Martin Kittappa

I feel for you my friend- I had a similar thing following a hip hop band around- they point blank refused to be mic'd because they only wanted to be filmed in positive situations and didn't want us recording any negativity. If things were going weird then they just sent us away. Thankfully our camera people were all consummate professionals so I didn't have the crew issue you are having, just pain in the butt talent! Anyway one of my thoughts to you- Plant mics in the corners of the ring or in places where the talent regularly congregates might help you out. tape mics to the corner posts and hide transmitters somewhere under the ring. That way you'll get something and you can be a little more conservative with your boom.

Good to know the true story as to what happened and I can believe it. Reality shooting schedules often do not afford us the time or the resources to do everything in the manner we would like to work. I think this does reinforce my earlier point that we do have to be very careful what we allow of ourselves to appear on social media sites. We also need to be policing what others post that may include our image. An innocent picture can look suspect if taken out of context, or shot in the wrong way. I have pretty much abandoned Facebook, mostly because I was tired of all the noise from people I didn't really know, but there are times when I have to use it to communicate with a small number of folks that only use FB to send messages. That being said crew members have posted images without my consent- thankfully nothing that looks remotely like I'm in a compromising position. For the most part if I see the picture that someone has posted and I have figured that it's ok then I will allow it to stay. Once I did ask a PA to remove my photo of me working a shoot simply because I was working out of state and the picture had been geotagged, essentially letting everyone who could see my facebook profile know that I was out of town and my house would be empty.

I'm very happy with my RX900s I always have an LED headlamp in my Portabrace in case I find myself in a low light situation. Generally, unless the shoot has multiple locations, I find that I usually only have to set it up at the beginning of the day and leave it. The little green light on top is visible enough for me to know all is ok- If it goes red then I know something is wrong (usually just a battery change). I did consider the QRX but just like Derek said, it was the ability to internal power that swung my decision. I just get too many gigs that use EX3s and other cameras of the like that do not have the ability to send aux power. If only the QRX had internal power then I would chosen that one as I like all the additional features it has . I know that there are alternative power solutions, but that would involve yet another box to attach to the camera and it's already a big enough battle to get some camera ops to allow us to load their cameras with gizmos.

My ever growing ENG package

It might be worth it if you are worried about not getting paid at all, but if they always eventually pay after pressing them yourself (even if it takes a while and several calls) then I personally wouldn't want to go all legal on someone. $25/month is a lot to pay for service you'd use rarely if at all.

Sorry my mistake- Looks like the Sync box will have to be the master time code as it will be the most stable. In that case use the sync box to feed the 552 and every time the Red powers down take the sync box and re-jam the camera- or even better if possible get a 2nd sync box one for the camera and one for the 552

Some Red One Camera's also use Mysterium X sensors- The timecode input on these is 5 pin lemo. If it's Epic or Scarlet it will be 4 pin Lemo. Jam the SB-T from the 552 and feed the camera with the sync box and you should be good to go.

Think about it- If we worked for a corporation or any professional organization and then started posting inappropriate pictures on a social networking site the likelihood is that as soon as the HR department found the pictures then it wouldn't be long before we'd be fired especially if the photos were depicting this kind of behaviour in the workplace. People have been let go for far less, think of the lifeguards that were fired for their Gangnam Style parody on Youtube, or those that have been fired for making negative comments about their bosses on Facebook. I imagine most of these pictures that appear have been taken on smaller indie shows, because I would think that if they were major studio productions the corporate bosses at Comcast. Sony, Viacom and the like would be looking for a heads to roll if their organisation was being brought into disrepute. Even the most of us who do work in a professional and appropriate manner need to be very careful what pictures and comments we post on the web, and unfortunately we also have to sometimes police the things other people post that contains our image as well. We could be innocently setting a mic on talent, but someone with a camera, be it a cell phone or a behind the scenes DSLR could easily take a picture from an angle that looks suspect.

The best any of us can do is act professional at all times. I was on a low budget shoot a couple of years ago where they didn't have the money for me to bring on one of my regular boom ops so the production found me someone who would work for really cheap. (Most likely a CL hire) I had to ask the producer to fire the guy because he was visibly getting off on wiring up female talent and making them very uncomfortable. I ended up one manning the rest of the day and going into damage limitation mode with the talent because of this one guy. Thankfully the A.D. took it upon himself to assure the actors that I was in no way regularly associated with the boom op that they had hired and I made extra certain to be respectful, and so managed to avoid it all reflecting badly on me. I must say tho (As happened on a very different show to the one I just mentioned above), it can be very hard to keep a straight face when the talent whispers gently into the mic during a rehearsal ' Hi Martin... I have your microphone nestled right between my t**t*s' Mind you by that time we'd all been working together for four weeks and so there was already a great rapport between crew and talent, but even then it's still important to know where the line is and not to cross it.

