chrisnewton

Hi Bartek, I've had good luck with a live theatre presentation using short shotguns and a hypercard just below the front lip of the stage. The hypercardioid (Oktava) was stage left, as there was more movement of the performers at this position. The wider pattern helped. Performers were never more than about 6-8 ft. from the mics. This was for a documentary about the theatre troupe, who were all amateur performers. Costume changes precluded using RFs. Hanging mics were not an option because of staging/lighting. The setup was fairly low profile and didn't seem to bother the audience. The staging was in my favour, as all of the performances with dialogue were downstage, and because of the limited stage lighting available, were in three zones: stage left, centre, stage right. it sounded pretty good, certainly fine for the required purpose. I probably heard the dialogue better than most of the audience. This was in a school auditorium. There was also an aboriginal drum circle performing, as a sort of chorus, offstage. I used a big diaphragm dynamic ( a Sennheiser 421) for this recording. Your needs may differ, but this worked for me. Chris Newton

I just finished a four day shoot using green screen. The actor was naked (except for his undies) and was completely covered in silver body makeup. Oh yeah, his head was shaved completely. We occasionaly saw his back. Bottom line: no RF lav. I boomed everything with pretty good results. We had, as much as possible, sound deadening materials on hand. There was a CGI designer/tech on set at all times, who was very helpful in letting everyone know what could and couldn't be "junk matted" out. There were as many as 8 extras in some of the scenes, so boom shadows and mic height were always concerns. The producers and directors were very helpful and understood my, and other departments, problems. This is key to a succesful greenscreen shoot. Chris Newton

I've got a set of the I-Power lithium 9volts and I'm very happy with them. Great in cold weather. To fit them into my various pieces of equipment (Lectro series 185,190,200,400) I hade to file the plastic housing down a bit. I used a nail file. Only the 201 RX will not take them. Every other model relatively happy (a bit snug on the 200 TX) I don't bother putting them in my Comteks. I just use my semi-depleted Alkalines, 7.5 volts and up, until they eventually die. "What's that beeping in my headphones? Is everything OK?" "Oh yeah, here, I'll change your battery. Thanks for listening." Chris Newton

Hey Coleman, do you get to sit in the van too? Cool. Maybe you'll wake up and...."Thank God! It was all just a terrible, terrible dream!". Try slipping Valium into the brain trust's coffee every now and then. These people sound like spider monkeys on crack. My condolences. Chris Newton

I think Sergio has pretty much covered the creaky floor solution options. I've been on several shoots where conscientious dolly grips have tried to eliminate problems by either the wetting or baby powder techniques. Occasionally it works, usually not. Footsteps are of course easier to deal with, a heavy dolly in an old house with hardwood floors almost impossible. I tell the AD and director two times. If they don't take action on the problem ie: change the shot (never happens, picture is King) then I don't worry about it anymore, and hope that the complex dolly shot concocted by the picture tyrants requires lots of takes, giving me more chance to get each line clean at least once. Lavs sometimes help. I've worked with one old-school actor who actually timed his lines to not be covered by the dolly squeak. Quite a performance. Most actors are totally oblivious, and whisper or mumble every single one of their lines anyway 'cause "that's how real people talk". That's it for today's rant. Chris Newton

I hope Jeff can comment on this, as I notice in the new Trew magazine that he uses a 442 mixer in his insert car rig. To those mixers out there who use a 442 and also one of the larger desks (Sonosax, Cooper, AD), what differences are there in sound quality (subjectively) between the Sound Devices and other mixers. I understand there are major differences in ergonomics, flexibility etc. as far as using the different styles of machines, but what are the sonic differences? Headroom, susceptability to clipping etc. Chris Newton

Hi Michael, I had a bad experience with a 12V T powered input on a SD442. I had it inadvertantly switched on and when I plugged a Lectro 411 receiver into it I got a slight buzz on that channel. I tried everything to chase down the problem, swapping out cables etc. I was powering the receiver and the mixer from a BDS box. When I ran the 411 from internal batteries, the buzz disappeared. Assuming the BDS power cable was the problem I switched it out too. No go. Finally I noticed the T power switch was on in the mixer (my eyes aren't what they used to be) and the problem disappeared for good. Didn't seem to cause any damage to the 411. I then remembered a similar problem I had years ago with an FP33 and a Sony wireless. No buzz, but a loss of low frequency signal. I guess my memory's not what it used to be either. Anyway, watch out for that T power. Chris Newton

