Josh Tucker

Perhaps I missed it in the thread somewhere, but can anyone recommend a good CPA in NYC? I'm getting my taxes done by a pro for the first time, and could use some guidance.

Title says it all. I'm looking to put together a new camera hop rig and need one more receiver.

I hear ya Bernie. I figure the connector issue could be fixed with a bit of gaff. The only times that I'd be using them would be when working with smaller cams that already have questionable audio. I just need something with a good bit of range that's reliable. Ive got enough to worry about without having to wonder whether my Zaxcom system will work that day. That said, I like your idea of using the fanny packs.

Hey all. I was wondering if anyone uses 100 series Lectro's as camera hops these days. I know they're a somewhat outdated bit of gear, but the specs seem legit and I could only imagine that they'd at least outperform the G2/3 systems that some of you guys are running for scratch tracks. I'm working on a couple shows that are using smaller cams, and I figure this would be a nice solution. I've been using the Zaxcom IFB100 with ERX's for the past few months but have hated them (shoddy range, weird noises and tones, easily broken, etc.). Now I'm looking to get something that actually works! What do you think?

"...not charge less than 10/hr for labor..." = I'd sure as f##k hope not. I don't think you need to form a "guild" to prevent common sense professionals from taking rates like this. But then again, a wise man once said "when reaching for the stars, always reach for the lowest one". (sarcasm) Regarding having folks join the union: being union doesn't guarantee jobs. On top of that, there aren't enough jobs union or non, that exist to employ all of the "mixers" that are flooding the market right now. On top of THAT, there are plenty of union folks who take relatively low paying non-union jobs on the side.

Sweet pics! I had a ton of fun. It was great meeting everyone. Also nice to hear about all the different stuff that people are working on. Truly a diverse and talented bunch.

Unless my schedule changes drastically in the next week, I'll definitely be there. Cheers!

This is similar to my idea to make a reality show about reality show crews. Ha. It's the final frontier!

I'm also running blk 19 SRa's (with antennas, no distro system) right next to the 788 in my bag. Never had a problem with it.

This reminded me of something I read in Sound On Sound a while back. I went ahead and googled it. Thought y'all might find it interesting. I'm guessing that the shotgun they're referring to is a 416 "Jack Douglas, engineer for many of Aerosmith's most successful albums, has also mentioned that he often combined close and ambient mics for Steven Tyler's vocals. Unusually, though, he used a Shure SM57 dynamic up close and a heavily compressed Sennheiser shotgun mic about five feet away." Regarding durability, the SM's are pretty good, but not the tanks that most make them out to be. I've definitely gone through quite a few in my FOH days. Your mention of ATDI reminded me of a Converge show I saw recently (any metal heads out there?). The singer went through at least 2 mics and a couple cables, after repeatedly thrashing them against the stage and throwing them into the crowd.

I find that there are two places that I can always count on to make me feel better; the gym and the bar. I picked up a few personal training sessions last year to try and alleviate some back issues that had come up during a reality gig. I've found that just a couple hours a week at the gym, doing shoulder and back exercises, has made it a lot easier and more comfortable to do long days with a bag rig. It also makes me feel a whole lot better about the crappy food that I'm occasionally forced to eat on set.

Ugh... Truly vile.

Thanks Phil. Your wisdom is much appreciated. I'll certainly keep your words in mind the next time I run into a tough situation like this. Cheers.

I feel like I may have misrepresented myself here. To clarify, I'm not primarily a boom op. I'm not trying to work my way up or usurp the mixer on this gig. I generally work as a mixer, and was basing my critique of the mixer in question on what I felt I, and most of the other mixers that I've worked with/learned from, would have done in the given situation. I'm not "making fun" of him, or trying to "back stab" anyone. The fact is that the guy took on a job that was well beyond his abilities, and found himself in over his head. It's one thing to discuss who's responsibility it is to mic talent, jam code, scan receivers, etc. It's another thing to work with a mixer who doesn't know how to perform any of those tasks.

This totally made my day.

You've got a good point. I hadn't thought of it that way. I just figured that if they ever called me to do another gig, I'd take it. I suppose even in that case though, it could appear to the mixer that I had actively worked to steal his job. You're absolutely right though that no gig is worth earning a bad reputation. Or even risking it. For the moment, I'm just glad that I was able to save face with the production and be a part of a department that runs smoothly.