Let's just suppose you pull this off and the 'sound gods' pour out their blessings- and I hope you do because I imagine no-one here wants to see you fail. But if you do make this work it will mean that you have done more than your fair share of work and most likely paid less than your worth to have to made it happen. My concern is that in the future you'll never be afforded the resources to do this kind of thing properly. You will be called up to one man all kinds of crazy senarios without the budget to get the right gear. Not only that, the word will get out that this is normal and we'll all be expected to bust our guts doing the impossible. Once this producer starts talking to his other producer friends- I can just see it now- You, I and everyone else will be getting calls asking for the world and when we put together a plan involving 2+ sound mixers and the additional equipment that is really needed to do it right, they'll just turn around and say 'That last guy did it by himself on 1/3 of the budget so why can't you?' I really believe you owe it to yourself to make sure that whoever is hiring you for this project knows that what they are asking is, as the Senator says, an unrealistic expectation.

Has anyone noticed that we seem to be getting a lot people coming on here these days who are not sound professionals asking us what mic would be best to used?, I have this equipment will it work in such and such a situation?, or can you suggest the one magic bullet that will solve all my sound problems?. I'm all for advising folks if they have needs, but the reality is if you want the job done properly you should hire the correct person for the job. If my house needed a new electrical fuse box, I'm not about to ask an electrician what type of wire is the best and then go an try to and install it myself when I know nothing about electrical work and not qualified to do the work. To the OP I think the equipment you are looking at buying is overkill if you are doing a one man band camera lighting and sound- Keep it simple and basic. A 302 with a couple of lavs a basic stereo recorder and Sennhieser 416 would be more than adequate. Any gigs that require a 788T with all the different types of mics really requires a skilled operator. Any producer that expects you to be doing pro sound to that kind of level, camera and lighting is asking way to much of you.

Location sound has a battery recycle box on the counter in the repairs and service department- I just noticed it the other day when I picked up something I had sent in to be repaired. I'm now going to keep onto my old batteries in box and next time I go to LSC I'll just drop them off. Not sure if any of the NY vendors has the same thing but might be worth asking.

Sound devices have great service- Once you send it in they will fix the problem. I sent in my 744t recently for a simple button replacement. Not only did they fix the button, they replaced the internal battery checked out and updated the firmware replaced the screen cover and cleaned it so that when I got it back it looked all shiny and new. Send it in- you won't regret it.

Different strokes for different folks- I personally can't do it it's uncomfortable and I cant keep the pole from rolling off my head, but if it works for you then great.

What Boom stick did you use? Getting the right one is very important. Anyway this is my boomstick! The twelve-gauge double-barreled Remington. S-Mart's top of the line. You can find this in the sporting goods department. That's right, this sweet baby was made in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Retails for about a hundred and nine, ninety five. It's got a walnut stock, cobalt blue steel, and a hair trigger. That's right. Shop smart. Shop S-Mart. You got that?

Maybe, I had a choice of 21, 22 and 25 available. Knowing that he definitely had a block 21 I chose to use 22 today, though I couldn't be sure if he had anything else in in his backpack. Good thing is the way I worked he wouldn't have heard any private conversations as the Txs were only running during rehearsals and shooting. I suppose he still could have listened in to figure out who was there, but my guess is that he was already tipped off that a particular celeb was going to be with us. Why else would he be hanging around a tiny relatively unknown stage?

Working on a PSA on one of LA's smaller stages today. It was pretty much the kind of deal where several celebs come in to make a pitch for a non profit one at time throughout the day and then leave. As I rolled my cart into the studio I was approached by a Paparazzi who asked me what was going on, so I just told him that it was an infomercial. However what bothered me was that I noticed poking out from the zipper of his backpack was a little brown Lectrosonics Block 21 antenna. I guess he was using it to scan wireless frequencies to hear celeb conversations or to listen in on the set. I don't know if he had any other receiver blocks, but I pretty much stayed on Block 22 all day just in case. It was the kind of job where I mic'd up last minute and pulled the packs as soon as the speech was over, and I kept all Txs switched off when not in use just in case something was said. It would have been more of an issue on a drama where talent can be mic'd and then standing around whilst crew tweaks things. There was no real security to speak of. Maybe I should have informed the A.D. but the pap was on the public street outside I don't think there is much anyone could have done anyway. Anyway thought I'd share that it's something to be aware of guys.

