Alexander Burstein

If I were an investor wouldn't the idea of crowd funding be scary? All of the money that the movie makes goes to...the producers and cast? Warner Bros. has offered to pay for the marketing and will likely make their money back and then some, but essentially isn't the position 'executive producer' eliminated? At least in this case?

I'm day playing on a show that's shooting film at the moment and there's no noticeable camera noise. Next day i'm on i'll ask questions. Tomorrow is also the first day i'm meeting with a producer and possibly the DP for an upcoming feature. No other departments on board yet, and i'll be present for location scouts. So far the stars are shining in sounds favor. I'll be sure to update.

With the zaxcom wireless transmitters that have built in recorders, how would you be aware of problems? It solved the range issue, but can you depend on those recorders for hours on end? Not to mention the wardrobe issues. That one should be fixed with no questions asked. I think realistically they're approach needs to change. If things don't go well and they're unhappy with the results, their ears may reopen to different solutions.

It did seem like the recording being taken was more of a BTS thing. Meaning that perhaps that was one of the more private areas on location, invaded by someone with a camera with a built in or onboard microphone (it sounded crappy). But who knows. The room was fairly open. Like most of you I insist on wiring up talent as discreety as possible. Male or female. And there's always a place to do it. Wardrobe, a nearby room, somewhere else off set even if it's just to the side. I find it annoying when I get the remarks from other crew, but haven't found a good way of dealing with it aside from ignoring it. I'm pretty sure anyone who handles these situations unprofessionally won't have a lot work after a while.

I agree Cloud Wang. I also worry about slight head turns. I don't know how one would stay on axis with the microphone if the pole were on your head.

Saw a picture in another thread and it spurred a question. Is resting a boom pole on your headphones accepted and practiced by professional mixers and boom operators? When I started out and saw my first boom operator do this, I was a bit worried that it looked unprofessional. I've seen it since and while it bugs me a bit I haven't said anything. I've tried it out of curiosity but found that it really hurts my head.

You have to convince them that doing the job properly in the first place will SAVE them money.

It's a little saddening to read the expectations this production has for you. I would make it very clear to them that for the car audio they'll have to be happy with less than great quality because of their limited budget. I agree with Matthew Freed about being in over your head. The reason is because there are so many red flags that you don't seem aware of. You don't seem prepared based on the questions you're asking and it also seems like you're not familiar with all of the equipment you'll be using. Based on their limited budget, a solution to the car audio would be going direct to camera with a battery powered microphone. Is there really no way to ask for more money to do the job properly? Sometimes on smaller productions when i'm told there's not a budget for extra things I really insist and magically they're able to afford it. They're just trying to save money, and when they realize the quality is crap, you'll get blamed for not doing it up to their standards. But if you explain the situation diplomatically and professionally you may find success.

Send it in! Peace of mind is important.

In the context of the discussion this is really interesting. I agree with you and Robert. In a very oversimplified way, we care about the ISO's but also don't care about them (if we get it in the mix). "don't care" might be the wrong term...maybe don't mind?

Great discussion. It was mentioned earlier that while mixing down to one track sometimes the lavaliers are potted all the way down. There's not always a need to open certain microphones and mix them in. My question is since we've established that ISO's are important for post production, and requested quite often, if you're monitoring your own mix on the day, how are you making sure the ISO's remain clean? Certainly if a PSM has a visual you may see if the seatbelt if it's touching where the lavalier is, but what about clothing noise or RF hits that are only heard if monitored by the ears? I check periodically with PFL's and definitely make sure it sounds clean when they're first mic'd, but can foresee issues coming up if they're not being monitored while rolling. At this point if you had a great mix, would they just pull from that instead? One more question purely from someone who doesn't know any better. If you're not providing ISO's and not giving post the opportunity to mix something of their own, are you taking work and pay away from someone? I'm under the impression that for episodic television the post team works at a very fast rate (like production), so the less fixes they make the more time is given to "sweetening" or improving other areas. But for narrative features is this the case? Would it be one less gig for a fellow soundie? Thanks, Alexander

You're all saints.

Right now i'm using an NP-1 to power my mixer/recorder solely and I get a tremendous amount of time. Does the life of the NP-1 shorten over time when it's charged if it still holds a lot of power? I hope i worded this correctly.

I always have mixers giving me the cs3-e to boom with for interiors. It's used when I have to be a bit further from talent with the microphone. I'd use the word "reach" but that's already been swatted in this discussion.

It's alright that we have different experiences with this. If they can place it where it will sound best, be hidden, and not create clothing noise or fall off in the middle of a take then I wouldn't argue against it. I haven't worked with anyone as experienced at wiring who was not in the sound department. But my sample size is smaller than yours.

The grammar is fine methinks.

I'm having a similar reaction to a few of the people responding. This feels like a prank. I can't justify a reasonable answer with advice to this person because no matter what anyone has been saying it has nearly been the same reaction from him. Just because it's not audioguy doesn't mean it's not someone else pulling our legs. Or pulling hair in my case. I didn't like the sound much in either of the first two shorts you posted, Corey. I did like the music in the magical one. The music in the first one was used to help cover up the poor quality sound. In my opinion...

