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WhyOne

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  1. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Los Angeles, CA Gordon Moore of Lectrosonics To Hold Webinar On The Spectrum Transition - On August 26th, 2018, Gordan Moore of Lectrosonics will conduct a live webinar on the transition out of the 600 MHz band of the UHF spectrum, along with the new masking regulations about to go into effect. At the request of IATSE Local 695, and the vendor community in Hollywood, Moore will attempt to clear up the confusion surrounding the upcoming FCC deadlines. From Gordon Moore: Still confused or concerned about the Spectrum Transition? IATSE Local 695 with the support of our entire vendor community, have invited Gordon Moore of Lectrosonics to have an online GoToMeeting event which will discuss the spectrum changes, the regulatory changes and the details of the future deadlines as the transition winds its way to completion. He will cover certifications, Part 15 v Part 74, deviation and spectral mask changes (what IS the ETSI mask?), and the impact on the location sound mixer. The session should last between 45 minutes to an hour and there will be a Q&A session at the end. This session is limited to 250 on-line attendees – but if we actually “sell out”, we will schedule additional sessions in September. This discussion will be brand and product neutral and cover the regulations and changes that affect your current gear and your future gear considerations. Date: August 26th (Sunday) Time: 4:00pm Eastern Time 3:00pm Central Time 2:00pm Mountain Time 1:00pm Pacific Time 9:am - Hawaii HOW TO PARTICIPATE: Spectrum Re-Allocation Update Sun, Aug 26, 2018 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM MDT Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/128373797 You can also dial in using your phone. United States: +1 (872) 240-3311 Access Code: 128-373-797 Joining from a video-conferencing room or system? Dial: 67.217.95.2##128373797 Cisco devices: 128373797@67.217.95.2 First GoToMeeting? Let's do a quick system check: https://link.gotomeeting.com/system-check
  2. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Los Angeles, CA Gordon Moore of Lectrosonics To Hold Webinar On The Spectrum Transition - On August 26th, 2018, Gordan Moore of Lectrosonics will conduct a live webinar on the transition out of the 600 MHz band of the UHF spectrum, along with the new masking regulations about to go into effect. At the request of IATSE Local 695, and the vendor community in Hollywood, Moore will attempt to clear up the confusion surrounding the upcoming FCC deadlines. From Gordon Moore: Still confused or concerned about the Spectrum Transition? IATSE Local 695 with the support of our entire vendor community, have invited Gordon Moore of Lectrosonics to have an online GoToMeeting event which will discuss the spectrum changes, the regulatory changes and the details of the future deadlines as the transition winds its way to completion. He will cover certifications, Part 15 v Part 74, deviation and spectral mask changes (what IS the ETSI mask?), and the impact on the location sound mixer. The session should last between 45 minutes to an hour and there will be a Q&A session at the end. This session is limited to 250 on-line attendees – but if we actually “sell out”, we will schedule additional sessions in September. This discussion will be brand and product neutral and cover the regulations and changes that affect your current gear and your future gear considerations. Date: August 26th (Sunday) Time: 4:00pm Eastern Time 3:00pm Central Time 2:00pm Mountain Time 1:00pm Pacific Time 9:am - Hawaii HOW TO PARTICIPATE: Spectrum Re-Allocation Update Sun, Aug 26, 2018 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM MDT Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/128373797 You can also dial in using your phone. United States: +1 (872) 240-3311 Access Code: 128-373-797 Joining from a video-conferencing room or system? Dial: 67.217.95.2##128373797 Cisco devices: 128373797@67.217.95.2 First GoToMeeting? Let's do a quick system check: https://link.gotomeeting.com/system-check
  3. Using both the Delkin and SanDisk current offerings, both work flawlessly, and I'm really appreciating the speed of USB3!
  4. MacMall on Wilshire in Santa Monica, also the best laptop warranty.
  5. Almost everything I have done in the last four years has been HD, and the BM Duo's rock. 1920 x 1200. As much as I like the Marshall products (I have a V-MD171 modular on my cart), the Lynx 702 is only 1024 x 600. Use pigtails and barrels to keep strain off of the units...