I've had similar problems with my TS-2. I put some foam in the battery compartment like Phil, and it seemed to solve the problem. I think the camera assistant on one shoot was probably the problem. By the way, some years ago I had a camera assistant change the batteries in my slate (a TS-2) without telling me, and put a couple of them in backwards. Very bad. There was leakage. Several years later, a boom op did the same thing to the same (repaired) slate. Much foul language was involved. Watch out for this problem with Denecke slates Chris Newton

Hi Whitney, I used the old style DT770s for several years. I liked them very much. I guess we have different shaped heads. They sounded great, but I found them a bit heavy. The metal spring headband gripped my noggin pretty tight, and at the end of the day, I felt it. The isolation was excellent, and I too liked the velvet muffs/pads, especially in the cold. Mine eventually broke (headband) and I gave them to my friend for parts. He continues to use DT770s to this day. I've tried many sets of cans (fickle, I guess). I don't mind the Beyer DT250s, but they squeeze my bean a bit too. I use the Sony 7506s for lots of jobs now because of their light weight and somewhat hyped response. My favourites for several years have been Sony V600s. they're a higher end consumer headphone, but sound very good. Much ruggeder than they look too. I originally bought them for boom ops, but when they consistently heard stuff I didn't, I traded them. At the recent AES convention/show many demo booths were using Ultrasones of differing flavours. They sounded fine to my ears, but didn't knock me out, at least with a cursory listen. The Remote Audio high noise headsets (with the 7506 drivers) did get my attention though. The folks at the Sanken booth were using them in their demo area with the new Cooper note-book mixer. Impressive noise isolation. Weighed a ton though. I'll probably buy a set, or get a set of custom moulded in-ears for those crazy loud environments. All of this is very subjective of course. Give the Sony V600s a try though. You might be surprised. Cheers, Chris Newton

Good for you, Doug Brandon. I believe you were correct in refusing to wade into that lake. Considering the options open to the production and the mixer in particular, there was no excuse for requesting you to take a risk. I'm not an electrician, but every shoot I've ever been on here in Ottawa (Canada), the genny operator has always earth grounded the system with a honkin' big ground spike. I don't for a minute believe that a safe grounding can be made with a trailer hitch. Just as important: were there assigned people with life-saving experience standing by? It doesn't matter if the water was only a metre deep. Shit happens. It sounds like safety was not exactly paramount on this production. Who knows what other short cuts these people had taken. I've only had to turn down one assignment for safety reasons: it involved a car tow rig during an ice storm. I told the producer and AD they could do the shot, but they'd be doing it without sound. I never regretted standing firm for one minute. Other crew members who were nervous about losing a badly needed job thanked me afterwards. Don't put up with shit from these people. It's only a movie Chris Newton

Hi Ron, The mounts are adjustable to length. The two suspensions can slide back and forth on the rail. There are nylon set screws which tighten the suspension yokes into place. I've stripped a couple of these so you have to be careful. Spare set screws were provided when I bought the unit along with spare o-rings. I bought it from Audio Services Corporation in Toronto. I forget the price, but I think it was about the same as a Rycote, but I could be wrong. Parts are not totally interchangeable with Rycotes, at least mine isn't, but the assembly fits into my Rycote Zeppelins perfectly. Chris Newton

I've used a Panamic suspension for about 5 years. i like it very much. It's well built, works well at isolating low frequency rumble and has a variety of elastic o-ring type supensions for different weights of mics. i use mine for a Neumann KM-150 or Oktava. It fits into a Rycote zeppelin. Chris Newton

I use my recorder's clock as the master (up to now an HHB DAT) on film shoots. For HD usually the camera with Lockits, sometimes a wireless link. Chris

On shoots where time code synchronization is required, I generally take responsibility. after all, time code sync is for the benefit of audio. I try to maintain a good, positive working relationship with the camera assistants who work directly with the slate and/or on- camera timecode if it's an HD shoot. Good camera assistants are usually very tech savvy and we work out the details between us. Then nobody else has to worry about these issues. Most DPs couldn't care less about time code and other housekeeping issues and are quite happy to have someone else worry about them. Sometimes the script supervisor is involved, making sure everybody's on the same page, literally, and slate/take numbers etc. are correct. They rarely worry about time code, though I've sometimes called out numbers to a sympathetic script person when I'm under the gun and copy his notes later. I've found sound, camera assist and script people are often very collaborative; we all think we are underappreciated and indespensable to the project and damn, we don't get no respect! Oh yeah, what's the difference between a sound man and a generator? The generator stops whining at the end of the day. Chris Newton

