codyman

Be careful out there, seems people are preying extra hard to try to get desperate people in on job scams.  I received this one today.  Funny enough, a very famous Belgian actor seems to moonlight as a recruiter at a Belgian Freight company while using an email address that was created less than a month ago...

Hello there,

Challenge Group Airlines is hiring a Remote Sound Mixer/Sound Editor to work on aviation-related audio content, including in-flight entertainment, safety videos, and promotional materials. The role involves mixing, editing, and enhancing audio while collaborating with aviation and media teams.

Key Details:
Remote work (full-time and part-time)
Pay: $35-55/hour (experience-based)

Key Tasks:
Mix and balance audio tracks
Edit recordings and remove background noise
Ensure audio meets industry standards

If you're interested in this offer please reply with "I am interested" to receive a meeting link with our hiring coordinator.

Thanks,
Matthias Schoenaerts,
Challenge Group Airline Recruitment Team.

1 hour ago, OB1 said:

Side bar: Ladda batteries are backordered, with no indication on when they will be available again...at the Ikea in Atlanta the manager seemed to think they were going to be discontinued altogether (replaced with another source?) but take that as 100% hearsay. Some locations still have them but no backfill planned it seems.

Thankfully I'm stocked up for now but it would be a bummer if they stopped selling them or sold a worse product.  Next time I'm at IKEA, if they do have them, I'll buy some more for sure!

I'd say the beginning of the end was when "content" overtook movies and TV all while DVD sales/rentals + ticket sales plummeted.  There still will be movies and TV, but for most people in the world, they don't even bother going to the cinema anymore and their Netflix ques runnith over.  I don't have a crystal ball but I don't foresee "growth" in the space we're in but instead, a weird stew of gig here, gig there of varying degrees of quality while maybe getting a gold nugget of a project once in a while.

3 minutes ago, Jim Feeley said:

 

I don't know. For live streaming, which I think has has similar real-time processing needs over a long period of time, MacBook Air computers didn't work well in the M1 processor era (the last time I looked into this). Mainly because the lack of an internal fan would lead to thermal throttling of performance and dropped frames. Also because they only have two USB-C ports. I use Ecamm Live fairly regularly (it's good enough for plenty of jobs) and here's what Ecamm says about the MacBook Air (including I think current versions):

 

Why MacBook Air Might Not Be the Best Choice for Ecamm Live (and What to Use Instead)

https://ecamm.com/blog/why-macbook-air-might-not-be-the-best-choice-for-ecamm-live-and-what-to-use-instead/

 

But MacBook Pros (even older Intel models) and Mac Minis (cheap but yes you'll want an external monitor of some sort) work great for live-streaming and according to Doc, who should know, for WildTrax. 

Uhh why does that article read like / regurgitate like it was written by AI?  Red flag with an author with no bio / single generic name etc. too.

It seems a base model Macbook Air (maybe even earlier model like the M2 since I routinely see them for $7xx USD) + a Yamaha DM3 would make great use of Wildtrax.

Well the good news in all of this is that at least Lectro was acquired by someone who isn't just some venture capital / hedge fund-ish "pillage the village and sell the parts off" type conglomerate for a change.

15 minutes ago, Jim Feeley said:

I could see Lectro/Freedman expanding the Blue line (as in IFBlue: https://ifblue.com)

 

I have no insider information, but perhaps Lectro with Freedman's money and manufacturing contacts to build wireless systems priced somewhere between what Rode and Lectro currently offer. Seems like that could be a good synergy.

Lectro needs a sub $1k digital transmitter that's reasonable in size.  Make it barebones / "traditional" with a AA battery / removable antenna / dweedle tones and let it ride.  Then focus on the more up market transmitters having remote capabilities such as being able to control gain / frequency remotely like so many other manufacturers have the ability to do now.

If I had to guess, they'll take Lectro more high end like Sound Devices did with Audio Limited but then hopefully also split the difference and make mid tier stuff.  Seems like our industry has either gone high end gear or low end "videographer" / podcast on us and there's a market in the middle going "But what about me?"

4 minutes ago, Bouke said:

I don't get this.
It's promoted to make a dedicated machine for this.
A refurb mac is a few hundred bucks, cheap compared to the licence fee. (And since you seem to be a windows fan, the mac will stay dedicated :- )

 

Yeah I agree.  Go get a base model MacBook Air with the M series chips and it would be way faster than needed for countless tracks.