  6. I like and support every manufacturer named above. Several have announced, at one time or another, that they're goal was to work cooperatively - a voluntary open platform for on-set creating and sharing appropriate metadata and time code. When the Ambient guys visited last year and gave their presentation at Trew LA, they were very candid - they felt an open platform would encourage innovation and would have a positive effect on all who participated. The last time I was able to talk to the brilliant Glenn Sanders, I encouraged him to open up ZaxNet, to add to the cooperative effort. Just imagine never writing a scene and take number - the script supervisor creates it and every file generated, image or sound, has it. Perhaps retuning ten channels of radio mics (receivers and transmitters) with one click of a pull-down menu. Jay APPLY FOR YOUR FCC LICENSE NOW!
  7. Just loaned my Duganized 4.2 to Ed Nowick, and apparently it is working well after a ten year nap.......
  8. Serves me right for not spending enough time here. First. We will probably lose 600 MHz. Not without a fight, though. To view the official debates: http://apps.fcc.gov/...oceeding=08-167 click on the 08-167 for the list. Kudos to Shure for footing the bill on legal.. For the future, we need to band together as the professional film and television professionals who make their living using wireless mics. If you have a license, or have applied, please submit an email with your name, call letters (or the words 'application pending', your location, and union affiliation, if affiliated, to: part74pro@yahoo.com tell your friends. Jay Patterson, CAS
  9. Serves me right for not spending enough time here. First. We will probably lose 600 MHz. Not without a fight, though. To view the official debates: http://apps.fcc.gov/...oceeding=08-167 click on the 08-167 for the list. Kudos to Shure for footing the bill on legal.. For the future, we need to band together as the professional film and television professionals who make their living using wireless mics. If you have a license, or have applied, please submit an email with your name, call letters (or the words 'application pending', your location, and union affiliation, if affiliated, to: part74pro@yahoo.com tell your friends. Jay Patterson, CAS
  10. Serves me right for not spending enough time here. First. We will probably lose 600 MHz. Not without a fight, though. To view the official debates: http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/comment_search/execute?proceeding=08-167 click on the 08-167 for the list. Kudos to Shure for footing the bill on legal.. For the future, we need to band together as the professional film and television professionals who make their living using wireless mics. If you have a license, or have applied, please submit an email with your name, call letters (or the words 'application pending', your location, and union affiliation, if affiliated, to: part74pro@yahoo.com tell your friends. Jay Patterson, CAS
  11. No offense Matthew, but this is the lamest shit flying! For example, the Koch Bros., for over ten years conspired illegally to control the election process in the US via illegally obtained caging lists. When investigations into their activities started to bear fruit, they created the Citizens United case, paid every cent it took to get it to the Supreme Court, had their sharpest staff counsel represent the case before the court, and had it passed due to justices who had been specifically backed in their nominations by the Koch's influence. Most people think of CU as primarily allowing unlimited donations to political campaigns via non-profit fronts, but the primary reason was to make legal, the previous ten years of patently illegal activity on the part of the Koch's. If a law is passed by illegal influence...
  12. Any of the solid state recorders won't be affected by the g-forces, in fact even the traditional hard drives are very resistant to g-forces. Noise is an issue, though! Jay
  13. Howard Fine is the voluntary FCC frequency coordinator for several bands, in the LA area. Feel free to ask him. howard@pactv.com Jay
  14. Wyatt, I challenge you to back up this statement. Andy designed all of his desks around Dean Jensen's CAD mic transformers which are phase accurate to better than 65KHz. Inherent distortion? Before his mix desks, Andy was famous for building filters which had an excess of 200KHz band pass, in order to insure linearity throughout the 20/20K spectrum. Jay (OK, I'm biased. I own the first 106+1 Andy shipped, a 208Dv.2, and a custom modded 306.)