Dear R.Edge, If you're going direct into your 702T's mic preamps with your Schoeps rig, don't worry about reference tones. These references are only pertinent if you are connecting to an external mixer or other device, and for playback, as Oleg pointed out. You can record your signals as hot as you need, as long as you're not over 0dbfsc. As mentioned by earlier posters, normal dialogue peaks should hit between -12 and -8 comfortably. For ambiences, salt and season to your own taste. The 702T's preamps shouldn't add appreciable noise if you have to crank things up for nature sounds etc. Good luck on your trip. Chris Newton

-18 on HHB DAT. from 0 out on 442 (not plus 4). -20 to most flavours of digital video cameras. Chris Newton

My name is Chris Newton. I live and work in Ottawa, Canada. I work mostly in television: series, documentaries,reality,newsmagazine. I work in film also: movies-of-the-week, short films, some independent feature work, occasional commercials. I have been involved in the business since 1975 (community access cable TV in Winnipeg), and recorded/boomed my first commercial (Nagra 4.2) in 1976. I have worked in TV news, corporate, live sound, live theatre. I was predominately a cameraman until the late '90s, when I decided I liked sound better, and liked having a functional back and shoulders. These days with some of the big audio rigs required, maybe I should have remained a cameraman. This is an excellent site. thank you Jeff Wexler.

EMW lavs on the headliner or on the sun visors. One for each person. Alternately Neumann KM150 either from above or sometimes from below. Sometimes lavs directly on actors. i usually try to use hardwires fed to vehicle towing car. RF if no other choice. If I'm in the tow vehicle I can feed comtek or hardwire IFB to director/script. if I'm along for the ride it's more practical to make adjustments between takes. I've also ridden inside picture vehicle often, just me and cameraman if actor-driven car. I usually clap the slate as well. Chris Newton

I have only worked on one production where the Aaton Minima was used. I don't know how noisy the camera is because it was inside the cab of a moving farm tractor (very noisy). I agree about the difficulty of having the camera department deal with noisy mags etc. I've been fortunate that many crews I've worked with take noise issues seriously, but there have been plenty of other times... "can't they fix that in post?" In the new King Kong there's a funny sequence where the sound recordist on the ship is complaining about the noise of the engines, the seagulls, the wind and the director says: you're the soundman, deal with it! I have a simple rule: I tell the AD/director/producer 3 times about a problem, stated clearly. if they don't get it by then, they don't care and there is little I can do about it. As far as on-set noise issues, what's with those battery powered Arri sun-gun style HMIs with the electronic ballasts, with a fan! in them. For 10 grand, you'd think they could come up with something better. They are also very noisy RF wise. I got burned a couple of times in car interior shots when the grips moved the ballast head cables around just before a take (after the rehearsal). Even star-quad didn't help. Any other experiences with these units? Chris Newton

I recently sent my Schoeps CMC3-MK41 to Germany for repairs (through the Canadian distributor). For $400 CDN I got back a "good as new" mic. They even seem to have re-embossed the gold lettering on the logo. Excellent work.

I use my Octava with a hypercard capsule as an overhead boom mic just as I would a Schoeps. It's pretty sensitive in the low frequencies, and a lo-cut is necessary. It's reach is pretty good. i sometimes use the cardioid capsule for 2 shots or groups. The foam popscreen is OK for most indoor dialogue stuff, but if you have to swing the boom fast, wind rumble is a problem. I use a Shure outdoor foam windscreen designed for the SM-81 and it works well, and is relatively inexpensive. Outdoors i use a Rycote, always. Chris

I have a CMC3/Mk41, an Octava MCo12 with hypercardioid capsule and a Neumann KM-150. I use them all (KM-150 less often). In a very unscientific blind test, my wife picked the Schoeps as the best sounding for her ear (she has better ears than me). I love the Schoeps, but the Oktava is a close second. The KM-150 has it's uses and on some types of voices works better. It really shines in very tight quarters: bathrooms, showers, very small reverberant kitchens. I just got my Schoeps back from the factory in Germany for repair (capsule problem) and it is like new. The folks at the factory even seem to have re-embossed the gold lettering on the logo. Excellent workmanship and not all that expensive ($400 CDN), about the same as a new OKtava and a couple of capsules from The Sound Room. I have only had humidity problems on the Schoeps once: in a heavy downpour. The Rycote and windcover were soaked right through. I put my 416 up and all was well. No surprise there. Chris Newton.