Slick piece of kit.  I haven't had a chance to watch the video yet but any roadmap of features for down the road?  Would be stellar to be able to use a control surface, use dante or an interface to get audio into the box, and then "mix" with the tracks although I get it it if the focus is as a recorder only.

My coating has been getting pretty eh as well.  Didn't these early ones have issues with that?  I wonder if they would swap mine.

17 hours ago, Jim Feeley said:

 

Ya, but there are some pretty nice places to hang out near the Plaza Park circle...

Haha true, we are spoiled here in Orange, especially these days.  That being said, it is crazy that you go out for two beers and a burger and somehow find yourself walking home with $50 bucks less.

On 1/26/2025 at 2:37 PM, PMC said:

Plus the beer is much cheaper. 

$9 + tax + tip a pint at the nearest pub to me now.  Don't forget the only food option is a $15 mediocre burger + tip + tax from a truck (fries extra $$ of course).

This should do the trick

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1620952-REG/bescor_12vto24v_12v_to_24v_2a.html

Nagra trunk!  Funny enough, I've been going through the series chronologically (albeit slowly) this last year.  I vaguely remember seeing reruns with my dad as a child but have been really enjoying it as it's a great LA / car guy casual watch.

Are you referring to record stores?  If so, in Copenhagen, I like to go to "Sound Station" and "Mint Records".  Also, I like to grab a beer at Ørsted Ølbar as they usually have an LP spinning and last time I was there, they even had their reel to reel deck.

Is this some sort of AI powered self promotional troll now?

It always comes down to what your day rate (labor) + kit is.  Regardless, $200 is too low for any full day's worth of recording, that's for sure.

I use the 8060 for run and gun type shoots.  Love it and how precise yet forgiving it is which is perfect when on non scripted.  I tried a 2017 out one time and it was "fine" but I still preferred the 8060 at least to my ears.

Also, I'd recommend the MixPre3 vs the F3.

44 minutes ago, Constantin said:

What mostly boggles my mind is that the one demographic that Trump probably threatened the most, Latinos, quite possibly are responsible for voting their biggest threat into power. 

Never underestimate the American people's desire to vote against their own self interests.

5 hours ago, Moesound said:

Honestly, I’m less shocked by this than I was in 2016, when it seemed like an aberration and everyone cast out sources of blame. After years of telling ourselves that “this isn’t who we are”, we must confront the troubling reality that this is indeed who we are, in spades.

Moe

For some reason I'm more shocked this time around given we all know Trump's crazy baggage (the guy has a wrap sheet etc) vs just being a gross "outsider" like he was in 2016.

I was working in Switzerland in January 2017 when he was inaugurated the last round and I joked that I should just stay there and not return to the USA.  Maybe I shouldn't have been joking...

Nope.  Here in the US, if you show up to set with a duplex cable and they are going to wonder what decade you're living in as everything is wireless on set these days.  One exception might be some Euro mixers who insist upon wired boom only, even in a narrative setting.  The dude that mixes all of Ridley Scott's films uses wired booms but he has a crazy sound team (I want to say 8ish members?!?!) and if they can't get a shot with a wired boom, he has them record wired into a mixpre with the boom then wirelessly transmitted BUT insists post use the mixpre's boom recording vs the wirelessly transmitted stuff.  There's a behind the scenes video that Simon from URSA posted about that whole workflow a while back on YouTube.

26 minutes ago, Derek H said:

what is the hook and loop tape junk?

Knock off, non name brand velcro's generic term as "Velcro" is a registered trademark.

I wonder if something like this would work?  Also, try reaching out to Gotham Sound.  I recall on a video of theirs a few months back they had rigged up some sort of adapter.  It was crude but I think they were working on refining it.

18 hours ago, RadoStefanov said:

Did you get the yellow brick as

6 hours ago, RadoStefanov said:

Wow that is cheap. Can you share it with me? Gan is really cool…Pun intended. 

 

It was this one but looks like the price went back up.  Keep an eye on slickdeals.net as these random ones go on sale quite often.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0CY2PPHNN?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

9 hours ago, RadoStefanov said:

Did you get the yellow brick as well?.

No.  Found a different charger on Amazon that was normally $35ish but was on sale for only $11 including the USB-C cable?  It's a GaN charger apparently too, seems to be working well so can't complain.  The batteries are charging quickly in a couple hours with no problems.