So let me guess they have multiple camera operators, but only one sound guy? It really sounds like you are going to need to bring on extra help. I'd talk to production and try to get at least one more person. I wouldn't use the 5Ds for primary audio- can you not get one recorder for each car?- even something like a 702 would work. Just set them and forget them in the cars you decide not to ride in. Also think about using Zaxcom wireless with the recording function instead of Lectrosonics- at least then you'll have all the individual audio from each talent if something goes wrong or talent goes out of range of your receivers. To hide lavs or not- Most productions want them hidden these days, but if they require speed then they mey be open to clip on. That would be something to gauge from the production. Bring your IDX NP1 charger to set so that you can rotate your batteries and charge up the spent ones as you go.- If you do this 4 will be plenty. Best of luck with it

That's just the way insurance is. Imagine how it would have been if instead of going 20 years without a claim as you have, 15 years ago someone broke into your house and stole all your gear. That could have destroyed or at least set your career back. Right now I couldn't afford to replace my entire rig if it got stolen or destroyed and that's why I have insurance. If in 20 years time I don't have to make a claim then I guess I've just paid my insurance to buy some other poor victim some replacement gear. I haven't insured the entire value of my gear though, as it is unlikely I'd loose everything, but I would be paid out money to purchase enough equipment to begin working again even if something catastrophic did wipe out all that I own.

On a cooking pilot that I did a couple of years ago I pretty much just used lavs when the chef was talking and demonstrating, and afterwards as the cameras shot B-roll I used the boom to pick up all the sounds of sizzles, bubbling, chopping, blending etc. I was able to get fans and other noise makers shut off for short periods of time in order to collect those sounds.

Sure you could use the CS3e indoors. Heck back in the day when I was just starting out I used to use a 416 for everything indoors outdoors as it was pretty much the only mic I owned and even that sounded more than good enough for the low budget shoots I was doing. This thread originally was about some guy thinking about spending $1500 on a CS3e for specifically indoor work. The advice being given was that it would he would be wiser purchasing a mic that was better suited to the task. If he already owned the CS3e and was asking if he could get away with using it indoors and would it sound good enough then I suspect most of us would have said yes it will work ok, but there are better mics out there if he had the budget to buy / rent one. Seems like it's all moot anyway- the OP appears to be either be pulling our chains or he knows little about sound and is leading us a merry dance with his questions. He'd be better off either raising money to hire a sound mixer, or to postpone his project until he has spent some time in school, or at least taken some time to read some basic sound books to familiarize himself with the craft.

Yes- Set up recording in an f-16 last year- Since these planes only have one seat (2 if it's the training version) I was not able to fly. Tape the lav securely inside the headset, set the packs to record and hide the pack somewhere in the pilots flight suit. The best place is actually in the little pocket near the ankle as fighter jet flight suits are very tight (designed to keep the blood vessels from dilating and constricting at high Gs) and you'll be good to go. You can set the levels as you would for normal conversation- no need to boost or reduce. The packs will stand the g forces fine nothing to worry about there. I have to testify that the sound quality was very usable. The producer of the show actually commented on how it all sounded much better than he expected. You will have all audio from within the plane, plane to plane and all the communications from the control tower- there is no way to separate out any of the conversation.

Buying any proffesional mic like the CS3e without a mixer woud be like buying a lens without buying the camera body. For $1500 you are really looking at pro-sumer level gear. A Rode NTG-2 a Gitzo 3360 boom pole and a zoom recorder might be the way forward for you. It will give you better sound than you 7D can record. Unless you are looking for a career in sound there really is no point in buying pro gear- it is very expensive and a total waste of money if it is not your passion. Most people here have spent many many $1000s on their rigs. Once your productions are at level of needing proffesional sound then you'll just hire someone who has the gear and expertise to do the job. At least you are learning the importance of good sound now, so in the future you'll be one of those rare producers that actually cares about the sound crew.

Sanken 3S3e is a great mic, but it would not be my first choice for an indoor conversation on a couch. I'd go with something like the Sennheiser MKH50. The CS3e is more for outdoors and performs very well in noisy environments such as beaches and busy city locations due to it's excellent off axis rejection. Definitely have someone handle to boom rather than just stick it out of shot and hope for the best.

With respect the question you ask is a little like me asking something camera related that on the face if it may sound simple, but is really quite a complicated issue. Allow me to just turn it around and ask you a similar question if I had the same project as you. The question may sound a little like this- I'm not a camera expert, but could you tell me what lens I should use to film the wildlife project. I have heard that the Canon L series 50mm prime and the 85mm prime are great lenses and I'm trying to decide between the two. As a camera guy I'm sure you'd tell me that neither would be adequate and I'd need a whole collection of primes, zooms with a whole range of f stops. In fact it would make more sense to hire someone who knows cameras and lenses, as the very fact that I had to ask the question shows that I don't know enough about cinematography to do a good job with the images. Yet you are asking for us to recommend a do it all mic which just like lenses does not exist. Sure a walk around zoom lens in the hands of a skilled DP might give you ok results for many shots, but definitely not the best. Some people here have already suggested some mics that in the hands of a skilled operator would be the sound equivalent of that zoom. Yes they would get some good sounds and some not so good. As a sound professional I would have various mics available just as I'm sure you will have all the lenses that you might need available.