  15. Phantom powering (48 or 12VDC between pins 1 and 2, and 1 and 3) is used primarily because it won't damage most non-condenser mics, whereas T power (Tonader - 12VDC between pins 2 and 3) will toast a ribbon mic immediately! In today's world, Phantom power is safe with virtually all mics, but interestingly enough, some electronically balanced outputs can be adversely affected by Phantom power (xfmr balanced outputs couldn't care less...), most notably the Lectro Venues, which can be damaged when connected to a hot Phantom powered input. Jay
  16. Robert is right on. While "24fps" is bantered about these days, there are actually very few electronic cinema devices capable of true 24fps, and 23.976 (23.98) is the actual frame rate. The best way to CYA is to specifically ask the post genius "Do you mean 24fps or 23.976fps?" and get it in writing. The appropriate frame rate for production recording is NOT the decision of the Production Mixer. (It is appropriate for the Production Mixer to ask pointed questions, point out potential pitfalls, and voice an opinion, but NOT to decide...) Jay
  17. My favorite lav plant war story took place in a remote village in the Czech Republic in '95, shooting a scene where an SS officer was walking alongside an eleven year old Polish girl, carrying her marketing home in a basket, harshly questioning her about her activities, while she was doing her best to ignore him, looking down and speaking in a small voice. The boom guy said he could get the soldier no problem, but we needed to wire the little girl. Instead, I quickly got with props and threaded the lav (a SonoTrim) through the long baguette in her basket, where it looked like a slightly larger caraway seed. Her lines were now spoken into the lav, about eight inches from her mouth. The rest of the food in the basket did as much to attenuate the clomping jack boots as good cue on the Neumann 82i, so the mix worked pretty well. We were able to boom a tighter shot of her dialogue, but a lot of the scene was carried in the wider shots. Jay
  18. Great thread people! My approach to shooting in vehicles is in constant flux... Despite the entirely solid-state production cart, I'm wont to put it on the tow vehicle. Fortunately, my work over the past few years has been fairly high-profile network drama, which means that when I see driving shots in the upcoming episode, I NAIL the first AD down, as in, "Look. I can do anything, as long as I've been told what will be necessary, with enough lead time to make it happen. You change your mind on the day, it's on you, not me." They are truly responsible for arranging that stuff, and if you let them know that you know that, they will help. Next up is the Utility (notice I haven't said anything about gear yet - it's people - not gear that makes it work). Based on the info delivered by the AD, a good Utility is going to check in with transpo, props, and the 2nd ACs as to what's REALLY gonna happen. New info may modify the game plan, but my Utility and I will both ask all the right questions, such as "Hey! Any chance you're gonna want to shoot something while the tow car is being reset?" A good AD might say, "You know, it's not in the plan, but this Director is a whack job, so have Plan B in your back pocket." Quick phone call to the UPM or Line Producer, saying it's going to cost another $150 have Plan B in my back pocket, and literally half the time the AD will come back and say not to worry about Plan B as the Producer doesn't want to spend the money. Ask the AD who the insert car driver is going to be, and if you don't know them, make sure you get an introduction shortly after they arrive. Adopt the attitude that the cool shelf in the shotgun seat was put there for the exclusive use of the mixer. The insert driver will agree. Have the Utility, as they pre-rig, make sure that the driver has plenty of fresh water and his or her favorite snacks handy... Moral: Work the people stuff first. In time I feel it earns the respect of the Production Department. That being said, my basic car rigs these days are a Mini-Cooper (306), custom cabled to a 788T-SSD with a quad pak of SRs velcroed on, with a Lectro TR-4 as the cherry on top. No pix. Separate mics on talent as body mics, plants in the car. Talent can be wired and checked out near the Production cart with transmitters which are removed before they get into the car, where hard wired feeds to the 306 get connected (so many things can cause RF interference in a tow rig, why spit in the wind...). The 788 is set as an 8 track line level recorder. Boom riding chase carries a wireless boom and the talent transmitters, and in moments can be ready to shoot out in the middle of nowhere. If nowhere is out of reception range of the insert car, the 788 can be pulled and reset as a "mix plus isos" recorder in seconds. Sure it's costly to have duplicate stuff, but part of the job is getting the goods without taking up any production time. No trunk work - ever. Last time was in '95, with an un-named cast in a heavy duty driving drug party scene, and I lived in SF long enough to know in an instant that the talent was smoking real stuff, and it was high-test at that. Since then I ask the AD if the plan is to have the actors drive and act at the same time, and if it is, I set up a continuous roll with conservative levels on iso with a hotter production mix, lay an open slate on the floor, wish the camera operator "good luck and don't forget to look at the slate at the beginning or end of each take". Works fine. Off topic moment!!!!! Since I've had the SMVs, I've had to set input gains on them to what I used to think was an embarrassingly low setting ( 8 ), in order to not ever hear them limit. Signal to noise isn't really an issue, but