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Joshua Anderson

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Everything posted by Joshua Anderson

  1. Thanks! And Thanks, Larry. I'll send you an email. But if there's a limited supply, maybe send them to BAB. I've been making do and don't want to piggy back on BAB's question about them. Josh
  2. Sorry to respond so late - been on a TV show with night shoots, and my wife gave birth to our first kid six weeks ago. So, I haven't been as up to date on the forum or sleep lately. Glad you got your answer, BAB. Larry, they are removing themselves. But I bought my antennas in 2008 and they're going on their 6th season of episodic work. Except for walkaways, I take the antennas off their masts each night (or morning on this job). I then strap them under a bungee on the cart. Yes, the nuts are working themselves out (usually, the screw stays in place and I find a wandering nut on my cart), but it's been a lot of wear by the user, too. I'm not going to change my antenna orientation, so I might just put lock tight in. If I get around to it. Thanks, Josh
  3. Everyone else just wears their flair, while it's part of that department's job description.
  4. In NY, video assist is in the same local (52) as sound, grip, eclectic, prop and set medic. If the production doesn't want a video playback person, it is typically understood that there should be no playback on set except for "gate" checks and focus checks (by 1st AC). If 600 members are being asked to playback camera footage for performance or outside of those limitations, there can be an issue between the two locals. The people caught in the middle, unfortunately, are the 600 ACs. I was a film a few years ago where the production did not want to hire a video playback. The director, DP, and main actor (different people), as well as producers, put the ACs in a precarious situation. One of our ACs was hesitant to go along because they had been fined in the past for something similar (basically, 52 fines them via 600). In the end, we had a DP who was "filming" the takes live with his iPhone while and playing that back later. If production isn't hiring a video assist, I wouldn't get involved in providing sound to a makeshift circumvention. If they are hiring one, what's wrong with a simple cable (you get video, they get sound arrangement)? Josh
  5. You're preaching to the choir. All part of the negotiations we're privy to when the locations department hasn't locked down all of the noise makers.
  6. I've had restaurant owners who voice concern about damaging a refrigerator if turning it off with the breaker. I've also been in restaurants that were old enough that no one can find the correct breaker box in the midst of all of the old wiring.
  7. Joshua Anderson

    Welder?

