syncsound

TV doc series shoot. Wireless hop to ENG camera. Cam op is, shall we say, idiosyncratic, and frequently removes his cans. I stick close by and talk to him occasionally to double check, and things go swimmingly for a while. Midday, cam peels off to shoot B-roll. We all reconvene to shoot an outdoor interview. Due to being on a rooftop location, only the cam op can be next to camera. I talk to him and ask if we're good; he replies that "yeah, the meters are bouncing, we're good." I'm sure you can see where this is going. Suffice to say that we had to reshoot an hour-long interview outdoors in the winter. (Amazingly, no one was fired, and the same folks called me back the next year). Hard learned lesson: put my foot down and always insist that the cam op wears cans with a wireless hop AT ALL TIMES, and that if I call to them, they acknowledge due to being able to hear me in said cans. That, and stand over their shoulder to make sure they don't rip off that gaff tape you put over the cam's pots and input switches to prevent such a thing from happening in the first place.

I've been using an AKG CK-93 with the 75 Hz low pass engaged in a Lyre suspension, and have really enjoyed it. Not a lot of reach, but smooth and laid back when you can get the boom in. Below is a trailer for a feature where we used the AKG for the majority of interior dialogue (pretty much all the interior stuff that you hear in this trailer is the from that mic): "The Kill Hole" Trailer Hope this helps, -Christian

http://goo.gl/xJwDk

http://goo.gl/owI5Y

Here's my review of the OST-801: http://goo.gl/em3Od

http://proaudiocoalition.com/index.php/cdolan-pac/story/martini_2.0/

http://proaudiocoalition.com/index.php/cdolan-pac/story/my_lav_mic_has_a_first_name_its_o-s-c-a-r/

Me on a cliff above the Oregon coast. (Note: I'm not the one in the jaunty hat.)

One more cranky opinion about the 5D: http://proaudiocoalition.com/index.php/cdolan-pac/story/make_it_a_double/

A guy I know started a new blog called Production War Stories, for anonymous recounting of our more "interesting" gigs. His rules: Email your production horror/adventure/comedies, but please bear this in mind: Production, overall, is a small community, and this is no forum to blast anyone in. So PLEASE… 1.) Don't include names. 2.) Don't tell me what the brand was/is. 3.) If you wish to change your name, please do so IN THE EMAIL YOU SEND. Could be a fun place to vent/commiserate: http://productionwarstories.blogspot.com/ -Christian

Hari, You know, I've been looking for the same thing myself. I write a blog about sound for picture, though it mainly focuses on production sound, and is aimed towards newbies/indies: http://www.syncsoundcinema.com/ I started it because I couldn't find a "one-stop shop" specifically about sound for TV and film. Hope this helps, Christian

Jeff, Thanks so much. Feedback like that makes it easier to keep going. A wiki sounds like a great idea. I would certainly be open to contributing in some manner to a site dedicated to practical audio info. Perhaps some manufacturers would be interested in becoming sponsors to offset the time investment? Just thinking out loud. Thanks, Christian

Marc, I'm right there with you. When I was getting started, I found great books about audio, but most were mainly about theory, rather than practical technique (methods for lav's under clothing, etc .). I turned to the internet to augment my autodidactic approach, and found that while there were good resources out there, they were few and far between. I ended up starting my own blog, specifically about sound-for-picture, and heavily tilted towards production sound which you can see here: http://www.syncsoundcinema.com/ I'm trying to provide a "one-stop-shop" for newbies and others, by collecting links to how-to's, gear reviews and the like. A website might be a solution to the book problem, as it could be continuously updated. There are plenty of sites just like this for picture, both production and post. Why not for audio? Drop me a PM if you want to possibly discuss this further. Thanks, Christian

I've only been doing sound professionally for 2 years now here in sunny Portland, but I second what Tortelot says. The film incentives that were passed are starting to bring productions back, which keeps everyone busy (as A listers and vets get booked on the features, the work that they pass on becomes available to the rest of us). About 95% of my work is reality TV and corporate/industrial, with the rest being low-budget indies, and I've been lucky enough to make a go of it. A DP friend of mine regularly jets down to LA for work, while maintaining a fairly normal (for us) family home life, so it's not beyond the realm of possibility. Hope this helps, Christian

Wolf, Any chance that someone could shoot this for folks that live outside of LA? As I mentioned above, I'd be willing to pay a modest fee to see demos of pro techniques. Thanks, Christian

IIRC, William Wisher did some additional dialogue writing (and also has a cameo in the mall scene in T2). -Christian

I, for one, would completely welcome any kind of audio instruction learning resource. I started a blog about sound for picture, called http://www.syncsoundcinema.com/, expressly because it seemed like audio was under-represented online. Plus, even though there are basic audio courses and books out there, there doesn't seem to be any way to learn how to do actual field mixing (differences in broadcast cameras, hiding lavs, etc.) unless you are lucky enough to either have a lot of time to learn the hard way, or apprentice under a veteran (I have only had option A thus far . However,not being in a union, I would welcome such a resource only if it were very affordable, or even free (ie ad-supported). Thoughts? -Christian

Hey there, gang. I recently threw together my own (highly subjective) 10 Commandments of Sound for Picture on my blog, syncsoundcinema.com. Since the point of the blog is to be a resource for indie filmmakers and audio newbies, I'd appreciate any comments and/or constructive criticism from some of the more experienced folks out there. The list is split into two parts. Part One: http://www.syncsoundcinema.com/2007/06/fifteen-drops-tabletten-ten.html Part Two: http://www.syncsoundcinema.com/2007/06/fifteen-drops-tabletten-ten_24.html You can either leave a comment on the blog entries themselves, or drop me a line at syncsound@gmail.com, if you're interested. Thanks, Christian

If anyone's curious, they actually shot a version of "Oklahoma!" at 30 fps. From IMDB: "This is the first Todd-AO production and the first of three such productions to be shot twice, first at 24 fps (to produce the general-release version in 35 mm) and finally at 30 fps (to produce the roadshow version in 70 mm)." Just FYI. Thanks, Christian

Brett, I have it, and I would say that it's more for entry-level folks doing audio for video. It's still a great resource, and would also be very useful for non-audio people (i.e. DP's, directors) to get an idea of what that crazy person with the fuzzy thing on a stick is talking about. Thanks, Christian

Hey kids. I'm a freelance production mixer here in sunny Portland, Oregon. Mostly I do industrials, docs, local commercials, and some reality TV. On nights and weekends, I do short films and the occasional DV feature, both production and post. In my spare time, I write a blog about sound for film and TV, http://syncsoundcinema.blogspot.com. And, well, there you have it. Thanks, Christian

Hi Whitney, I'm a freelance production sound mixer, self-educated in terms of my audio knowledge. I started with the same books you mentioned, in addition to "Sound for Film and Television" by Tolmilnson Holman and "The Practical Art of Motion Picture Sound" by David Yewdall. When I searched the internet, I found that although there were usefual articles out there, they were few and far between, especially compared to the extensive coverage given to HD and video. I ended up starting my own blog, http://syncsoundcinema.blogspot.com/, as a place to collect and organize articles and tutorials about audio for newbies and video folks alike. Feel free to drop by and give it a look. Best of luck, Christian

Hey, everybody. Pardon the shameless plug, but I recently started my own blog about sound for film and TV called sync.sound.cinema. Essentially, I'm trying to create a place where audio newbies and video folks can get a brief tour of the sound-for-picture world, along with tips, techniques,and a little history. I'm always looking for new info, so if you folks out there know of anything that would be of interest, please send it my way. Link: http://syncsoundcinema.blogspot.com/ Thanks, Christian