your friend is still in town, but... 1.) SWAY - Thai Fusion. The executive chef there, Renee Ortiz, is a genius. Every item on the menu is spectacular, I recommend the Tiger Cry or the Jungle Curry. Also, the Jasmine Tea Panna Cotta there is probably the single best dessert I've ever tasted in my life, and I'm not much for sweets! 2.) Papi Tino's - Mexican/Interior Mexican. A super-Austiny find. Wonderful food, extensive mescal menu, authentic Austin ambience right on East 6th (a trendy bar district) 3.) 24 Diner - Superb food. Most of their ingredients are Farm-to-Table. I recommend the Bacon Avocado Burger, the Chicken and Waffles, or the 24 Hash. 4.) Spider House - Coffee shop / patio bar. Probably the most quintessentially Austin coffee/drink joint, and recently they updated their menu to include a wealth of tasty sandwiches. 5.) Whip In - part Indian Restaurant, part Beer Bar (with 72 beers on tap, most of which are local to the Austin area), part Wine Bar, part liquor store, part live music venue. It's got it all. 6.) The Liberty - A bar on East Sxith where a bunch of G&E, Camera, and Sound dudes I know around town like to hang out. Plus there's an East Side King's (awesome asian fusion food truck started by legendary chef Paul Qui) in the backyard! 7.) For vegetarians: Bouldin Creek Cafe, Veggie Heaven, Counter Culture, Arlo's Food Truck @ Cheer Up Charlie's +1 to pretty much all of CJackson's recommendations

+1 to John's post about buying along a curve. It really depends on what kind of gigs you expect to find yourself working over the next couple of years. If you're looking to buy a longer pole than your KEG-88, I'd personally recommend against going aluminum; the longer pole length and the heavier material combined will make for a significant increase in strain on your muscles. You really begin to appreciate a lighter pole when takes run long. An aluminum pole doesn't feel that much heavier than a carbon fiber or graphite one at first, but see how heavy that thing feels toward the end of a 12-minute take. ;]

+1 on RVD and John's comments. Boom results also depend heavily on the type of shock mount you get and the type of mic you're using. I use a K-Tek K152CCR 12-foot carbon fiber boom as my primary and then we have a second K-tek KEG-100 CCR 9-foot graphite boom as our backup/travel/second boom.

Great thread, Hari! It's a tough question to answer, as we're all constantly learning. Every situation is different and presents us with unique challenges that may require us to bend our perspective. It'd be difficult for anyone I think to pinpoint a single epiphany moment where he/she suddenly realizes, "Hey! It works better if I do it this way!" because, come the next gig, that way won't work as well, and he/she will have to find a new way of doing things. But for the sake of the thread, I can offer a few milestone moments from my personal path: 1.) On the first film set I ever worked on I was a Sound Utility under a guy named Nick Ray Harris. There were several opportunities throughout the day to get creative with plant mics, and he let me set up all of them and even give suggestions of where and how to place them (some were good suggestions, others weren't the best). Mic placement was fun, challenging, and fascinating to me, and I think that may be why I gravitated toward boom operation. 2.) About a year into my career post-college, I got a call (I still don't know who referred me or how they got my name) to boom op on an LA indie feature that was coming to Austin. Up to that point I had almost exclusively worked as boom op for my twin brother, Erik, who is the mixer of the family. Working with a new mixer (in this case, a lovely lady by the name of Jessie Marek) was an incredible learning experience. She had been a boom operator for many years and taught me some great tricks, but I also soaked in everything I could about mixing so I could go home and relay my experiences to Erik so he could grow as a mixer too. 3.) Just this year I visited Los Angeles for the first time. Going in, I was almost certain I was going to hate it. I'd heard more bad reviews of the city than good ones, and many accounts suggested to me that LA would differ from Austin in some of the most important ways: authenticity, friendliness of the people, etc.. But to my surprise, I fell in love with the city almost immediately, and my love for it only grew as I began to dip my toes into the Production Sound community there. I visited Coffee Sound, and Glen Trew happened to be there that day. Erik and I were curious about cardioid and hyper-cardioid mics to use indoors in lieu of the not-always-perfect-for-the-job MKH-416. Glen proceeded to get out a bunch of mics and lead a mic comparison for us right there in the store! The rental manager there, Ryan, was also incredibly friendly and helpful. We ended up running into him again about a week later when we went to the Parade of Sound Carts. He pointed out Mark Ulano to us (we didn't know what Mark looked like), which was pretty crazy because we hadn't seen his name on the list of expected guests and he's been somewhat of an idol of mine and Erik's for some time. Getting to meet Mark and to meet Jeff W. in person and all the other guys there was pretty surreal, and it changed something in me. It gave me a sense of proximity to the big leagues, so to speak. I no longer felt like the LA circle of soundies that work on the big shows were in a separate, exclusive circle from my own. We're all in the same circle, and it took being there in person and shaking hands with Mark Ulano and chatting casually with Ryan Coomer to realize that. I will certainly be visiting LA much more often from now on. Hoping to go in mid July for Outfest - the first feature Erik and I ever worked on is finally having its USA premier there after years of being stuck in post.