Lectro limiters can be. Back on topic, most Producers these days respond immediately to the "Safety" card. If you identify an unsafe activity to a Producer, and they go ahead anyway and something happens, they are guilty of negligence in the eyes of the law, and most of them know that. By the same token, if one of your sound crew points out a safety issue, and you don't bring it up to the AD immediately, YOU are guilty of negligence. Safety is the trump card. Lastly, @Crew Elegant solution for the talk back rig! Off the shelf is the only way to go these days. Only caveat is when I use the RM-3as on set or in a car, is that they can be noisy enough with no input that I can hear them. Not a big problem on my last gig with period cars from the 50's! Much thanks to an aggressive dialogue editor! On the up side, when the period cars broke down or need a tweak, sound could race in and make that last little adjustment... Jay
  19. What we've been waiting for... Under Bill's guidance, Laurence Abrams has created a step-by-step, fairly goof-proof, on-line application process (oh it is magnificent!). http://www.695.com/fcc/how-to-get-a-license Takes about an hour, but you can start and stop. When done, hit the submit button and it goes directly to the FCC. When accepted, they notify you via email, pay the $145 fee on-line, and the license comes in the mail a month or two later. The General Membership of IATSE Local 695 has decided that this issue is SO important, that it has made this process available to anyone - not just 695 members. Yeah...FREE! BTW - Renewal. License renewal is done by zones. If the renewal date in your zone is in two years, so be it. Next time around your license will be good for the full term. White space registration: Register your home, shop and studio as "in use" 24/7. Though it is impossible to register all hit and miss locations, do your best to register at least 24 hours ahead. Look for mobile apps to come. Look for a general announcement from Jeff on this topic. Why get a license? Bottom line, the FCC acknowledges our existence and importance in the entertainment industry. Part 74 has rules specific to us, and when we become a group of hundreds of licensed users, we will have a good voice. Take care...
  20. In the nineties I had the pleasure of shooting drama in lots of exotic and potentially dangerous locations, and most were run by responsible producers, who always erred on the side of caution. The most intense was six weeks on the Pitzdal Glacier in Tyrol, shooting every day between 11,500' and 14,500', on ice and snow. The producer (Hans Proppe) popped for one of the most expensive safety teams to manage us (Hugo Baumgartner), and Hugo's guys covered us like hawks, from dynamite bombing upcoming locations, via chopper, to diminish the probability of avalanche, to making sure we wore shades at all times to prevent blindness. Temps ranged from about 10°F to -40°F, and blizzards could fly out of nowhere in minutes. With their guidance, we had zero injuries. Today, I draw the line with actors acting and driving a vehicle at the same time. No way. We all know how far exec.producers will go to limit liability. SPEAK UP! Speak up in front of witnesses. If you speak up and say that in your opinion something is unsafe, you have put the producers on notice. The worst they can do to you is not hire you again. If management is alerted (by letter - paper trail) that a producer is being unsafe, they will come down on them. Standing up to an unsafe situation is the mark of a professional.
  21. Met Bob in his late '80s SF period, going through a bad divorce, broke, no gear, yet the fire and intensity of his attitude towards life was something to behold. He'd been mixing commercials with a little Mackie board and a DatMan, had a big gig coming up and wanted to know if he could rent my brand new, hot off Andy's bench, Cooper 106, for a day or two. He brought it back a week later, no check, big smile, and said, "Thanks, man, it worked great!" Bob was THE hard-livin' mixer all us young wannabees aspired to be... If at all possible, Bob, rest in peace.
  22. @Phil - I had similar experiences with the Key Bridge UI, and immediately sent a note to them for an explanation. Many of the channels I wanted to register were marked (one has to rollover the "x" in the channel) already registered. I have a notion, though, that the KB UI is actually connected to the database that is up and running. I believe that both Telcordia and Spectrum Bridge are now certified to enter protected entity data into the national database. I registered my studio location several months ago via SB, and it may be possible that I was bumping into myself. My registration with SB was on the actual database, and it is possible that KB's trial is actually communicating with the active database, which none of the previous trials were able to do. What is important is that we communicate with KB during the trial in order to fine tune their UI. I have the KB's CEO's email and phone number, but I think it is critical that communication and problem solving be done through the feedback mechanism in the UI - therefore becoming part of the FCC official review. I have a plan, stated in the note to Richard below... @Richard, This is a singular opportunity for you, and everybody else who is paying attention, to directly affect a system that you will have to use for the rest of your career. In order to use the UHF White Spaces, the info giants accepted the FCC’s mandate to protect primary and secondary broadcasters from interference. In order to accomplish this, a national database is being maintained to log the times and places primary and secondary transmitters will be in operation. There will be ten portals, and each must have a