I don't like to say never, but I would not like to allow anyone but someone from my sound department to do the wiring. The process of wiring up talent can be complex and takes a lot of experience to do properly. If it were just a matter of touching the talent, I would need to oversee it all visually to make sure things were correctly done. But that has never come up. I've seen a number of times that the transmitter and microphone are handed off and rustle ensues. There was one example of a mixer day playing on a television series and the actress wouldn't let anyone mic her up. She had to do it herself. I don't know how the mixer took care of any issues with the mic, but I expect it was taken care of professionally when it happened. In this case it's a diplomatic situation. Only the particular mixer can know how to handle it. But giving the mic by choice to talent? Never by choice!

"Robert Johnson is right! We'll wire the Governor!"

I second the booming. Get the water resistant equipment and use it when appropriate, but this seems like a situation where if the host does go under, there's probably just gasping and flailing that'll follow with a line or two of dialogue. If the circumstances don't allow a boom up close, you can at least cover it from a distance while the host is submerged. The before and after can be captured on the lavalier.

Thanks Jim, it wasn't my intention to hijack the thread.

This will be my first year going. I've registered for exhibiton(s) only and am wondering if this is the usual? I'm sure some of you purchase larger packages but from your experience is it worth it? And if it is worth it could I purchase tickets on the day for specifics that i'm interested in?

If I could add a little something to your idea David, maybe one post per day, per topic. I'm not sure if I agree with the idea but it's interesting. I too didn't like reading the back and forth banter. Then again, I chose to stop reading a few of those threads. I don't have a clear solution to suggest.

This was posted on facebook by a gentleman named Bruce Branit. "For my non-visual effects wizard (muggle) friends. Here's what the green profile pics are all about.... Life of Pi won the Oscar for Visual Effects, Cinematography and Director last night. Good for all, and well deserved in each category. However, the visual effects company and artists that created the tiger, the ocean, the ship, the skies, etc... is now in bankruptcy, unable to pay its artists' payroll and back wages. Many of them have been let go with no compensation or benefits for them or their families. This company, Rhythm & Hues, is no sweatshop either. They are/were one of the good guys... a facility created by artists for artists to do what we all love to do. It's a coin flip whether they survive. Talented people, from artists, coordinators and programmers to the software and hardware that are required to fulfill a director like Ang Lee's vision, are not cheap and a lot of people are required. It is a complex and highly technical mix of artistry and innovation that requires years of experience. Visual effects are so necessary for complex and never-before-seen story telling that 48 of the top 50 box office films are considered visual effects films. But the visual effects community has never been on shakier ground. The reality today is that Hollywood studios demand more, faster and cheaper for their films. They drive this "competition" through unfair bidding competing against work from countries with illegal tax subsidies and incentives. This practice has created a race to the bottom price-wise and we are reaching a point where talented people are walking away from the industry after suffering long hours, broken families, migrant worker status as they move from country to country following work as the studios chase the latest tax subsidies. We are reaching a point where companies like R&H, Cafe FX, Digital Domain cannot survive the slightest rough patch. Comments by Ang Lee in the weeks leading up to the Oscars lamenting that "he wishes VFX could be cheaper" were a shot across the bow of the VFX community as many of the Life of Pi crew already sat home out of work. Ang Lee has not discussed how actors' salaries could be cheaper, or how director or producer's percentages could be limited. Yet it is valid to argue that visual effect played an equal if not greater role in making the movie Ang wanted to make. Life of Pi was a perfect VFX storm. A book that people said could not be brought to the screen. You can't shoot on the ocean, you can't put a tiger in the boat with an actor. Credit Ang Lee's direction and the screenplay by David Magee. But the technical, visual execution of that film was a real achievement and the Visual effects team at Rhythm and Hues deserves the credit for that. Now flashback to last night's Oscars... and wear a cup. Neither Ang nor his winning cinematographer, Claudio Miranda felt they needed to thank or even mention the VFX artists who made the sky, the ocean, the ship, the island, the meerkats and oh yeah... the tiger. Ang thanked the crew, the actors, his agent, his lawyer and the entire country of Taiwan right down to the team that built the wave-pool on the soundstage where Pi was shot. But failed to mention 100's of artists who made, not only the main character of the tiger, but replaced that pool, making it look like a real ocean for 80% of his movie. And the final salt in the wound to our community... when VFX supervisor, Bill Westenhofer (one of our own) was accepting his well-earned Oscar for Best Visual Effects, he attempted to shine a light on the bankruptcy of Rhythm and Hues and the current paradoxical state of our industry, but was promptly given the hook and had his mic cut by the same Hollywood powers that demand lower prices for the very skills that make their tent-pole movies and profits possible. So thank you Ang Lee. Thank you for not thanking us and for letting us all know where we stand. Our industry is the only non-organized part of the movie making business. I am afraid that may need to change."

Yes. It was not accessible when I started my day. A few takes/file names in it was available and in use. A few takes/files later it became greyed out again. I forget the status when my day ended.