Haven't checked out the 8060 yet. Did an A/B comparison of the 8050 and the 8040 with Glen at Coffey Sound in LA a couple weeks ago. Liked the 8040 better. It sounded warmer and had less dig on the vocals, which is very different from my 416 and thus exactly what I was looking for. Probably not going to purchase a hyper myself anytime soon, as my Oktava MK012 works just fine as an indoor/small room mic, but it was definitely a fun and eye-opening experiment to do.

Sounds to me like what you'd need to round out your microphone arsenal is a cardioid/hypercardioid/supercardioid. In small rooms, especially ones with lots of reflective surfaces like kitchens or bathrooms, interference tube microphones (cs3e, BP4073, MKH416) can be tough to control, since going even slightly off-axis will begin to color the sound. Cardiod/hypercardiod/supercardiod mics have a wider cone of response, so it's more forgiving when working in small rooms, splitting between two characters' dialogue, etc. If you're doing a lot of one-man-band type of stuff, where you are unable to put your full attention into booming, a wider mic can be a life-saver. There are plenty of different mics you could go with; it all depends on what sounds good to you. The other week I was on a gig where we were shooting in a small room, and my 416 sounded wonky. I whipped out an Oktava MK012 (cardioid capsule, no filter) that I've had since my music recording days, and it worked great! The Sennheiser 8040/8050 are awesome mics for this type of situation, as are the regular MKH 40 and MKH 50. Personally I like the 40 better. I'm not as much a fan of the MKH 60, it just sounds too thin to me overall. But everyone's got their own preferences about mic sound, so bottom line it's really up to you and what you think gives you the best sound.

I have one of the lyre shock mounts. It works fantastically for pretty much anything. I've used it for shotguns and cardioids/hypers (put an Oktava MK012 in there on a gig two weeks ago). Haven't tried the INV mounts, so I can't say if the lyre mount is worth the extra dough, but I sure like it.

Such a fun event! Definitely going again next year if I can!

On any set, my brother and I make it a habit to establish a good professional rapport with the A.D. as early as possible. Making sure the A.D. is always updated on sound's needs is the best way to avoid issues ahead of time. If there's too much talking/movement/bustle while the take is being set up, I usually just make sure to let the A.D. know that I'll need silence in order to finish ridding the set of noise issues for that particular location/setup. The key here is not to ask for it, because then the A.D. can say "no." Tell him/her it's necessary as if it's unavoidable, but choose your words in such a way that it emphasizes that you'll be able to fix any problems quickly rather than on the fact that you simply can't fix all the problems now. Example: "Hey, [A.D.'s name]. We've got almost all the sound issues here taken care of, but in order to finish the job we'll need complete silence. We can't hear some of the low-level noise issues because of the camera's fan. We should only need 30 to 90 seconds of complete silence to identify any remaining issues and fix them. If you could grant us those few seconds after camera starts rolling on Take 1 to listen to the space, fix any stray issues, and call "Sound set," we'll be able to give y'all a much better product. Thanks so much." Obviously, this tactic only works if you know what kind of noise issues you'll need to listen for during your brief silence and how to eliminate them quickly. Make sure to give the A.D. an honest and accurate amount of time you'll need to fix the problems: if you give yourself too short a time, you'll be scrambling and make yourself look bad; too much time and you'll risk the A.D. questioning/vetoing your request. I've found that saying "30 to 90 seconds" rather than "a minute or two" works better most of the time. You can eek out a bit more time for yourself that way without scaring the A.D. - They like to deal in seconds of lost time rather than minutes and will be more willing to grant you enough time to get the job done if presented to them that way. It's good to set the precedent early that moments of silence are part of the setup, just as much as adjusting the lights or getting last looks on actors. That way, the A.D. is not surprised when you call out "Hold for sound set" and fix the last remaining sound issues. It's my personal opinion that if camera guys can say "hold for set" during go time, then so can sound guys. When it comes down to it, we're all working together to not waste takes and make a good product.