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Alexander Burstein

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Everything posted by Alexander Burstein

  1. Looked like a solid job to me. His cues were on point, and he looked aware of reflections when going to the car. The pole wasn't bowing too much, i'd say.
  2. Right Mark, but Taut is saying he got a clean boom track (in so many words). If he were in a bad location or had noises causing sound problems, don't you think he would also put radios on the actors? This is the whole point of the OP. Mixers are not track layers. PSM's use their discretion to get the best sound possible in the most appropriate way possible given the circumstances.
  3. It sounds like you're working for a mixer you do not normally work with. There is communication lacking and that is why he's asking you to push the microphone in closer, more than likely. Like most people here said, it's a balance. If the camera operator is known to tilt a lot for his handheld work, you play as close as you can with the boom while giving him just enough space. But if you're not communicating what's happening on set with your mixer, you'll find yourself being spoken to after each take. I've worked with plenty of operators that ask me for more space. But then I proceed to ask, at which point do you need more space? Oh you're tilting for this? Great, i'll give you more space here at this moment in the scene, then move myself back in. Talk to your operator, and communicate what you're doing to your mixer. The more you do this, the more your mixer will trust that you know what you're doing. It's a dance. And such a beautiful one. I treasure these moments because when you nail a difficult shot or scene, there is no better feeling as a boom operator.
  4. When I think of clipped sound that works, I think of Screamin' Jay Hawkins "I Put A Spell On You". Man does that song do it for me! You hear him distort the microphone with that boomin voice.
  5. I agree with Mike, in that PSM's are not on set to lay down as many tracks as possible. We use our discretion to record the best tracks we can given the circumstances. I understand that in television it's quite common to put lavaliers on actors for safety, but I haven't always found that to be the case, even for network television shows. Without naming shows, I've boomed (mostly 2nd unit) where principle actors on stage were covered with tight shots and in the blocking the team's decision was that lavaliers were not needed. Whole days would pass without using a lavalier, and we could've easily put radios on them. Would this have made the job easier in post? A sincere question. Does more options mean an easier job mixing in post production? I can understand this could change when on location and dealing with noisy environments, but on stage with a solid microphone pointed nicely at ones mouth, why bother the actors and the production by putting lavaliers on for safety? It's up to the PSM and his crew to make that call, I'd say, unless a show specifically requests that all actors be lav'd at all times, which i've found common. If the show lets the mixer decide, I say don't question his choices unless the result was bad sound.
  6. Only you would know whether purchases are necessary or not, but if I may ask, why the upgrades if the work hasn't demanded it? There's a huge amount of equipment I could buy, but I wouldn't be able to pay for it. Seems risky to me.
  7. I think plenty of other restaurants would be happy to have us. My vote is to choose a different location...
  8. The audio technica 4073 was my first microphone, used both outside and inside. It's great for its price. Similar qualities to a 416 i've been told.
  9. She was thankful for certain practices when it comes to placing radio mics on actors. Like making sure to have wardrobe present while mic'ing and de-mic'ing. Finding out what the actor is wearing ahead of time so we know what kind of rig to build and how to tackle placement. And she mentioned not being nervous around talent is key. Being appreciated is a great reminder to keep up these habits and tendencies. We also started talking about the best sound mixers she's worked with. She mentioned both Richard Van Dyke and Mark Ulhano by name. I thought that was so cool. What a fun business we're in!
  10. I had a great time at the last gathering. Looking forward to this.
  11. Yesterday on stage we had just started a scene in a new room. We are shooting on an Epic, so the fan didn't allow us to listen for problematic noises (and there were none while blocking). We roll on the 1st take, and the mixer asks me if I could hear a low rumble. I could not. In my headphones plugged into the lectro IFB I wasn't able to hear what became a problem for us. After investigating I found 2 ballists placed right outside the set and we had to have electric move them. I own an MM1, but find that a lot of mixers prefer I hear the mix and not just my boom. What I did discover while investigating with Chris Howland was that PR-216's differ in monitoring capability from receiver to receiver. I found an especially good comtek that gave me a great amount of low end that helps me hear the subtleties I want to hear as a boom op.
  12. I think Burrito is a fitting name. Right now on set we have a "Jeetah" and "Animal". Both electrics. I forget the grip's nicknames.
  13. Experience comes with time, and a good amount of it. It's a little strange that you're desperate to learn this craft. Is it for financial reasons? Because if it is, it could be many years before you start to make a living working in production sound. Entry level positions like a sound utility hardly exist on small projects which is where you'll likely start.
  14. I'd love some more examples Zack. And the "backup" mentality for a camera hop makes some sense if you're wirelessly sending more than one signal, but it sort of reminds me of the producer that says "we want them lav'd and boomed. The lav is a backup just in case" for a interview settings and the like. I never quite agreed with it.
  15. Is a L/R mix preferred? I've panned over my mix to the L track for one show recently and just delivered my mix on that one track. What're the advantages to delivering a L/R mix, is it the norm, and why?
  16. To BigBen, After recently joining the IA i've found that many "real features" are offering minimum rates to crew. The health and pension are great...but I find that I was being paid more doing non union work! A very eye opening experience.
  17. I liked the sound of the movie overall. At some points it was loud and chaotic, but i think that was the intention. Now the story and casting...not a fan of at all.
  18. Part of the reason I like the sound community so much on this forum is because discussions and arguments are handled with professionalism. Things may get heated, but at the end of the day, most of us enjoy each others company. I think it's attributed to good attitudes and the experience of working with other departments (as well as each other. Many members here have known each other for years). I can't speak for other people, but threads like this are not something I'd like to be reading on a regular basis. I think you have the wrong attitude Adamforgione, and the way you worded the original post made it sound like you have no experience at all. It's not uncommon to find other threads with members who really don't know what they're doing, so you may have been bundled together with them. As far as fitting in goes, right now you do not. Your aggression and defensiveness are going to provoke a lot of members here. In my opinion, the best way to handle this is to sit back and read up on the thousands of threads that cover hundreds of topics. And when you still have questions, be more concise. I say all of this with the best intentions.
  19. He means seeing the microphone dip in. I've had directors yell "boom's in!", completely distracting the actors and stopping the take, when a simple look and finger up from the camera operator or AC would've informed me to make an adjustment. It's too bad when that happens.
  20. I'm curious for others to chime in. I was told by an A-class level boomer that they get 1 dip in a day. It might happen more often than that, but that's the rule that boom operator followed. I think some boom operators put limitations on themselves, and some have no restrictions for themselves. You boom to get the best coverage you can. I definitely know that if you are going to get in the shot, better to do it on the 1st take. You don't want to mess up on the 8th take.
  21. A friend of mine experienced this with an old 442 unit. The 4th input was noisy and not really useable. Sending it in is the proper way to take care of this issue.
  22. Hey Robert, that sound report has 5 takes of 22, and just a few of 22A, B, and C. Do you remember if that was 5 takes of the master?
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