    If you type "Michael Mir" into the search bar at the top of this page, place and click your curser on "Google", a drop down menu will appear where you can select "Members." Don't forget to click on the magnifying glass icon to execute the search. This will allow you to search the string "Michael Mir" in the list of members. Michael Miramontes' ID will be the only one that comes up. You won't miss it.
  8. Yes, designating a damage as wear and tear will most likely not lead to production covering the cost of repair. But if there's a certain incident that caused the damage, it will usually be covered....
  9. You still sleep in camo sheets?
  10. When i was starting out, I turned down 2 out-of-country low budget movies - one in Guyana and one in Morocco. Morocco sounded very nice, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed to me that I'd probably be doing laundry and resting on my 1 day off from work (I think they wanted to shoot 6 day weeks, of course) and wouldn't really get to see the place. A working vacation is still work and not much of a vacation.
  11. I would think that less stuff in the hole might be better for a seal. A grommet would be good to protect things from scratching on the inside of the hole (if you had cables running through), but might leave too many pockets to miss when sealing with epoxy. I used to keep zeppelins in large PVC pipe cases without the mounts. The pipes were lined with foam, so they were large in diameter. The downside of the PVC pipe case is its ease at rolling away from you when you're not expecting it.
  12. Twice?! I think I'd start setting up cones at this point. Or maybe keep the carts further from the water. Drilling a hole will give you a more secure hold. Try filling with epoxy to keep the water out.
  13. New ad lib dialogue added: "Back to one....Reset...Don't cut...keep rolling."
  14. Hi Mike, I've been on the same (but very slow) mission as you. I have a PowerMax on my cart and have spoken to Ron at PSC. He's pretty confident that the LiFePo batts would work fine (charging and discharging). I linked him to the batteryspace.com page for 12v versions (which I think I got from a post that Jeff W. made). However, the people at batteryspace were a little more hesitant. I can understand where they're coming from (we're using this for a different application than it was intended). I didn't mean to ask them if they thought it would work, I was inquiring with them about alternatives in battery dimensions so it would fit in my cart. So that's where my journey has stalled out at the moment. So...I wanted to say I think you're probably on the right path. And I wanted to post so I can easily find this page again so I can follow your progress. Josh
  15. The "that's complicated" quote is pretty disturbing. There aren't too many ways to split hairs when determining if you had permission to be on the tracks or not.
  16. This is a great idea. In these situations, I've given out the comteks tuned to include the music to camera operators and dolly grips so moves and adjustments are "in sync", but giving it to all who are surrounding the talent is a good idea to put everyone in the same boat. This reminds me of when I did a pilot last spring. There was a scene where a car was to drive by, playing a song on the radio. An actress in the 4 person walk and talk was supposed to hear the song and dance a little bit to it. In the script, the dialogue seemed to take a pause while she did the dance. I initially wanted to use an ear wig, but was hearing from the director that he didn't think it was necessary (actually, at one point there was an idea of putting a speaker in the car so the music would sound on set as if it was coming from the car). We planned all sorts of ways to work the music while giving the director what he wanted. When we finished with the blocking and piled into a Chinese take out restaurant to wire up the actors, the discussion between the actors and director turned into how to time the song, dancing and dialogue and still protect the lines. At that point, the ear wig was back on the table and we were able to go with it and everyone was happy with the result. But it took letting the director come to that idea himself to get it done. Funny games of trust and protocol we play sometimes. Josh
  17. I use to do PVC pipe with caps. Protects the blimps but takes something that weighed next to nothing and made a large, heavy and cumbersome piece. I would also take the mount out to fit in the pipe (which I lined with foam). I think Robert and Jan have made pipe cases with a cut out slit for the mount to stay attached. I've since gotten rid of my PVC pipe cases and use wooden boxes.
  18. I'm going to assume that when you're talking about motivation, you mean the motivation to take a job or not. I think of that as different than the motivation one might have once they are on the job. I'm taking (with even more assumptions) that "afewmoreyears" is jumping to the conclusion that you're lazy on set. To me, it sounds like you're in demand, so you must be doing a pretty good job but are questioning "what does it all mean" and "what am I doing with my life" on the days that you are not working. A tough breakup will, of course, do that, just like any big life event. Sometimes people in the film community dive head first into work to get away from those events. Some people start to look at what's the point in making "the stuff between the commercials" or even the (99% of the time) unartistic commercials. Those are healthy questions. Sometimes I might be on a project that I don't think is that great (or maybe a show that I couldn't see myself watching in my spare time). But I end up finding enjoyment in the set community and in the technical challenges. And, honestly, every time I wish I worked on my favorite TV shows or movies, I also have to ask myself if working on it would take away the "magic" for me as a viewer. I think Jay Rose is absolutely correct about the need to find an understanding partner. I feel lucky, but I know it's a challenge for me and my wife. My work schedule can go from "oh my god, when is my next job coming" for a few weeks to 60-70 hours per week for 7-9 months. Some partners just don't get it right away. But a lot of partners adjust and adapt. Just like you might start to adjust and adapt in the types of jobs you decide to take (maybe to spend more time at home). Your post sounds like you're still reeling from a bad breakup and how your job choices affect your relationships. The business is tough on relationships. There are a lot of divorced sound mixers out there. You might want to consider talking to some professionals. i think as far as friendly sound mixer advice, I'd suggest building on your hobbies: Are you still working on musical compositions? Stay with the workout, but explore other activities (rock climbing, yoga). Enjoy life away from set and take those experiences with you to the job. One thing that I try to keep in mind is how long does the merry go round keep spinning for us. There's technological changes, local economies, but also, how many times will I get hired after I'm 60 to push a sound cart through the streets on little mini-moves. It's good to keep your eye on how you might get out of the business or survive retirement while still being motivated to do a good job at work. Just my random thoughts on it... Josh
  19. Digital Mixers. Analog mixers are a bit more immune, provided you're keeping up to date on routing and output needs. Basically, anything with a computer is on the clock towards obsolescence. Josh
  20. On the PowerMax, pin 4 is 12v, pin 3 is either 15v or 18v (depending on an internal switch).
  21. Thanks Ben! I think you're right. Greg Sextro PM'd me yesterday and we tried figuring it out at the hardware store, settling on 6-32 bolts as well. Trying them tomorrow. Out of the 12 screws on my 3 shark fins, I might need to use almost all of the 10 pack I bought. I'm not really sure how the antennas are still holding together, but I'm glad I happened to look up at them the other day. Josh
  22. Hi Ben, Sorry for the confusion. I'm looking for the bolts that attach the mounting block to the antenna itself. They are made to unscrew, so you can reposition the mounting block for different ways to orient the antenna. But some of mine have fallen off from use. Thanks, Josh
  23. Hi all, I left set yesterday without measuring the nuts and bolts that secure the mounting block on the bottom of my ALP 620 Antennas. Some have fallen out and I was hoping to go to the hardware store today to look for replacements. I'm hoping someone here might know the size off hand. Thanks! Josh
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