Hey gents. Sorry for the late response. I was monitoring this thread on set yesterday but was unable to respond. Thanks to all of you for your input. It seems to be a general consensus that I should be the guy in charge of batts and TC. To be completely honest, I've only been a dedicated boom op on maybe a dozen or so productions, with a handful of different mixers. The guys I worked with took care of batteries for talent wireless, and jamming TC. I've asked to help on several occasions and was usually told that they had it covered. I was generally in charge of batteries for my own wireless and IFB (duh) and batts for production's IFB's (as I'm usually the closest guy to ask if they're feed goes down). In any event, I'll be sure to be more diligent about these issues on this and future boom gigs. I got a lot of great advice from you guys about how to handle this situation. I failed to mention this in my original post, but the mixer is the one who recommended me to production. He's a friend of the director and a few cast members. He is also an FOH guy that I frequently run into on certain remote music recording gigs. He had already booked the gig and was going to rent gear elsewhere, until I joined as a boom op and offered to rent them my stuff. I figured I'd take the opportunity to put my gear to work since I was going to be there to oversee it. Had I known how green this guy was I wouldn't have offered. Hindsight is 20/20 I suppose. What I ended up doing was pulling the mixer aside and voicing my concerns. The tracks that he had gotten were useable and I felt it was just a matter of briefing him on the way things were expected to run. We agreed that he would stay in his position but that I would take over most of the responsibilities. This included scanning and setting gain on all the wireless, setting up IFB's, controlling all the routing, etc. I also took a few extra minutes at lunch and between scenes to re-organize the gear and make sure everything was in order. Basically all he needs to do is set the gain at the recorder and label scenes/tracks. The latter remains an issue, though we're not running that many channels, and I've been consistent with which tx's go to which actors. Ultimately, I decided I'd rather be the "unsung hero" and do the mixer's job behind the scenes, than potentially burn a bridge with someone who I'll probably run into on live music gigs in the future. I think a few crew members actually started to pick up on this exchange of responsibilities yesterday, since I noticed that most of the questions regarding logistics of locations and potential noise issues were re-directed towards me. Overall, I think everything worked out for the best. The production will get useable tracks, the mixer gets to sit back and feel important, and I (hopefully) get hired as the mixer on the next project.

Hey guys. I took a boom op position on a short film that's running for next few days, and I've found myself in a very interesting situation regarding set politics. Perhaps you can advise. Here's the deal: In short, the mixer I'm working with has absolutely NO idea what he's doing. I don't mean that to say he just does things differently. I mean he's only ever been on one other set (a student film) and is almost completely clueless. I found myself having to essentially babysit him through yesterday. On top of that, the production is renting my gear, which makes me concerned to say the least. His offenses thus far have included letting tx batts die in the middle of takes (a lot), not labeling or taking reports on anything, standing directly in front of lights during a take (yes, for once I'm not the one making shadows), haphazardly miking talent to a point where we have to stop rolling to completely re-mic them, forgetting to jam TC for camera. The list goes on, and that's just in the first day! He also has no clue how to mix, scan wireless, set up IFB's, etc. So my real question is: what do I do? The rest of the people on this project are seasoned professionals and I would love to have the chance to work with them again. I'm just concerned that the mixer's ineptitude is reflectively poorly on the whole department. I don't want to throw him under the bus. That would just make me look worse. At the same time, it's tough to stand by and watch him screw the production (to and extent that I'm not sure they'll fully realize till they get to post).

I'm going to try and make it. Might be shooting late that day though. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

As I said earlier, I'm NOT using an external amp. I am also powering the Comtek and IFB100 separately. Comtek on 9volts and IFB100 on BDS system (is there any other way?). I've never needed an amp, as I'm usually in the bag very close to camera. Range has never been an issue (well, not yet at least). Anyways, I tried Zack's suggestion of putting the IFB100 antenna perpendicular to the Comtek's. This solved 90% of the problem. I was able to eliminate any remaining interference by simply maintaining sufficient distance between myself and the boom op's Comtek rx. Thanks so much for the help you guys. Once again, you've saved the day. Cheers.

Zack, thanks so much for the tip. I'm going to mess with the antenna configuration today. I'm also going to look into the filtered cable. Though call time is in a couple hours, so it'll probably have to wait till tomorrow. I checked into adjusting the power setting on the IFB100, but I'm not sure if I'll have time to do a thorough test before we start shooting today. The power is adjusted in arbitrary increments (from 0-7) so its hard to judge what's going to be too low. Without the luxury of a proper camera return, I'm hesitant to just start cutting the power. Either way, I'll report back with the results of any adjustments I make. Cheers.

So how do you deal with it?

Huh. Interesting. The cable I've been using was put together by Pro Sound. It's a TA3 to mono 1/8". It hasn't been an issue when not being used with IFB100 though. I'll give Pro Sound a shout though and see if they have any insight.

Comtek is running on 9 volts. I believe it's an RF issue, though I could be wrong. The signal comes in clean (well...Comtek clean) but with a high pitched buzz that varies in intensity. It's worst, of course, when I get the Comtek receiver near the IFB100 antenna. (Note: I'm not using a separate 2.4GHz amp as the manual suggests. Perhaps that's a problem?) I've had limited time to run tests. So far, I've had the IFB100 powered on with and without audio plugged in, with and without TC plugged in. No change. I also unplugged the IFB100 completely. This fixed the issue, but is obviously not a solution. I then move the PR216 to the other side of the bag. A little better but not much. Also, tried retuning the Comteks several times. Some frequencies got interference worse than others, but none of them were completely clean.

...as a whistle. As soon as I unplugged the IFB100 everything was fine.