trial run. The purpose of these trials is to test technical reliability, and to test the ease of use by the protected entities. The FCC is watching this process very closely, and the quantity and content of the feedback notes sent to a portal during their trial will be recognized by the FCC in their decision making process. My own experience, during the first two trials (Spectrum Bridge and Telcordia) was that suggestions about refining the User Interface made early in the trial, were integrated into the UIs almost immediately. If you find some thing difficult, the portal admin will try to change it - but only if you register and go through the process. There are two company’s trials running as I write, and they are almost polar opposites in my view. Google, which has millions invested in the development of white space devices, has a vested interest in designing interfaces for the white space devices themselves. They want to allow their products to be able to access the white spaces a quickly as possible, 24/7. When it came to offering a UI for protected entities, this software giant arranged to re-use Spectrum Bridge’s UI (certainly a functional UI – thank you folks at SB, if Google you enough, it will probably buy you...). Key Bridge, whose trial started yesterday, is a small, high end database management group, whose commitment to making it easy for the protected entity is evident in the time and thought put into their UI. (In all fairness, Telcordia and Spectrum Bridge’s UIs were good beginnings…) I suggest this: All licensed (a protected entity) and un-licensed wireless microphone users that read this forum, go to the Key Bridge portal, register, go through the process (be prepared to know the geographical coordinates (degrees, minutes, seconds) of where you want to register (your stages, your shop, etc. – this is just a test…), and then … Write the main points of your feedback on this thread. In two or three weeks, we will all copy the list of main points into our personal responses to Key Bridge. In the FCC’s eyes, a significant percentage of the official responses to the trial will be us (if not a majority – last trial over a third of the responses were part 74 licensees who got their licenses via jwsoundgroup and 695 – and many more of us have received licenses since then.), and the FCC will have heard our voice. So I vote for the 1040 as more difficult - the IRS has no intention of listening to our feedback…. Jay Patterson, CAS VP IATSE Local 695 Chairman, Local 695 Technical Trends Committee WQNJ498
  23. ALERT TO ALL WIRELESS MICROPHONE USERS! The third and fourth White Space Database trials are in Progress now! Google started its trial last Monday, March 4th, and Key Bridge’s trial begins today, March 11th. Though not required, ALL users of wireless mics in the UHF Spectrum (486 to 698 MHz) should definitely participate in these trials. This is our one chance to offer immediate feedback to the Database Administrators as to the ease of use and quality of their User Interface. Provisions have been made to protect professional wireless mic users, but it is important that we show up for these trials. The trials allow for Licensed and Unlicensed registration of wireless devices. Registering your transmitters as an Unlicensed User should point out immediately, that you should obtain your license as soon as possible, as Licensed Users have higher priority for reservations. Easy to follow instructions, and other useful info can be found at: www.695.com/fcc (This is a public access site, supported by IATSE Local 695, open to the public.) If you have questions during the registration process, address them to the database administrator directly. Lastly, it is imperative that you use the feedback capabilities of the test. THE QUANTITY OF RESPONSES WILL BE MEASURED BY THE FCC, AND IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE (as Licensed and Unlicensed wireless mic users in the entertainment industry) BE NOTICED BY THE FCC. After the first trial, a significant percentage of the user responses were licensed users in the entertainment industry, let’s swamp ‘em this time. Editorial Comment: There are two trials taking place, you may choose to participate in one or both. Google, has spent zero time and effort in developing a User Interface for their database, and is re-using the UI developed by Spectrum Bridge (which in my opinion was pretty good…). Key Bridge has developed the most comprehensive and easy to use UI to date. Two years ago, when I contacted all ten of the perspective database administrators, I received no response from info giants Google and Microsoft, whereas the top technical management of Spectrum Bridge and Telcordia immediately responded, to find out how to best accommodate wireless users in the entertainment industry. Key Bridge went even further, and their top tech and CEO spent hours on the phone with me, over several days in order to make sure that their system and UI were appropriate for our needs. Their UI is magnificent, and with a little poking around, it will guide you through the process, and like any well designed database UI, it makes it difficult to make a mistake. I urge you to visit both, in order to compare UIs. Google: http://www.google.org/spectrum/whitespace/register/index.html Key Bridge: https://whitespace.keybridgeglobal.com/index.xhtml When all ten Database Administrators have completed their trials and go on-line, users will choose one to register with…
  24. Hah! Great cart, and I have to laugh! I use the same Igloo bags for my 35AH glass packs!
  25. Shed a tear when I got the email... For years I was a favorite in Leo's parts department, always tried to buy there first. Sad. +1 David.
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